Starman (1984)

Despite John Carpenter's current reputation at this point in the 1980s he was running into big trouble,  getting into creative conflicts with the major studios and looking at an uncertain future.  The Thing had widely been panned by critics for what they considered excessive violence and became a box office failure.  Christine did better financially, but didn't win him any new fans among the press.  

Feeling his ability to make movies was in jeopardy he decided to do a mainstream film and, in this case, it was one produced by Michael Douglas that had already seen a number of directors come and go.  Douglas had been attempting to get the movie made since 1979 and, though it says the script was by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, truth was it had been doctored quite a bit even up to Carpenter directing.  Under his guidance the movie was pared down to a road movie and a love story with Carpenter aiming to show some of the beauty of the United States at a time when things were pretty dire.  

Having encountered the Voyager II probe a race of aliens sends an observer to Earth to respond the open greeting.  The real greeting, it turns out, is to be immediately shot down and crash land in Wisconsin.  He takes on the body of Scott Hayden (Jeff Bridges), the deceased husband of a still-grieving Jenny (Karen Allen).  Needing to get to his original landing spot in Arizona in three days to rendezvous with his species' mothership or face death in Earth's environment, he embarks with an initially non-cooperative Jenny toward his destination.

His presence becomes known to NSA agent George Fox (Richard Jaeckel), who uses his resources to pursue the alien, as well as SETI scientist Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith), who hopes to speak with him.  Concerned for Jenny's well-being a number of roadblocks are set, leading the pair taking a roundabout path to Meteor Crater to get him home.

The early 1980s was the right time for this type of story, coming on the heels of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.  Audiences couldn't get enough of friendly aliens after the years of films showing them as invaders and Carpenter was more than happy to make something that was the tonal opposite of The Thing.  The plan worked, the movie became a hit and Jeff Bridges got an Oscar nomination for his performance.  It even spun off into a television show that lasted one season, from 1986 to 1987, and served a sequel to the movie. 

Before seeing the film I read the novelization by Alan Dean Foster which I am sure was based on an earlier version of the script but still had a good part of the politics removed.  Thus, I was intrigued by the story going in despite the romance in the middle of it which, despite a few awkward lines, pretty much works.  

What also worked, and what surprised me quite a bit, were the special effects.  Many of Carpenter's movies have great effects despite the fact that they aren't high budget films, and that's mainly down to who he works with.  I do think that the one scene where the Starman ages from adolescent to adult hasn't stood the test of time, and the one where he saves Jenny from an explosion looks a bit ropey, but the rest work.  Once I saw who was behind it, which was ILM plus Rick Baker, Stan Winston and Dick Smith, it made sense, especially since this is one of those times he was given a budget.  

Despite being a director for hire this time around Carpenter still made Starman his own.  Many of his usual techniques are on display, including long pans that take advantage of the wide screen as well periods of silence to let the action tell the story rather than relying on heavy use of dialog.  

Despite the success of Starman his next movie, Big Trouble in Little China, was once again a financial failure despite it also becoming a beloved '80s movie decades after the fact.  However, it may not have been as good as it is without Starman's success.  It's a credit to Carpenter that he made such a good film when all he really needed to do was show up.  Having Bridges and Karen Allen fronting the film helped, but this could have been a hollow cash-in.  Instead it is still one of the best movies of the '80s and proof that Carpenter, in his prime, could have pretty much made any movie he wanted.

Starman (1984)

Time: 115 minutes

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel

Director: John Carpenter