Movie Review: Harry And The Hendersons (1987)

A family-oriented fantasy comedy with some dramatic elements, Harry And The Hendersons carries an environment-friendly message in a fun and frantic package featuring a lovable monster.

Amateur hunter George Henderson (John Lithgow), his wife Nancy (Melinda Dillon) and their kids are on a family trip in the Northwest wilderness when they inadvertently strike a Big Foot-like creature with their car. Thinking that the oversized animal is dead they transport him back home to Seattle. But Big Foot (actor Kevin Peter Hall as the suit performer) is very much alive. He wakes up and unleashes chaos and destruction on the family home, before settling down and developing an affinity towards the family.

The Hendersons name their new houseguest Harry. He demonstrates caring emotions and proves to be a vegetarian and lover of animals, and his empathy rubs off on George. Meanwhile obsessed big game hunter Jacques LaFleur (David Suchet) and cranky academic turned crappy museum curator Dr. Wallace Wrightwood (Don Ameche) are desperately searching for Harry and closing in on the Hendersons. When Harry goes loose in Seattle, George has to find a way to save his new friend and restore order to his household.

Directed by William Dear, Harry And The Hendersons is a lightweight but enjoyable variation on E.T. This time it's the mythical Big Foot that proves to be more friendly pet than alien threat, but otherwise the same primary theme of learning to live together despite (huge, in this case) superficial differences dominates Harry.

Dear also co-wrote the script, and it tilts towards some broad slapstick comedy, as well as a more clearly defined villain in the form of dogged hunter LaFleur. But as usual the more interesting quests are the quiet ones, and George's transformative journey is what ultimately matters. He starts the film as an avid hunter teaching his young son all about guns and killing animals. Along with his vegetarianism Harry's reaction to all the stuffed animals on the family walls is an alternative view of nature, nudging George towards a change of heart.

Harry And The Henderson is aided by a terrific Rick Baker monster creation. With his expressive face and lumbering stance, it's easy to develop affection towards Harry. Big Foot creates his own mischievous personality and helps carry the film over it's rather saggy midsection.

The performances are what can be expected in a relatively modest family entertainment package. Overacting is the flavour of the day from all involved, and the lack of nuance sometimes lowers the enjoyment level to sitcom standards. Not surprisingly, the film did spawn a television series.

Staying well within modest ambitions, Harry And The Hendersons is happy, harmless and hairy fun.

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The Movies Of Melinda Dillon

All movies starring Melinda Dillon and reviewed on the Ace Black Blog are linked below:

Slap Shot (1977)

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)

Absence Of Malice (1981)

Harry And The Hendersons (1987)

The Prince Of Tides (1991)

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

How To Make An American Quilt (1995)

Magnolia (1999)

Reign Over Me (2007)

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The Index of Movie Stars is here.

Movie Review: Absence Of Malice (1981)

In the afterglow of the newspaper industry's greatest movie triumph as captured in All The President's Men, the other, darker powers of the press received a grilling in Absence Of Malice. The destructive powers of wayward journalism are examined in a partially muddled film that gets sidetracked too easily and trips over its own attempted cleverness.

Newspaper journalist Megan Carter (Sally Field) gets an inside scoop about the investigation into missing union boss Joey Diaz: the police task force is focusing on Michael Gallagher (Paul Newman), the son of a notorious underworld crime boss, as a possible suspect. Carter runs with the story, naming Gallagher despite no evidence linking him to the Diaz disappearance. With union bosses refusing to deal with him while he is under a cloud, Gallagher's legitimate business is ruined.

Intent on finding out how she got her story, Gallagher pursues Carter, but she refuses to reveal her sources. Gallagher's friend Teresa Peron (Melinda Dillon) steps forward to reveal that she can vouch for Gallagher's innocence, but a tragedy is triggered when her story is made public, further straining the relationship between Michael and Megan. Nevertheless they embark on a romance, while Gallagher hatches a plan to turn the tables on the press, the Diaz case investigators, and the District Attorney's office.

Absence Of Malice raises a few good points, grappling with serious questions as to when and why does a story become fair game, the merits of the public good against the rights to privacy, and the bumpy relationship between criminal investigations and the press.

But the film also suffers from self-inflicted wounds, director Sydney Pollack uncharacteristically allowing many distractions to reduce the overall impact. Cramming an awkward romance, lazy journalism, a Hoffa-style missing union boss mystery, a scandalous abortion, a press-triggered suicide, sprinkles of commentary about feminism, and finally a clumsy turning-of-the-tables sting results in a narrative that spreads in all directions, none of them effective.

There are long scenes of dialogue between Michael and Megan that start nowhere and spiral only downwards, with their romance artificially sparking regardless of the lack of wit and their continuous bickering. Newman and Field never find anything resembling chemistry, and that the stuttering affair between them ends up occupying the most amount of screen time is evidence of the film's lost focus.

Newman is stony-faced but at least convincing as a private man thrust into the unwanted public limelight. Field struggles throughout, simply lame as a journalist who turns opportunities into mistakes, demonstrating poor judgement at every turn. Field is equally implausible as a romantic partner for Newman, doing absolutely nothing to gain his affection after brutalizing his life.

The Absence Of Malice supporting cast is strong and helps to carry the film through its rougher patches. A highlight is Wilford Brimley as an Assistant Attorney General and designated mess cleaner, memorably bursting into the story in the final 15 minutes with a formidable energy. Melinda Dillon has a short but effectively melodramatic role, a woman with all the doors in her life already closed and the final window about to be slammed shut. Bob Balaban as the Diaz task force leader and Don Hood as the District Attorney add single-mindedness and some self-righteous sleaze.

Absence Of Malice tries to be an important film about serious topics. It succeeds sporadically, but bites off more than it can chew and chokes on some of the essential nutrients.

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