Mac and Me

Mac and Me is truly a turd. We didn't like it at all. Sorry about that.

The movie fails on so many levels especially for a children's movie. The complete lack of a relationship between the clone of ET's Elliot and MAC left us scratching our heads wondering why the characters try to do anything for MAC. All MAC and his family do to the protagonist family is fuck shit up. Twice the main child dies and twice he is saved by the "MACs" but he wouldn't remember either time as he was clearly dead, so one can't use that as an argument.

The script suffers from the typical bad movie staple of too many rewrites so the plot is pretty lost. But what the filmmakers failed to do was rewrite the entire script instead of just sections. There are places in the movie where there were clear tie ins to other scenes that were either scrapped or rewritten. Why does the family know that the government is on the lookout for spooky aliens? When does MAC get his name? When does the family decide to help the MACs? Too many gaping holes in the story isn't fun, even for bad movie lovers. It is just frustrating from an artistic standpoint and goes back into the "Kids are dumb; they won't notice" idea often put forth by studio executives.

There are a couple of highlights here. The way too big of an explosion at the end (yes there is explosions), the incredible fake dummy work, a sprinkling of nanners stunts (the stunt man who rode a wheelchair into oncoming traffic has some huge nuts), a Teen Witchesque dance scene and an untold body count give a enough fun to make it to the end of the film, but then THAT happens (see below)...

MAC's family...oh boy. We get that they are from a different planet and that cultures are going to be different. But the intelligence demonstrated by the MACs is painful. We all believe that the entire species of MACs suffer from low intellect or (more likely) that MAC's family are the "bayou people" of their planet. The rest of the aliens are probably a thriving culture with transwarp technology, advanced medicine, and even pants! But the MACs that get brought to Earth demonstrate the smarts of a box of hair. "Don't help them!" one might shout at the screen. "These dirt lovers are a menace to society!"

Which leads us to the most frustrating part of this film. The end. *Spoilers* In the end, the MACs aren't sent back to their planet where they belong. Instead they are indoctrinated into Western culture ("I'll put that on my credit card"), pass the US Citizen's Test, and drive away (with full attire now that appears to be designed with the 50's nuclear family motif) in a pink Lincoln convertible. "We'll be back!" flashes in a comic book style thought bubble. No you won't! It's infuriating and ruins everything else that is good in the movie.

We can't in good conscience recommend Mac and Me. It's just too damn anger-inducing. 

Individual Ratings:

Over the top action:
Cheesy effects:
Horrendous acting:
Laugh-out-loud-ability:
Ridiculous stunts:
Gratuitous nudity:
Memorable one-liners:

Overall Ratings:

Good Movie Quality:
Bad Movie Quality: