Brian Dennehy, Wilford Brimley and Steve Guttenberg in the Ron Howard movie ‘Cocoon’

Ron Howard wasn’t the original director slated for the movie Cocoon (1985), though this Richard D. Zanuck production most certainly crossed the finish line with the actor who was Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham. Today’s movie review brings you a science fiction comedy drama of elderly people rejuvenated by aliens.

(From left, Don Ameche as Art Selwyn, Hume Cronyn as Joe Finley and Wilford Brimley as Ben Luckett in the Ron Howard movie Cocoon).

Three of the men underpinning the discovery of a hypothetical fountain of youth include Don Ameche as Art Selwyn, Hume Cronyn as Joe Finley and Wilford Brimley as Ben Luckett. The men stumble upon a swimming pool rented by a group of aliens from the planet Antarea, where the three trespass and discover rejuvenation.

(From left, Brian Dennehy as Walter, Tahnee Welch as Kitty, Mike Nomad as Doc and Tyrone Power Jr. as Pillsbury in the Ron Howard movie Cocoon).

The Antarean aliens, renting a pool, and the oceanic charter of Jack Bonner include Tahnee Welch as Kitty, Brian Dennehy as Walter, Mike Nomad as Doc and Tyrone Power Jr. as Pillsbury. It’s Walter who rents the boat service from Jack Bonner as portrayed by Steve Guttenberg. While the gentlemen are rejuvenating, romantic feelings develop between Kitty and Bonner.

(Steve Guttenberg as Jack Bonner in the Ron Howard movie Cocoon).

Romantic feelings are rejuvenating among the ladies and their elderly husbands and their wives / significant others, as portrayed by Gwen Verdon, Jessica Tandy and Maureen Stapleton. Jack Gilford and Herta Ware offer a parallel storyline adjacent to the three other couples worth the investment.

(From left, Barret Oliver as David and Wilford Brimley as Ben Luckett in the Ron Howard movie Cocoon).

The role of David as grandson to Ben Luckett offers a sweet exploration to another, terrestrial form of rejuvenation for grandparents that the world has offered for a long time. Barret Oliver portrays the role sweetly alongside Wilford Brimley, making for a fond memory for my connection to my own grandfather.

(From left, producer Richard D. Zanuck and director Ron Howard on the set of the Ron Howard movie Cocoon).

Cocoon is many sweet and charming things, yet up to the level of a film such as E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982) it is not. Relationships looked at through a lens of innocence with some overlapping content of a borderline mature nature are offered with dramatic moments and a deliberately comedic sensibility. That the movie chose to focus on a retirement home group was a refreshing take on traditional cinematic fare. For these qualities coupled with charm, I give Ron Howard‘s Cocoon 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, April 21, 2021