The Electric Grandmother (1982)
To a family whose children are traumatized by the death of their mother, help comes in a most bizarre way. They receive three pieces, that when joined together, give a recording for an offer for an electric grandmother. They go to a bizarre factory, where they customize their new grandmother, and within a short time, she arrives. The android is equipped with everything needed as a parent and the boys are charmed. The daughter, however, still misses her mother and she bears no welcome for this interloper.
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Good concept, poorly executed.
Admirable film.
A Masterpiece!
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
I recently came across a copy of this at a convention and seemed to recall, as a child, watching this movie several times and enjoying it. What was I thinking? This might help to explain my depraved sense of film enjoyment as an adult. I have an even better question...what was Maureen Stapleton thinking when she agreed to make this atrocity? What was Ray Bradberry thinking (or smoking) when he wrote it? A robot is sent in to take care of three poor kids who just lost their mother. What sort of message does this send to kids? "If you're mother dies, don't worry about it because she can easily be replaced by a robot who squirts milk and orange juice from her fingers and can recite to you every word you have ever uttered your entire life" Now don't get me wrong I have a great deal of respect for Ray Bradberry and his work as well as the work of Maureen Stapleton but who told her that she could sing? They should be ashamed of themselves! In this movie she sounds more like someone who gargled with razor blades! There is a reason why films like this one are lost, they should remain that way! Do NOT show this movie to your kids or they will try to plug grandma into the wall at night when she goes to sleep!
Today the world has lost a marvelous actress. What enormous talent! As I looked at the newspaper this morning, I saw this face I loved as a child smiling back at me. I concentrated hard to sift through the shadows and clouds of my childhood memories mixed with dreams to figure out who this face belonged to. It was Maureen Stapleton, our Electric Grandmother. The Electric Grandmother had such a wonderful, intense effect on me as a child, she must have stayed with me all this time. Now, I am excited to share her with my own children. Maureen Stapleton will be missed but she will also live on. We don't see many actresses like this anymore.
The director hit the spot with alternative ways to dealing with loss. Life doesn't end when we lose someone, as long as we learn how to remember them in a healthy way! Maureen plays a grandmother "created" from the hearts of children dealing with loss. The movie shows how, by dealing with the loss of someone, you can move forward, while still remembering your loved one. I saw this movie shortly after losing a family member, and though I was young, the message of the movie truly got through to me. And although it deals with losses, there is still a wonderful and light-hearted feel to it. The creation of grandma Maureen is spectacular and whimsical. Made me want to go out and create my own!
Although we didn't know each other at the time, me and my wife were in Kindergarten when this movie came out. Somehow this movie got in to our classrooms and freaked us out. We both went home thinking our Grandmothers were going to be turned into robots after they die. Then delivered back to us in a coffin by helicopter so that they could take care of us for the rest of our lives.It wouldn't have been so bad if our teachers offered any sort of explanation after the film.All in all the movie isn't bad. I recommend it to anyone that is into sci-fi Twilight Zone type of stuff.