Cocoon

Starring: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Clint Howard
Directed by: Ron Howard
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
1985

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Three retirement home friends (Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn) swim in a strange pool filled with odd-looking boulders. They discover that after the swim, they are rejuvenated- and miraculously healed. Meanwhile, a boat captain (Steve Guttenberg) helps a strange group of people led by the mysterious Walter (Brian Dennehy) to recover the boulders (or cocoons) from deep under the ocean. He soon discovers that there is something otherworldly about the whole situation.

Review:

Tim: Cocoon is definitely a different type of movie. This is an alien movie that blends adventure, drama, science fiction, romance, and comedy all together to form a unique, interesting movie that also manages to ask some really big questions. Besides the events on screen, this is a movie that meditates on alien life, old age, and the promise of immortality. It is impressive how deep this movie is once you dive below the surface. All that being said, Ron Howard gives us a good movie, but it still leaves something to be desired. The movie goes far- but not nearly far enough.

The story is very interesting and is split between the story of the three elderly friends (and their friends), and Steve Guttenberg's story. I like having the movie split between these two stories (which are somewhat connected throughout the movie), then having both come together for the climax. However, this also creates some problems. During different point, Guttenberg's story is more interesting, so it is disruptive to jump to the older folks. Then, the retirement home gets interesting, and we jump back to Guttenberg. I wish that the transitions were a little cleaner.

The cast is very good. I liked Don Ameche as one of the retirement home residents. He brought a great deal of energy to the role, and it is impressive considering he was 75+ during the filming of this movie. He comes across as believable once he's been rejuvenated. However, I have to admit I am surprised that he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role. He is definitely good, but I don't think he was nearly as good as Wilford Brimley, who was nominated for absolutely nothing. It is interesting that Brimley was only around 50 years old when he played a much older man. Brimley gives an incredible performance, and manages some of the most powerful and emotional moments of the entire film. I wish he was recognized for his excellent performance. I also loved Steve Guttenberg. Guttenberg is a bit of a goofy guy, but has such an enjoyable charisma on screen that he is instantly likeable. I really enjoyed his performance, and I thought he brought some much needed levity and humor to the film. I wish he had a more impressive career.

The rest of the cast is good, too. Hume Cronyn is good, although I liked Ameche and Brimley far better. Brian Dennehy is very good as the alien leader. He gives an impressive performance- both appearing very human, but definitely extraterrestrial at the same time. It was not an easy feat to pull off, but he does it. He was very important to the film.

Cocoon is an interesting idea and features some big ideas. It also has some very impressive special effects for its time. In fact, it won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The aliens are scary and awe-inspiring at the same time, and the alien ship is quite impressive as well. I really enjoyed all these elements. However, there are also some flaws as well. There were opportunities for this film to be even more powerful. The relationship between Wilford Brimley and his grandson was one of the best aspects of this film, and created the most powerful, lasting, emotional moments. However, this relationship could have been developed more, and I believe would have been even more powerful. I could feel the emotion welling up, but it never got to the boiling point. In addition, I have to admit the film is a bit predictable. This is an inspiring, uplifting film, but it plays out pretty much as you would expect.

When you look at it all together, Cocoon is a solid, entertaining movie that does have some emotional elements to it. It is a thought provoking, occasionally powerful movie, and Ron Howard ensures that it is entertaining as well. While flawed, it does feature a good cast. I enjoyed this movie for its uniqueness, even though I lamented it could have been even better.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Cocoon: The Return, K-PAX, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial