Starman Review
★★★★☆ John Carpenter switches gears, and Jeff Bridges is out of this world in Starman, a fun fusion of sci-fi and road trip movie elevated by a surprisingly emotional centre.
Around 1981, Columbia Pictures had two very similar movies. Both involved a strange alien visitor forming an unlikely bond in an attempt to get home. But Columbia passed on the “Disney-like” Night Skies in favour of Starman’s more adult-focused fare. The rejected former would go on to find a new studio and a new title: E.T. The Extraterrestrial, a film that, by the time of Starman’s eventual release in 1984, was a worldwide smash, a pop-culture phenomenon and the most financially successful movie of the time.
For an industry with a long and documented history of piss-poor decision-making, this is surely one of the biggest gaffes of all time.
Starman did nowhere near the same kind of box office numbers as its stratospherically famous counterpart, but its failure is no reflection of its quality. Quite the opposite, actually.
The plot goes a little something like this: After intercepting the Voyager 2 space probe with its gold disk of greetings and music, a non-humanoid alien travels to Earth, crash-landing in Wisconsin and taking the form of Jenny Hayden’s (Karen Allen — Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc) recently deceased husband, Scott (Jeff Bridges — Tron, The Big Lebowski).
Determining Earth to be a hostile environment, the alien clone of Scott and a terrified Jenny embark on a cross-country trip, racing to a rendezvous with his mothership in Arizona. As they travel, Scott begins to understand humanity and the wonders of life, while Jenny, still grieving for her lost partner, finds comfort in her unlikely new companion. Hot on their tail, however, are the NSA and SETI, determined to prevent the alien visitor’s escape by any means necessary.
In lesser hands, Starman could’ve been a dud. It’s a silly premise, but Bridges and Allen, under the typically excellent direction of John Carpenter (The Thing, Halloween), make it work. Bridges absolutely deserved his Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, almost bird-like in a convincing physical performance that stays comfortably away from the overacting trap so many have fallen into when playing similar roles.
Allen is equally great in a quieter role, carrying much of the film’s emotional weight as a grieving widow miraculously given a chance to find peace and closure. The two have wonderful chemistry together, combining to deliver tender moments in the film’s final act that come with a surprising amount of emotional weight.
It’s nowhere near the “I’m a grown man crying at the end of E.T.” levels of feels, but it’s not far off — particularly if you’re someone who, like me, has recently started a family.
Carpenter clearly relished the opportunity to do something a little lighter following an early career spent making cynical action and horror movies. His version of “Amblin entertainment” is pretty spot on but still retains his usual style, particularly evident in his framing of shots.
The film is most Carpenter-y with the awesome Scott “birth”, a mostly practical effects sequence that somehow feels suitable for family viewing, and yet not too far off from the gross body horror that made The Thing such a demented riot.
It can feel mechanical in its storytelling at times, but for the most part, Starman is a delightful gem of the science fiction genre, a film big on heart with excellent performances, visuals that still look great, and a memorable score. E.T. remains adored to this day, and quite rightly so, but Carpenter’s under-appreciated classic deserves a lot more love than it currently gets.
Originally published at michaelkenny.uk
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