Sitting under the Eastern Plains stars the other night, and the occasional Leonid meteorite, my oldest daughter and I traded science fiction movie memories.
We flapped our jaws to keep warm, because it was bloody freezing out past Watkins, as the owls hooted and the coal trains rumbled by.
Carl Sagan’s “Contact,” one of the first movies I ever wrote about here, prompted a long discussion of plot details. Did Jodie Foster make contact with aliens, or not?
“Starman” came to mind, as I explained up the huge meteor crater in Arizona where that terrific film reaches its climax. I was surprised she’d never seen the classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and made a mental note to rent it again.
Then I mentioned “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” and even at age 17, my high school senior said, “I hate that movie! Too scary!”
And there’s an instance of trying a movie on your kids too soon. I think I showed “E.T.” to my girls when they were about 7 and 4, and the scene where the feds show up in moon suits and guns to investigate cute little E.T. was more than they could handle. I’ve never persuaded them to watch it since, not even the 14-year-old who thinks “Drag Me to Hell” is a laugh riot.
But for your own family, use the Leonids as a reason to try “E.T.” for any child over 9 or so. Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece stands up perfectly well for 27-year-old science fiction. E.T. made the vastness of space wonderfully — and terribly — personal. When E.T. grabs the flower pot and waddles up the ramp of his flying saucer to go home, hundreds of millions of hearts have soared with bittersweet reverence.
That’s the way we should feel about the stars: hopeful, and more than a bit in awe.
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”Rated: PG, for mild language and some intense threatening moments
Best suited for: Children about 9 years or older, and all families looking for a true classic
