Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Mac and Me Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 12, 2018

There have been many movies trying to cash-in on the success of 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” but few have been quite as obvious as 1988’s “Mac and Me.” The producers are determined to replicate Steven Spielberg’s box-office-busting success, coming up with a slight variation on the formula of the lonely boy and his lost alien pal. However, instead of using creativity, money, and magic to shape the feature, co-writer/director Stewart Raffill marches forward with a highly bizarre rip-off that’s hanging on for dear life, throwing anything at the screen to see what might appeal to the target demographic of young kids. “Mac and Me” is awful and infamously so, with longstanding cult appeal helping to cushion the crushingly bad ideas found in the endeavor.

After being sucked into a NASA probe on their home world, a family of aliens are brought to Earth, with the youngest, MAC, separated from his parents and older sibling, left to hide from humans on his own. Making his way into suburban California, MAC meets Eric (Jade Calegory), a physically disabled kid who’s recently arrived from Illinois, getting used the area with his mother, Janet (Christine Ebersole), and brother, Michael (Jonathan Ward). Trying to communicate with the frightened little visitor, Eric attempts to decode MAC’s pleas to help find his missing family, and while his quest is aided by neighbor Debbie (Lauren Stanley), government forces are closing in, looking to reclaim the escapee.

One can almost hear the moneymen demanding creative choices while watching “Mac and Me,” which tries to mimic “E.T.” by creating another homely alien with a limited vocabulary (communicating through whistling) lost on Earth. Unfortunately, the big-eyed sweetheart presented here is severely limited in movement, making it nearly impossible to figure out what MAC is thinking during his scenes. He’s mostly an observer, but he’s written as a magician in many ways, with powers of electrical control and familial connection displayed, but rendered meaningless by the stiffness of the puppetry. MAC’s clan is nightmarish looking in many ways, but Raffill doesn’t soften the harshness of the rubber outfits, putting all his faith in a cute factor that never comes, while the rest of the cast has the challenge of creating urgency around the alien mission, which is an impossible task when the precious cargo of the plot is just a bunch of blank stares with anus-like openings for mouths. Out of everything that’s bewildering about “Mac and Me,” alien design is the most perplexing.

“Mac and Me” tries to build tension via government pursuit of MAC, who eventually settles in with Eric, becoming besties with this caring human. The screenplay doesn’t build toward anything singular, taking time to enjoy tangents, including MAC’s mischief in his new home (which he destroys and rebuilds, also taking a neighborhood joyride on a kid-sized vehicle), and there’s a mid-movie trip to McDonald’s, which is defined as basic birthday party celebration, but Raffill brings out the big guns, turning the trip into a full-blown musical number, complete with breakdancing, a Ronald McDonald cameo, and MAC dressed up as a teddy bear, dancing around the building. It’s absurdity, but at least it’s lively, which the rest of “Mac and Me” isn’t, getting bogged down with “E.T.” replication and cheap sentiment.

Mac and Me Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.84:1 aspect ratio) presentation is a fine attempt from Shout Factory to give "Mac and Me" renewed life on Blu-ray. The company is working with an older scan of the movie, but detail isn't bad, and while slight softness is present, textures remain on alien skin and features, delivering a strange vision of iffy production achievements. Costuming is passably fibrous and locations retain depth. Interior decoration is open for study, permitting McDonald's fans a chance to study the big dance scene in full (and find Jennifer Aniston in the crowd with newfound ease). Colors are agreeable, with defined primaries handed a boost on clothing and signage, and suburban California greenery comes across pleasingly. Skintones, alien and otherwise, register as intended. Delineation is acceptable. Source is in fine shape. Some weirdness is detected in the opening alien world sequence, with solarization seeping into the image, but this may be an inherent issue.

Mac and Me Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers a surprisingly steady listening event for "Mac and Me," with soundtrack selection retaining their poppy beats and sharp instrumentation, and scoring selections are clear and true. Dialogue exchanges are appropriately defined, capturing the range of child and adult performances, while alien whistling and assorted chirps emerge without distortion. Sound effects are basic but communicative, and atmospherics handle group activities well.

Mac and Me Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features co-writer/director Stewart Raffill and film historian Marc Edward Heuck.

• "That Little Mac in the Sky" (15:13, HD) sits down with Raffill to discuss "Mac and Me," though the helmer has very little interest in addressing the stranger aspects of the picture. Raffill traces his initial involvement in the production, hired by producer R.J. Louis, who had a crew assembled but no script, forcing the director to create the movie while making it. Raffill discusses casting, which required the hiring of a real physically disabled boy for the lead role, and budgetary challenges, forcing him to pick and choose what he wanted the camera to see to bring costs down. Puppetry is examined, describing what it took to bring Mac and his family to life, along with full costume woes. Again, Raffill doesn't dish about the creative process, preferring to stick with technical achievements, including the hiring of composer Alan Silvestri, described here as a "new guy," even though he'd already scored "Back to the Future" and "Romancing the Stone" at this point.

• "Down to Earth" (4:11, HD) is a brief interview with songwriter Allee Willis, who opens with a list of credits (she co-wrote the theme for "Friends"), which is helpful. Willis shares her involvement with "Mac and Me," offering an anecdote about the problematic recording of an Ashford and Simpson song, and detailing her ignorance of the movie's cult appeal.

• Still Gallery (4:50) collects film stills, publicity shots, and BTS pictures.

• T.V. Spots (2:08, SD) offer four different marketing approaches for the film.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:42, SD) and a Home Video Trailer (:56, SD) are included.

Mac and Me Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After bombing during its initial theatrical release, "Mac and Me" has remained in cult appreciation circles thanks to Paul Rudd (who always showed a harrowing clip of a runaway wheelchair during promotional duties on various Conan O'Brien talk shows) and fans of McDonald's dance parties. The picture really is weird and shameless, with many "label to camera" product placements (Coca-Cola being the Reese's Pieces of the film) and a climax that's highly inappropriate for a kids movie, while the very end of the effort promises a sequel that was never made. I'll try to be positive and praise the casting of a real physically disabled boy in the lead role, which is not a common occurrence in Hollywood, and there's something oddly comforting about an immigration theme slapped on the end of the feature, with Raffill making a bootleg turn into American Dream aspirations after 90 minutes of fear-based plotting. But these are morsels of goodness in a seriously mismanaged production.