Episode 94 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" has
been a part of the world's consciousness since it debuted in
1982, but when you take off those nostalgia goggles and look at
it with fresh eyes, you'll realize it's nothing more than a story
about a boy and his dog, a horror movie aimed at kids, and,
strangely, a story with strong Jesus Christ parallels.


This movie gave us many things: Reese's Pieces (one of the dozens
of product placements in this), Drew Barrymore, the Amblin logo,
and, of course, "Mac and Me." 


Henry Thomas plays the main character, a child named Elliott, who
creepily gets taken over by an alien botanist who was left behind
on Earth by his species. Elliott enjoys not dissecting frogs,
screaming, and being mentally brainwashed by a beer-drinking,
Speak-&-Spell-ing, wax-candy-eating monster. 


Dee Wallace plays Elliott's frazzled single mother, who is
falling apart because her husband recently left her and then took
off to Mexico with some woman. Her likes include: barely miss
seeing E.T. at every step, dressing up as a sexy cat, and leaving
children unattended. Her dislikes include: Mexico, pizza, and
kids showing up minutes late of their vague curfews. 


Robert MacNaughton plays Elliot's older brother, Michael, who
looks like a mix of Charlie Bucket, Eddie Haskell and Steve
Buscemi. He helps Elliott hide E.T. and heroically aides in his
ultimate survival and homecoming. Michael loves Dungeons &
Dragons, Space Invaders, yet also plays on the football team. A
real Renaissance Man. 


Drew Barrymore plays Elliott's little sister, Gertie, who says
cute things, teaches E.T. to talk, and agrees to allow E.T. to
take her place while they pretend to go trick-or-treating. 


And Peter Coyote plays an unnamed (and mostly unseen) government
official who is hunting E.T. and has a bunch of keys attached to
his belt. 


Join us as we dive deep into all the product placement in this
movie, discuss Spielberg's daddy issues and really dissect this
whole "E.T. is Jesus" thing.


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This episode is sponsored by InMate.


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