I’ve grown weary of all the reviews of Tron: Legacy comparing Jeff Bridges’ portrayal of an elderly Sam Flynn to his infamous performance as “The Dude”. I find it insulting to his acting legacy that for the sake of “the whole brevity thing” we boil down Jeff Bridges’ storied career to a single performance…especially when it’s clear to those familiar with the Tron franchise that he’s doing an admirable job of rekindling a character he helped to build 28 years ago. Jeff Bridges actually boasts an impressive stable of iconic characters, from shock-jock Jack Lucas, to the President of the United States, to a hapless cartoon Prince. But one of my favourites from way back in the day (so long ago that I wouldn’t have been old enough to see in theatres myself when it came out) was his portrayal of a visiting alien in Starman. It’s a John Carpenter film, but doesn’t have the trademark Carpenter creepiness. Instead it’s a heartwarming road movie and a totally unconventional love story. It also certainly made better use of the Voyager spacecraft as a plot element than Star Trek: The Motion Picture did.
Jenny Haden (Karen Allen, also one of my favourites) is mourning the recent loss of her husband when a spaceship crash lands near her cabin in the woods of Wisconsin. The lifeform in the ship takes the form of her dead husband and asks that she take him to Arizona where he can catch aride back home. Together, they have to stay one step ahead of the US government whose intentions are what you’d assume they’d be in a story like this. It treads familiar ground, but it’s more than just an ET for grown-ups, or a Cocoon for baby boomers, it’s a love story with a little science fiction muscle behind it used to tell a story about the human condition, and isn’t that what great sci-fi is supposed to do?
Wow funny you posted this, I just watched it Tuesday night:P
It really is a good movie (I like how you call it ET for grown ups but more than that also)and during the time in history where Carpenter was in his groove…after Halloween but before Invisible Man. Those years were goooood. I was thinking of getting this on BD…
This is the kind of movie the Vault is all about: really good, but not quite great enough to reach through the ages and get the next generation to watch it. This totally could use the high def treatment, although it might not be too forgiving to the practical special effects at the beginning of the film when Jeff Bridges is aging super fast. The soundtrack would be great in a nice 6.1 mix – oooh la la!
Excellent choice! And one of John Carpenters best films. Jeff Bridges gives a performance completely different that the typical “human alien” portrayals on film. A difficult performance to muster given the dialogue and situations. Like you said it’s one of those movies that hopefully would be appreciated by a newer generation. Although I am sure an eventual remake will be imminent and will completely miss the point and be way off the mark — reduced to stupid helicopter and car chases and too cool witty dialogue! (Cynical anyone? ha ha)
Just an example of the brilliance of this film:
“Shall I tell you one of the things I like most about your species? It is that, when things are at their worst, you are at your best.”
And one of my favorite lines:
“I… Look like Scott.. So. You not be… little bit jumpy”
Great Stuff!
Finally saw the Jeff Bridges’ American Masters bio and Karen Allen talked about his performance in Starman being a hybrid between a bird and a baby as far as how his character would drink the world in. Love that concept. You should totally get your hands on that bio if you can find it on PBS somewhere – so much great stuff about him and his movies.
Thanks I will search for that bio. It’s one of those films I really want to know more about the making of and such.