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. Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at [email protected]. This episode is sponsored by InMate. Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.