This past weekend I sat down to watch an old film – well, it was actually only made in the 80’s (1985 to be exact, and the sequel in 1988), but as that decade was over 20 years ago, that makes it old to me! Plus, I’m sure it would feel like an old movie to my very young nieces and nephews.
Anyway, the film I was watching was “Cocoon,” followed a couple days later by the sequel (I always feel compelled to watch the sequel no matter how much I might dislike the original, but didn’t really dislike this one). It was one of the few movies that somehow escaped my notice back then (I was probably too busy watching “Back to the Future” and “Karate Kid” over and over again). It’s my understanding that it’s based on a book, and I’m curious how closely adapted it was. To be honest, I didn’t think it was that well-written a movie, so I hope it’s the case that Hollywood changed the story since I always hate to criticize authors.
However, the movie is certainly thought-provoking as I’m sure everyone who sees it asks themselves, would you be willing to be whisked away to another planet if it meant you’d never be sick and that you’d live forever? Personally, I would rather stay behind, but might consider leaving if all my friends and family could come with me.
What’s also kind of sad and maybe a little ironic, when you think about it, is how almost none of the elderly members of the cast are still alive. It’s just Wilford Brimley as the lone survivor, so I wonder if any of them would have chosen that option in real life if that were a possibility. At any rate, I’m very glad they made a sequel, and in many ways, I think I liked it more than the original and provided some much needed closure.
Watching the movie made me feel a certain nostalgia for the 80’s and made me kind of miss my grandparents seeing all these great vaudeville and classic actors strut their stuff. May they rest in peace.
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