*batteries not included (1987)

Fresh and Exciting

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

In 2017 I was having my 30th birthday, and I thought, what better way to celebrate than to watch a number of films also turning 30 years old, this was one I heard a little about, so I hoped it would be good, produced by Frank Marshall and Steven Spielberg. Basically in a dilapidated New York City, East Village apartment building, the tenants of the block are being forced to move out by the owner of a nearby property development, Lacey (Michael Greene), so it can be demolished. Elderly couple Frank (Hume Cronyn) and Faye Riley (Jessica Tandy) manage the apartment building, and the café below it, tenants in the building include artist Mason Baylor (Dennis Boutsikaris), pregnant single mother Marisa Esteval (Elizabeth Peña) and retired boxer Harry Noble (Licence to Kill's Frank McRae). Some of the residents are tormented by Lacey's thugs, led by Carlos (Michael Carmine), the assault convinces them to move out, including Mason's girlfriend Pamela (American Dad's Wendy Schaal) who is tired and advises Mason to quit being an artist and find a steady job, and the Riley's friends Muriel (Jane Hoffman) and Sid Hogensin (Tom Aldredge) who are bribed by Lacey and move to a retirement home in New Jersey. Things look bleak, with Frank thinking of giving in, and Faye's dementia growing, until the appearance of of a pair of small living space ships descending during the night, repairing many broken items as they fly around. In the morning, Frank is amazed to find the vandalised café repaired, putting him and Faye back in business, Faye was the first to see the two aliens, the other residents follow her to see, they take residence in a shed at the top of the building, the residents dub them "The Fix-Its". The Fix-Its scare away Carlos, then Faye and Marisa learn the female alien is pregnant, after consuming many metal and electrical objects, it gives birth to three baby Fix- Its, but one is still born. Faye buries the stillborn, but Harry digs it up, takes it to his apartment, and successfully revives it, taking apart his precious television set, while Frank and Faye have an increase of business, including from the demolition crew, the Fix-Its assist in the kitchen. Mason and Marisa grow closer, Mason feels better about his art, and Marisa's baby is due in 2 to 3 months, musician Hector (Charles Raymond) is the father of Marisa's child visits her, but leaves quickly, with a steady gig in Chicago, Marisa tells Mason their relationship was not working out, but she has developed feelings for Mason, and vice versa. Carlos is unable to prove the existence of the Fix-Its, Lacey is furious with the delays and moves to replace Carlos, in anger Carlos breaks into the building's basement and sabotages the building's pipework and electricity, badly damaging the "father" machine in the process. The residents discover the Fix-It children are missing, they search the city for them, while Faye stays with the "mother" and fixes the "father", when it is repaired the Fix-It parents search for their offspring, they are found with Harry, the reunited machine family then depart from the planet. Tired of the delays, Lacey's subordinate Kovacs (John Pankow), an arsonist, attempts to burn down the building in a staged "accidental fire", Carlos sees this and sabotages the plan to make the entire building explode, but Faye is trapped inside, Carlos manages to rescue her as the fire spreads, the other residents return to find the blazing building. The next morning, the apartment block has been reduced to a smouldering wreck, the construction crew, in respect to Harry, refuse to continue working, to Kovacs' fury. Harry is greeted by the mechanical family during the night, who have recruited countless other Fix-Its for repairs, by the next morning, the entire building has been seamlessly restored to brand new condition. In the end, Lacey's demolition plans are forever cancelled, Kovacs is terminated, Mason and Marisa settle into a relationship, Carlos tries to start a friendship with the Rileys, Faye finally accepts her son has passed away, and some years later, the apartment building still stands, surrounded by bigger developments, and the café has a roaring trade, with new employment brought into the area. Also starring John DiSanti as Gus, MacIntyre Dixon as DeWitt, Doris Belack as Mrs. Thompson and Luis Guzmán as a Bystander. Tandy, Cronyn and the other actors give nice gentle performances, the script is based on one of the episodes of a TV show called Amazing Stories, it is sort of a retread of elements from Cocoon, the special effects are reasonable, the plot very simple, it doesn't quite have the magic of other films about alien creatures making friends with humans, but it is something all the family can warm to, an average science-fiction fantasy. Worth watching!

Elderly couple Frank (Hume Cronyn) and Faye Riley (Jessica Tandy) who is suffering from dementia run a small diner in an old apartment building. The NYC neighborhood is being torn down. Thugs led by Carlos hired by property developer Lacey and his henchman Kovacs (John Pankow) are pushing the tenants out. The tenants include pregnant Marisa Esteval (Elizabeth Peña), former boxer Harry Knoble (Frank McRae) and starving artist Mason Baylor desperate to save the building. The cops refuse to help. A couple of small UFOs arrive and change everything.This definitely has the tone of an old Disney family film. Like those movies, this is strictly family fare which does tackle some slightly darker issues. The tone can be a little awkward at times for modern audiences but it absolutely works for this film. The special effects are terrific for the time. This features Brad Bird who contributed to his first theatrical screenplay in this.

Apartment block tenants seek the aid of alien mechanical life-forms to save their building from demolition. My first impression: From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them. My second impression: It will bring you to tears and make you laugh. My third impression: The acting is very effective. And finally, my fourth impression: This kind of sentimental character piece needs a tight focus so all of the nuances of the characters shine through. The characters in this film have a lot of depth, and that makes all the difference.

This is one of those sweet movies (with a touch of city toughness) that remains as charming today as it did 25 years ago. Called a rip-off of "Close Encounters", "E.T." and "Cocoon" (did anybody dare call "E.T." a rip-off of "Close Encounters"?, which it lightly emulated), "Batteries Not Included" is a family film with an adult touch that is gripping, intense, charmingly corny and a tribute to the love between old people that time cannot tear apart.Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy are the two oldest tenants of a small walk-up and run a diner. They are being bullied by real-estate developers, and a money-hungry thug (Michael Carmine) is determined to get them out so he can get a huge cash settlement from the greedy people who have been paying him off. Other tenants break down and sign the relocation agreement, but the stubborn Cronyn refuses. As the threats get worse, Cronyn, Tandy and their fellow tenants get a little help from somewhere in Steven Spielberg's mind. He didn't direct this, but his production company did produce it, and there is the obvious touch of his hand within the special effects.Tandy's character is suffering from dementia and obviously believes Carmine to be her long dead son. This creates for a touching twist when the film explodes into its dramatic conclusion and gives Carmine some truly multi-dimensional layers to add to his character. The fabulous Doris Belack has an amusing small role, her memory from tons of T.V. soaps (as well as "The Golden Girls" and dozens of movies including "Tootsie" and "She-Devil" embedded in your mind) and the shot at the end is a sign that even in the ruthless corporate world of a metropolis like Manhattan, the meek will inherit the earth and good will ultimately rule over evil.