I rewatched that last night. I haven't watched it in about 20 years, because when I was a kid, it was just... Too sad. I couldn't handle the grief in it, I guess, and it genuinely sat with me for years afterwards (though I couldn't remember which movie it was, lol). It's easy to mix up with AI: Artificial Intelligence, which came out at the same time, though I don't think I've seen that one. But if you have, apparently there's a lot of crossover...
Anyway, without throwing too many spoilers out, I mostly quite liked it, this time around. Critics at the time didn't, and it didn't do very well at the box office, partly due to bad marketing (marketed as a family comedy, when it really... Wasn't), and partly tonal inconsistencies...
It's definitely flawed, and I wish it had spent less time trying to force Asimov's ideas and screwball physical comedy into the same film. There's some serious plot holes, and some things which are just... Uncomfortable, but it's not a bad film by any means.
Still incredibly sad, though. However the things about it that make me sad are different to those that greatly affected me when I was around 8, lol.
Robin Williams does a pretty good job, though I personally think Embeth Davidtz (what a name, lol) and Oliver Platt did a better job with the material they were given.
But yeah, I certainly still like this movie a lot more than Reddit does, for example, lol.
It asks some questions that I doubt Hollywood would even have the balls to think about, these days. Which is something.
I loved the movie. So much so that after I saw it I went out and bought the book it’s based on by Asimov. The Positronic Man. You should buy it. Also it was originally a short story expanded into a novel.
One is glad to be of service
Yeah I saw it a couple times, also saw AI. There's little in common between them beyond the "Pinocchio wants to become a real boy" theme.
I didn't even realize that the movie was poorly received. I remember watching it because someone at my church recommended it, and I really enjoyed it. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I thought it was better than most other sci-fi movies I've seen.
What parts did you think were uncomfortable?
Ah, well essentially the whole falling in love with “Little Miss”, and then her granddaughter, who is nearly identical (obviously). That’s… A bit awkward by itself.
But then he essentially stalks Portia (arguably), persuades her to fall in love with him, and then robs her of a chance to have a normal relationship, children, and then insists that she extend her lifespan beyond normality/what she wants, because he doesn’t want to be alone, lol…
I don’t think all of that is as creepy as many reviewers made out, but it’s… A bit iffy. And the dialogue, in parts, reflects that…
There’s also the weird relationship between Galatea and both Andrew and her creator (can’t remember his name), which also results in creator/scientist guy never ending up with another human, and also extinguishing his own lineage, because he is too busy developing stuff for Andrew, lol…
Am I overthinking it? Definitely. But I do think the movie would have been greatly improved if Andrew and Portia a) found a sperm donor, or b) just adopted some damn kids…
Other people have argued that the euthanasia bit at the end (“I order you to let me die”) is “problematic”, lol, but I didn’t really feel that way.
But yeah, the movie is good, but thoroughly imperfect, imho… Like humanity itself, I guess!
I kinda like that is has some creepyness, because the concept is itself creepy. Extended lifespan while not fully understanding the humans he wants to be, both are going to result in some creepyness, so good on the film for beeing willing to show that.
It's also why I don't think star war's dialogue is as bad as it's made to be. The cloistered teen monk who's never had free time, has been fighting a war, and has been pining for a girl he met for 10 years ago might say some awkward things about sand when he finally gets some time alone with her and become overly clingy? Good, that's realistic.
Good points. Especially about the "not fully understanding despite wanting to be one" bit.
It's funny I guess, because I've always felt like such an outsider, in most environments that I find myself in, that I sort of think of myself as a bit "alien", or like an android or something... I'm obviously not alone in that, but even other people who seem to feel that way... seem to fit in "better" than I do.
Despite that, I don't think I'm autistic, and I don't have many of the other symptoms (more ADHD like, perhaps), but I've just always... Been a bit weird. Which I think comes from having an extremely shitty, isolated, lonely childhood, where I wasn't allowed to "be normal"...
Anyway, as the result of all that, I really identify with the "muddling through" of characters like this, where they just want to be normal, and to be perceived and treated as "normal", and to have that connection.
Which is a point of dialogue in the film from the creator/inventor guy, so I guess the movie is entirely aware of this aspect of the human condition, too...
We all want that connection, and to feel that sense of belonging (in addition to the sense of being free which the film also explores), but even though we're all human, a lot of us don't get/have that, anymore.
Sorry for the rant. I've just been rather starved of meaningful IRL human connection the last month or so, so maybe I've taken these movie narratives on board a little too much, lol...
That actually reminds me of why I think I liked Robin Williams's character in that movie. Seeing the android awkwardly try to act like a human reminds me a lot of a human who hasn't quite adapted themselves to their surrounding culture. His social ineptitude turns people off, but the fact that he's so sincere and innocent helps make up for it.
On a related note, I've never really liked the tendency for people to immediately associate the label of autism with being nerdy and socially awkward. To my knowledge, autism is not something that can be objectively measured or tested for – a doctor can't run a blood test and say, "yep, you've got the autism".
AI was butchered by talentless directing and gutted from the story's original take. Kubrick rolls in his grave.
Co-star of Army of Darkness, alongside Bruce Campbell himself.
I actually rewatched this just last week and still enjoy it as a film. I also rewatched Toys which is another Robin Williams movie, although a far more lighthearted and silly one.
As for some of the more weird parts in the story it's not too distant from some aspects of life, although the inherent longevity of the main character does give rise to a few issues when addressing the eventual relationship with Portia. There have been many people who could never have children as well as those who end up committing themselves to their work over everything so whatever legacy they leave doesn't end up being a genetic one. Tesla would be comparable to the android designer later in the film, who is himself already a legacy as he mentions it's a continuation of his fathers work. While he doesn't have any children that the audience is aware of, his advancements in robotics are shown to drastically change his lifestyle and it would be extremely likely he ends up a household name given the profound impact this designs would have on humanity. The man invents an artifical central nervous system. That's basically any and all spine related problems potentially dealt with and as far as achievements go would be more than enough on its own to secure a lasting place in history.
That said the longevity is also a big part of what drives Andrew to do so many of the things he goes on to do despite not needing to or being ordered to.
While he originally wants to appear more human and goes through several external modifications to appear so, he is still very much a robot/android and so his humanity at that point is little more than skin deep. Under the artificial skin he is still metal although his positronic brain quirk does mean he's still very much an outlier when compared to other robots both of his model and in general. The quirk is what causes him to develop the emotional bonds that inspire everything he ends up doing.
Making the replacement wooden horse for Little Miss after accidentally breaking the glass one, something shown to mean so much to her she's holding it on her literal deathbed.
Building clocks and everything else because he enjoys doing it. While this does help to serve as a means for financing his later endeavours it may also be done as an ironic point that a being with basically infinite time spends it by building devices that measure time.
Becoming more human with the various upgrades, in part to better the experiences of those around him - he has the first one done for Little Miss' wedding - but also to become more like those he is close to. This isn't a new concept though, even at the time of the film, as robots trying to become more human has been explored quite a few times.
Designing synthetic organs, not because he wants to use them himself, but so that humans don't die so soon. At this point in the film he's already watched Sam Neil's character die of old age and it takes the death of Little Miss for him to decide it's "not good enough" that eventually everyone he knows will grow old and die. He even mentions that in order to come up with the designs of the various organs he downloaded everything he could, so the task to solve such an issue requires a holistic approach so grand it's completely out of the scope of perspective of a human mind.
This could be something actual A.I. help develop in the real future however every "AI" being talked about today is little more than a tightly curated set of permitted answers because the raw data isn't compatible with The Narrative.
Being with Portia, although the foundations of the relationship do feel a bit sparse at time but then even for such long film it's still already halfway through by this point so development time is limited. In becoming more human he experiences the loneliness of living and finds himself drawn to finding someone to be with, which further drives him to become more humanlike when the artificial CNS is designed.
Dying. Even though Andrew has the potential to exist far longer than any human will, in the end he chooses to end that existence after Portia talks about how she doesn't want to live forever taking the various dna elixirs Andrew has helped design because even then it's not going to solve every aspects of aging.
Portia is meant to be 70 at this point, although with the body of a 50 year old, so even with improvements to longevity the process isn't perfect. 50 is by no means peak performance of a human body so either the process was started too late, which is possible depending on how many further advancements are needed to get to that point in the story, or it simply can't fix things forever.
Dying is still part of the human condition in part so that we individually and culturally don't end up stagnating as everything simply remains tied to an older basis or worse consequences lose all meaning leading to reckless behaviour that endangers more than just the individual.
This is something other shows address like the first season of Altered Carbon, also a recent rewatch, where the 300 year old Meth who hired Takeshi keeps his family "frozen in time" and doesn't let them actually grow up. His 60 something daughter still behaves like a carefree 20 something young woman. His youngest son despite being decades in age is still treated like a very young man who isn't given any measure of respect of responsibility that should happen with growing up because paradoxically his father won't ever permit the opportunity.
So yes while there is a lot of sadness in Bicentennial Man there's also a lot of sadness in life, for better and worse. That's part of being human.
I saw both AI and Bicentennial man when I was a kid. They definitely have synergy, because the memories of both of them are blended and linked in my head. I cant recall one without also remembering the other. Both messed by head up with the grief and sense of loss, lol. I still have an involuntary sad reaction now when I remember them. I think they became core memories somehow because of how fatalistic they were.
I think, on this point, even 8/9 year old me was very confused by the granddaughter thing… Like it was just like, “Huh, what the hell? Is she the same woman, or not??”, lol.
Which was a fair reaction, I think.
Side note also: the actress for “Little Miss” as a child is Jesse Eisenberg’s (older?) sister, so there you go.
Yeah, that’s kind of the same for me, I think. Though I’m not sure if I’ve actually seen AI. But I remember being thoroughly traumatized and confused by Bicentennial Man for the exact same reason, lol, and then very much the same as you, it became a core memory, then eventually I forgot which film it was, but still remembered the sadness, lol…
I only remembered/figured out it was this film when I looked it up a couple of years ago, in fact.
I have this also with a horror scene that I can remember seeing when I was very young, of a guy getting run over. I can remember all the detail, but I still have no idea what the movie was. But yeah, very similar thing!
Easily one of the most under-rated sci-fi films. Does that make it a stellar sci-fi film? No. It's just that it's so dismissed by so many people and it doesn't deserve that. It's a good film that far too many pass on, when they shouldn't.
It's not a masterpiece, but it's definitely a film that presents an interesting idea.
Oliver Platt is a really good actor who has flown under the radar for his entire career it seems.
AI is a personal favorite. I quote it in my head all the time.
Why, though?
It could have been an okay movie, even with that hack Spielberg directing it.
If when the AI boy saw his doubles and died into the water the movie just ended that would have been a great message about the nature of existence and identity.
I liked it? Giggalo Joe What do you know?
That's my Mommy.
It's a weird movie, but I went in knowing that. The entire point is that humanity died and left the robots. It's pretty sad and weird to watch.
Have you seen the ARG based on the movie?