Cocoon

A lightly entertaining comedy-drama from Ron Howard. Interesting plot that isn't very watertight. Feels very loose and slapped-together. Whole movie, in fact, lacks the gravitas necessary to make it a classic. Starts to feel like a chase-caper toward the end. Performances are so-so. Wilfred Brimley does a solid job and Don Ameche got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and most of the performances are fine, just some seem very unconvincing. Tawnee Welch is particularly bad, and Steve Guttenberg should really stick to B-grade comedies. So, quite disappointing for such a well-known movie. However, not all bad. It keeps up a decent pace, is never dull, concept is reasonably original (if not sound) and does pose some interesting questions about life. Watchable.

Aliens, disguised as humans, rent Steve Guttenberg's boat to help them recover some alien cocoons from the ocean. Then they store them in the bottom of a swimming pool next door to a retirement home. A group of oldsters from the retirement home take a swim in the pool and find themselves feeling youthful and reinvigorated. Charming, pleasant, and touching film from Ron Howard that's a showcase for a fine cast of elderly actors. Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton, and the other oldsters are all great but Wilford Brimley is the standout. It could be argued Steve Guttenberg is only in the movie to give it some youth appeal, to say nothing of his 'sort of romance' with Tahnee Welch (daughter of Raquel). But he doesn't detract from things at all and is likable throughout the picture. It's a truly unique and wonderful movie. One of the many classics made in the '80s, a decade that is vastly underrated by film snobs.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, for a variety of reasons: A) It treats the theme of aging with such tenderness and doesn't reduce the older characters to props, B) It evokes questions about the supernatural/the possibility of life "out there," and C) The location (Florida) looks so pleasant and inviting. I have loved this film since I was a child in the 80s, and it is still one that I watch over and over (and I still cry at the same spots every time). I have to also say that--in my opinion at least--the characteristic feature of every great movie is a great score/theme melody. Cocoon definitely has it, yet without feeling "epic" and overpowering; the same plucked melody chimes in quietly at all the right moments in the film, lending a profound and quiet connection with each character (even the extra-terrestrial ones). There are moments in this film where, if you don't shed a tear, there must be something wrong with you. Highly recommended film :-)

Six elderly people (Oscar-winner Don Ameche in more of a lifetime achievement award, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton and Gwen Verdon) start swimming at a locked up housed swimming pool that has strange pods in it and then start doing things that contradict their ages. Of course the pods really house aliens from another planet and they are the reasons for the "fountain of youth". Ron Howard's sympathetic and clever direction saves this uneven project that starts out as a pure comedy and then turns into a rough drama as the clock ticks away. Brian Dennehy and Steve Guttenberg shine in smart supporting roles. 4 stars out of 5.