Mac and Me
PLOT:
A wheelchair-bound boy helps to reunite an earthbound alien with its extraterrestrial family in this shameless rip-off of Steven Spielberg’s E.T.. Separated from his parents shortly after arriving on planet Earth, a Mysterious Alien Creature (MAC) quickly strikes up a friendship with lonely Eric Cruise (former Easter Seals spokesman Jade Calegory). New to town and in need of a pal after losing his father, Eric discovers just how amazing the universe can be when mischievous MAC takes him on the adventure of a lifetime.
REVIEW:
Around the same time E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was released, some studio, had the brilliant idea of coming up with their own cute alien who befriends a lonely boy. This formula was tweaked a bit and worked really well years later in Flight of the Navigator, but Mac and Me is nothing more than a wannabe.
I won’t beat around the bush, this is by no means a good movie, but it does have some moments here and there that will keep you at least from wondering why you even bothered watching it in the first place.
The heartbreaking story of Mac and his family will tug at your heartstrings, but the levity that occurs between the time he is separated and hides out with the Cruises and the reunion with his parents.
As with every alien movie, the government wants to do nothing more than capture, dissect, study, and cover up the existence of said aliens. There is no exception here, and these guys serve as nothing more than a nuisance, really, rather than some sort of villains.
I will say, though, that the short dance sequence at McDonald’s was entertaining, but the scene shortly afterwards where Mac and Eric are fleeing the scene was almost straight out of E.T. Hell, I found myself half expecting them to take off and fly.
I must comment on the design of these mysterious alien creatures (MAC). If you remember sea monkeys, that is pretty much what these things look like. Somewhere I read that they were inspired by the alien creatures from the movie Ice Pirates, but I haven’t seen that yet.
So, what is the final verdict on Mac and Me. It is bad, but could be worse. As I said before, it seems to be nothing more than blatant rip off of E.T. coupled, as well as an advertisement for McDonald’s and Skittles. Ironically, when I was little, I got Skittles and Reese’s Pieces mixed up all the time. Should you see this? If you’re in the mood for a good family alien movie and can’t find E.T., then yes, otherwise, there is no real reason to see this.
2 out of 5 stars
