Starman (film)



"Mark Shermin: "Have people from your world been here before?" Starman: "Before. Yes, we are interested in your species." Mark Shermin: "You mean you're some kind of anthropologist? Is that what you're doing here? Just checking us out?" Starman: "You are a strange species, not like any other... and you'd be surprised how many there are. Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you?""

John Carpenter's Starman is a kind of E.T. for adults, played as a Road Movie of all things. Fans will argue that it's a beautiful, beautiful love story between a man from the stars (Jeff Bridges) and an Earthling woman (Karen Allen) while dissenters will argue that it's a mediocre Cliché Storm.

Starman arrives on Earth as a result of Earth having transmitted welcome messages to any alien life, and clones himself an environment suit -- the naked form of Jenny Hayden's dead husband. She is very freaked out by this, and at first only wants to get away from the freaky dead ringer for her dead husband. But she (eventually) agrees to take him to Arizona, where he has his only chance to meet up with the other aliens and go home. Naturally, this leads to a long road trip (Starman has gotten dressed by this point) involving a lot of learning about life on Earth, bonding and ultimately romance.

As usual, the military has it in for friendly aliens. They are led by the hard-as-nails George Fox (Richard Jaeckel) who wants to dissect or kill Starman. His obligatory Morality Pet Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith) vainly attempts to convince him to do otherwise.

The movie was followed by a Walking the Earth television series starring Robert Hays of Airplane! fame.

"Fox: Shermin, you are finished. I will have you eviscerated for this. Shermin: Well, as much as I hate to stoop to symbolism... (Shermin takes a puff from cigar and blows smoke into Fox's face)"
 * Alien Among Us
 * But I Can't Be Pregnant: After he and Jenny made love on the train Starman proclaims "I gave you a baby tonight." Jenny says that this is impossible because she is incapable of having a child. Starman explains that he used his powers to alleviate this.
 * The Eighties: Retconned to The Seventies in the TV show so that Jenny's kid could be a teen in the contemporary 1980s.
 * Fish Out of Water: Starman, obviously.
 * Full-Name Basis: Starman does this with Jenny.
 * Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Shermin blows smoke in Fox's face after arranging for Jenny and Starman to get away.
 * Green Aesop: Starman doesn't approve of deer hunting.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: The Dude arives on Earth and falls in love with Marion Ravenwood.
 * Humanity Is Infectious
 * Human Aliens: Starman takes on human form while on Earth, his natural form being a floating blob of light.
 * Humans Are Bastards: As usual.
 * Humans Are Special: As usual.
 * Klingons Love Shakespeare: Starman can't get enough of Dutch apple pie, to the point that eating it is nearly a sexual experience for him.
 * Naked on Arrival: Starman.
 * Quizzical Tilt: Starman spends most of the movie this way given he is learning the human experience as he goes, and everything is therefore bewildering and confusing to him.
 * Recycled: the Series: The aforementioned short-lived TV show.
 * Second Face Smoke: Shermin does this to Fox after allowing Starman to escape.


 * Spheroid Dropship: The ship that comes to pick up Starman at the end.
 * Super Human Trafficking
 * They Would Cut You Up: Jenny and Shermin's concerns of what awaits Starman if Fox catches him.
 * We Come in Peace, Shoot to Kill: Played rather Anviliciously.
 * What Is This Thing You Call Love?