D.A.R.Y.L.

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Year:	1985
Country of origin:	UK / USA
Director:	Simon Wincer
Genre:	Robotic children are coming for you
Starring:	Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Barret Oliver
Rating:	3/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088979/
Tagline:	The kid next door is not who - or what - he seems to be.
Favourite line:	"Holy shit! He's a robot?"

Well now, here we have that rarest of creatures: a warm-hearted family movie that doesn’t make you want to stab out your own liver just to cease the abundant production of bile.

The plot:
A young boy is discovered wandering with no memory as to his identity. He can remember basic things like speech and blinking and how to walk around without falling over, but details of his past life are none-existent. Taken into foster care it soon becomes apparent that Daryl is not like ordinary boys. He isn't rude, doesn't swear and, by the Christ's, he's really good at playing Pole Position and baseball.
One day, Daryl's real parents show up, ostensibly to take him home but, when they actually take him to The Pentagon, it soon transpires that D.A.R.Y.L. is not just different to other boys,....he's not even human!!! A military experiment in artificial intelligence now deemed awry, the military decide to do away with the project, but Daryl has other plans and, before you know it, he's stolen a Stealth Bomber and is cruising back home at Mach 2.25......

Whilst the potential for schmaltz is pretty damned high, the director does a decent job of keeping the vomit factor turned down low. The interplay between the lead character and his young friend is deftly handled, with genuine warmth, and there's a nice line in humour, too. Not the lighting your farts on fire, sticking your dick into an apple pie variety that passes for comedy these days but, you know, proper situational mirth. Made in '85, and looking every day of its age, this is engaging sci-fi lite that has real charm and is certainly a movie for all the family. Heck, this wouldn't even offend Great Grandma Mosefus, and she's such a puritan she won't even look at a ripened pear for fear it may provoke lustful thoughts.
So, throw away all your grisly horror, tear up your Stephen King books, put down that DVD copy of Jenna Haze Does the 49ers, and settle back for a pleasantly retro movie with a real nostalgic kick.
Liked it.