From the Roku: Cocoon (1985)

Don't ask me why. I was in the mood for something light and frothy, and I happened to notice, for whatever reason, that this was on my Roku queue. Nothing is more light and frothy than a Ron Howard film. He has directed 25 or so movies. And, I mean, I would be lying if I didn't enjoy a few of them. But, and its been said before, but in all this time he has never developed a singular style-I mean he has definitely developed a style that is crowd pleasing, and one that can usually be relied on for a hit-for the most part. But there is never any sort of clear style throughout his career. Cocoon is pretty much like that, there is old people, there is aliens, and there is one of the great signifiers that we are in the eighties: it stars Steve Guttenberg. I wonder what it must be like to be human signpost/time capsule for a whole decade? It's an interesting relic to be sure: whats most interesting is that in a way it does make you contemplate getting older and what that means. Right now it means people getting married and having babies. 30 years from now its going to start meaning maybe dealing with assisted living situations and our friends dying. I think right here, even if it is as something as ludicrous as going to help space aliens, older people just want to feel like they are still vital and can still contribute something. Its predictable, sure, like most any Howard vehicle, but you can see why it was popular. Its fun though to see the older actors like Hume Cronyn, Wilford Brimley, Don Ameche, and Jessica Tandy seeming to have such a great time. Also, I am not sure I can remember seeing Brian Dennehy so restrained. I can see why Ron Howard has maintained his popularity for so long, he is somewhat bland and populist, and ultimately inoffensive and unobtrusive. With that he has scored enough hits to stay around and keep staying around. I feel like, though, I should be watching this on VHS in a basement or maybe someone's birthday party twenty-some-odd years ago. (He did throw me one curveball though: the old people fight youngsters, but they never breakdance like I thought they would. Spoiler!)