Batteries Not Included is a 1988 movie I remember enjoying when I was growing up and I was truly shocked to find it in a second hand store last week.

“When an unscrupulous real estate developer sends thugs to get rid of the last five tenants of a deteriorating apartment building, they need a miracle to save their building from demolition. One night, when all hope seems lost, tiny visitors from outer space mysteriously glide through their windows and begin to turn the tide with their magical powers. Filled with dazzling special effects, this amazing story of intergalactic warmth stars the acclaimed husband-and-wife team of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy as a pair of feisty long-term tenants whose faith is rewarded in ways they never expected.”

I don’t actually remember the beginnings of many of the movies from my childhood in the 1980s so it was rather odd to me when this movie started out with a montage of black and white photos. Those black and white photos and the era music to go with it told a story about the beginnings of a city and the people who dreamed and lived there. Those pictures told a story, showing how a hundred years ago, hardworking people built entire lives from scratch.

I think more and more about how much I miss movies and tv shows not dependent on their CGI to tell a story. This was back in the 1980s, when a lot of effects were still done through practical effects, lighting tricks, and creative camera angles, which I miss. I like the imagination used with practical effects and how much more real things feel to me when I watch some of these older movies because I know no one went back through with an airbrush and cleaned up all the societal expectations of “perfection”.

Everyone in this movie looked like a real human you could pass on the street. Most of the cast would be considered ineligible for starring movie roles these days because of their age and imperfections. Can you imagine modern movies with background characters who are balding, not skinny, older, or wearing non-designer clothes? Personally, I would like to see more of that.

Overall, I think this movie is going to be a two on my rating scale. I’m glad I bought it (used) and I might watch it again at some point in the future, but overall, I found it a little depressing because of how the modern world … well. It hasn’t exactly gotten better, especially in the housing market. I see more and more of my friends and people I know struggling just to survive and the biggest hurdle for everyone is housing. Those rich developers keep buying up properties, raising all the rents or mortgages, and trying to create worlds without “lesser” people so it’s really hard for me to watch a movie like this where a miracle does happen and those people got to keep their home. But I guess that’s why we watch fiction – it’s unrealistic and provides a sense of escapism, where we can all hope that maybe, we’ll be okay.

Batteries Not Included. Directed by Steven Spielberg, performances by Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, Universal Studios, 1988.