Ever Seen It: *batteries not included

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster hit Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and his higher grossing hit E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), may have sparked some affinity for Aliens in his world of imagination. For in 1985 he found a cute little story about robotic aliens that he liked so much, he decided to have it made into a theatrical release (instead of the TV show it was planned for). Two years later, *batteries not included was released under the direction of Matthew Robbins (who has a cameo roll in Close Encounters), starring Hume Cronyn (an actor probably best known for his television acting).
The film didn't do amazingly in theaters, grossing approximately 33,000,000 domestically and 32,000,000 in the rest of the world. This comes at little surprise to me. 1) The film's genre is terribly difficult to determine. It looks a great deal like a comedy, but the acting makes it a drama, yet it includes crazy alien robots... 2) The quality of the formal techniques is sub-par. The lighting is almost all high key, and too high key for that. 3) The story is simple, quick, predictable, and ludicrous. The building is going to be demolished to make way for a sky-scraper (which reminds me of Pixars 2009 movie UP), leaving the residents with nothing to do but hope for the best. When some aliens who can fix material objects show up, it only makes sense what will happen in the end (I won't spoil it though, if you can't figure it out). And 4) The actors aren't very well-known, and their acting isn't the greatest.
The film tends to drift into more theatrical performances. Of course, it doesn't help that the main actor is from television, nor that they are all no-name actors (besides Jessica Tandy who really gives a good performance). Many of the lines are cheesy, or simply wouldn't be said in those situations. And many of the situations wouldn't occur (I'm not talking about the robotic aliens...). The film had some unique aspects to it, but something about the execution of the story and the layout of the plot didn't suit the expectations Spielberg has left his audience with.
Generally though, I wasn't bored by the movie, nor was I overly enthralled. It has it's moments, be them heartwarming, silly, or just plain old corny, they were there. Recommendation? No need to see it, unless you enjoy watching cheesy effects and getting that sweet sense of nostalgia. (It is like watching Tron!)