Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith
Running Time: 115 minutes
Synopsis: In response to greetings carried by 1977's Voyager 2, an alien visits Earth and crash lands near the secluded Wisconsin house of widow Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen). The alien adopts the form of Jenny's deceased husband Scott (Jeff Bridges), and together they embark on a cross-country journey to Arizona for a mother ship rendevouz. Along the way Jenny educates the alien about human habits, and they fall in love while being pursued by a scientist (Charlie Martin Smith) and a less welcoming government agent (Richard Jaeckel).
What Works Well: This adult-oriented variation on E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial benefits from the learning journey of a benevolent but superior alien. Basic language skills, driving, washrooms, and eating all present opportunities for cute lessons in life on Earth, and provide openings for wonder and humour. Karen Allen delivers an affecting performance as Jenny evolves from victim to teacher to lover. The gap between the expressed desire to welcome strangers and the actual treatment they receive provides a potent thematic undercurrent.
What Does Not Work As Well: The fantastical premise is reduced to a mundane road trip with iffy special effects, while loose plotting skips over fundamentals, including the purpose of the alien's visit. Jenny displays a stunning lack of curiosity about the visitor's home planet, and falls in love due to impersonation. Jeff Bridges' bird-like head movements get tiresome, as does the inability of his supposedly quick learning superior being to stop referring to his new love as jennyhayden. The secondary authority characters are unrefined representations of the good (the scientist), the bad (the government agent), and the stupid (a couple of police officers).
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