Harry and the Hendersons (1987)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Released in 1987 and directed by William Dear, "Harry and the Hendersons" is a family comedy about a family in Washington who unwittingly brings Sasquatch to their home and they start to develop a relationship with him. But then he gets let loose in Seattle. John Lithgow & Melinda Dillon star as the parents while Margaret Langrick & Joshua Rudoy co-star as the kids. Don Ameche is on hand as a Bigfoot expert while David Suchet plays the Sasquatch-hunting villain. The 7'2.5" Kevin Peter Hall appears as "Harry." Lithgow is a great semi-comedic protagonist and Langrick is cute & effective; she should've been more prominent. The F/X team and Hall did a great job making Harry a distinctive character, particularly considering the film was made in the mid-80s. Although there are some weak parts, this is a solid family comedy/fantasy with just enough good in it to make it worthwhile.The movie runs 110 minutes and was shot in Western Washington.GRADE: Borderline B/ B- (6.5/10 Stars)

It comes as little surprise that HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS is a crushing work of sentimental tripe, given that it's been produced by Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. Unlike the genuinely good family films of the 1980s, like THE GOONIES and THE MONSTER SQUAD, this reduces the cast to a screaming mess, a bunch of actors holed up in a house who spend the movie shouting and overacting for all their worth.The subject of their consternation is the hulking bigfoot who ends up living with them for a time. While the bigfoot suit is admittedly impressive - as is the sheer size of the guy who plays it, the late Kevin Peter Hall, who also essayed the role of the Predator - the way he's turned into a bumbling, friendly giant is frankly embarrassing for this viewer.I get that a lot of reviewers on here saw this as a kid so have a special place for it in their hearts; I'm the same with certain films despite their flaws. But coming into it as a cold-hearted adult, I'm afraid this is one for kids and kids alone; even the normally reliable likes of John Lithgow and David Suchet embarrass themselves in the overacting stakes. And from what I remember of it, the ensuing TV series is poor too with limited and repetitive jokes.

I couldn't sleep last night and browsed through Comcast On Demand to find a cute comedy and saw HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS! I don't think I'd seen the film since the late 1980s.It was released in 1987 and I don't recall seeing it in the theater, but I digress.Harry is a hairy behemoth of the Sasquatch genus. A Bigfoot. What kid wouldn't want a pet Bigfoot of his own? What adult wouldn't? But Harry is no pet. He's an adopted member of Seattle's Henderson family, eating goldfish and plants, burying stuffed deer heads and mink coats, and relaxing in front of the TV while laughing at re-runs of "The Addams Family." He wasn't always in the family. Mr. Henderson had almost run him (it?) over in the road, brought him home, and cared for the big guy.All good things must come to an end, and the Hendersons eventually must choose if Harry remains with their family or if he should be driven back to the wild.Watch the movie for mindless entertainment and you won't be disappointed!!

I've been looking for this movie forever on DVD, my copy on tape is long gone and I hate watching the cut version when it is shown on TV. I was so addicted to this movie as a kid, when our TV broke, I plugged headphones into the VCR so I could hear it. Whats sad is I watched it so many times that I didn't mind that there was no picture, I still knew what was happening because I watched it a least 60 times beforehand. I'm so happy its finally coming out on DVD because I have a kiddo on the way and I can't wait till they are old enough to watch it with me. If you have kids and want to watch a movie everyone will like this is a definite buy. It will be watched over and over and your kids will never get tired of it, which could possibly be a bad thing. I hope this was helpful, I tried not to mention anything about the plot because it best to watch it and form your own opinion.