#704- E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialStarring: Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Plot Summary: When a group of aliens are collecting plant samples on Earth, government agents appear in an attempt to catch the extra-terrestrials. They depart and head back to their home planet, but leave one little alien stranded on Earth by mistake. The alien wanders to some homes in the California suburbs and encounters a 10-year-old boy named Elliott. Elliott hides the alien, whom he refers to as E.T., in his home and tries to keep his identity a secret. Along the way, Elliott shares the discovery of E.T. with his older brother Michael and his little sister Gertie. E.T. begins to learn a lot about Earth's customs, including the ability to speak English, and has also formed a telepathic connection with Elliott. On Halloween night, E.T. and Elliott head out to the woods to try and make a call to E.T.'s home planet. When E.T. goes missing the next day, Michael finds him close to death from an illness. To make matters worse, Elliott is also dying from the same disease, and government agents have invaded their home to quarantine Elliott and his new alien friend.
I'll never forget the first time I saw E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: I didn't like it. Let me add some context by saying I didn't grow up with E.T. like most kids have since the '80s, so by the time I had finally seen it I didn't have that childhood nostalgia that most have with this film. With that being said, I recently re-watched it and I finally had a solid appreciation for what I was watching. Looking at what I've reviewed of his so far, I'm more partial to the magical side of Spielberg, as opposed to the historical Spielberg we're used to seeing in his modern projects. Magical Spielberg was able to captivate audiences by putting real-world people in out of this world experiences; whether that be a giant killer shark, a theme park full of vicious dinosaurs, or a young boy's encounter with an alien being far from home, Spielberg always had a vision that he would put on film and leaving audiences stunned in amazement, and that is definitely present in E.T., a film that was definitely responsible for making Spielberg a name in family entertainment.
The little alien himself is E.T. He is mainly voiced by Pat Welsh, but is mostly composed of various practical effects. E.T. is so beloved thanks to his innocence and his curiosity. Thank goodness for that too, because in terms of looks E.T. isn't exactly the cutest of alien designs. Regardless of that, E.T. is one of the most memorable aliens in film history, so much so that fans were outraged when Spielberg released a more up to date version of the film with CGI models of E.T. replacing the original in various scenes. Fans spoke for themselves, they did not want their classic character design tampered with, so both versions are out there to watch at the viewer's discretion (I'd personally recommend pursuing the original in all its glory...forget about the version that replaces the guns with walkie talkies).
Elliott's family also play a crucial role in the film's plot...at least, once they each discover the alien that is. Elliott's older brother Michael, played by Robert MacNaughton, is very sarcastic and has a group of friends that all bully and give Elliott a hard time. Their connection as brothers really comes into full effect once they share the secret of housing E.T., with Michael standing up for Elliott more and the two of them begin acting like a team. Elliott's little sister Gertie, played by a very young Drew Barrymore, is actually the one that teaches E.T. how to speak. She's also responsible for a handful of cutesy one-liners only a little girl could get away with. It's also just a lot of fun to see a young Drew Barrymore appear in one of the most well-known films in history. The only thing I never really liked was Elliott's mom, played by Dee Wallace, because of how inattentive she was about her kids keeping an ALIEN in the house. It's a freaking ALIEN. You have three kids, constantly doing weird stuff recently, and acting like they're hiding secrets and you don't investigate?!?!?! I get she's a single mom, and that part really does suck to see, but take an interest in your children's odd behavior for crying out loud. What if it had been drugs? Not an alien, but drugs? I'll just end it there before I go off on too much of a rant...
So now we come to the villains of the movie...the government. Led by an agent known as "Keys," (watch the film and I bet you'll figure out why) these agents do nothing but harass Elliott and his family in search of E.T. In fact, if you watch the beginning of the film, there is proof that the government are solely responsible for the entire film's conflict happening. Without them, E.T. would not have been stranded on earth, and granted wouldn't have a movie to begin with, but still those government agents are so irritating. They certainly know how to make an entrance...three times. We first see them in the dark of night searching for aliens, with the only light coming from their flashlights. Their silhouettes are as haunting to us as they are to E.T. Then, when they pop up later, it's through a few agents following Michael as he tries to find E.T. Watching these adults follow a kid on a bike while they're in a car is just plain unsettling. Finally, they invade Elliott's home in SPACESUITS! WHAT!?!??! But of course, by the end of the film, they are made to look like complete fools thanks to a few kids, some bikes, and one magical little alien.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
It's films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial that display why Spielberg is one of the greatest directors of all-time. It's a film full of fun and family friendly magic, while also having some elements of drama and suspense. It's really hard to find people who can't find something to enjoy with this one, so it's one I'll say everyone should own in their DVD collection.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and movie images are copyrighted by Universal Pictures
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