Mac and Me (film)

Mac and Me
Year	1988
Directed by	Stewart Raffill
Produced by	Mark Damon William B. Kerr R.J. Louis
Written by	Steve Feke Stewart Raffill
Studio	Mac and Me Joint Venture
Cast	Christine Ebersole Jonathan Ward Susan Penhaligon Tina Caspary Lauren Stanley Jade Calegory Danny Cooksey
Run time	95 minutes

“	"Pretty nice!"	”
	- Michael Cruise

For the episode, see MST3K 1201 - Mac and Me.

Mac and Me is a 1988 family-friendly adventure-comedy film directed by Stewart Raffill. It features a significant amount of product placement from Coca-Cola and the McDonalds fast food restaurant chain. It has also been criticized for being highly derivative of the film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

Plot

A family of alien beings is inadvertently brought to Earth by a United States space probe. The youngest alien becomes separated from the family during their escape from a government facility. The alien meets and befriends Eric, a ten-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair. Eric and the alien (whom Eric names "Mac") must elude government agents until Mac can find his family.

Cast

• Christine Ebersole as Janet Cruise
• Jonathan Ward as Michael Cruise
• Jade Calegory as Eric Cruise

Notes

• "Mac" is an acronym standing for Mysterious Alien Creature.
• The trailer for Season 12 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (released on November 12th, 2018) revealed that Mac and Me would be one of the films riffed.
• Mac and Me features un-credited appearances by Jennifer Aniston and Nikki Cox as dancers, both of whom later enjoyed success in television and (to a lesser extent) films.
• Mac and Me is part of a running gag that has occurred when actor Paul Rudd appears on the various incarnations of Conan O'Brien's late-night TV talk show. The gag consists of Rudd saying that he is about to show a clip from his latest project, but instead shows a clip from Mac and Me in which Eric in his wheelchair (an obvious dummy) falls off a cliff then cuts to a close-up of Mac's surprised face.

MST3K Connections

• George "Buck" Flower (security guard) also portrayed a rich tramp in Munchie.
• Cinematographer Nick McLean was also assistant camera for The Touch of Satan.
• Production illustrator Mentor Huebner was also production illustrator for Space Travelers.
• Sound editor Frank McKelvey was also composer for Boggy Creek II: and The Legend Continues....
• Stuntman Gene Lebell also portrayed a brawler in Master Ninja I and was a stuntman in City Limits (as well as portraying a border guard).
• Key grip Tom D. May was also key grip for Mitchell.
• Song writer Mike Curb was also composer and song writer for The Side Hackers.

Critical Response

• Leonard Maltin wrote: "One-and-a-half stars. Slight E.T. clone about Mac, an outer space creature, and his plight in suburban L.A. More a TV commercial than a movie: There’s a production number set in a McDonald’s, and the alien survives by sipping Coca-Cola."