I remembered this being kind of pervasive when it came out. I had never seen it, probably since no one else in my family was interested in it. But I figured I should see another 80s staple, so it joined the queue.
I'm pretty sure this is a comedy, but it doesn't seem like much of one. There seems to be a lot of humor, but most of it is remarkably dumb. There's a lot of humor that seems to be mined from the physical comedy of Harry destroying parts of the house. Punching holes in walls, breaking furniture, eating plants. This stuff wears thin, and it actually makes the movie drag. There's a better chance that it would play better to kids, who find the destruction a but more entertaining. As an adult, I just can't ignore the cost of replacing the basement stairs - or the difficulties presented by having the stairway broken.
There's a bit of a heart to the movie, but I find it kind of overblown. The family comes to like Harry a little too easily. They make some efforts to train him, but they don't seem to understand how to train anything. They have a dog. I think training Harry, who seems to be able to imitate people more easily than dogs can, would be incredibly easy. Harry gives some charming expressions, but he seems more intrusive. I would expect the family to feel a little more conflicted about his presence.
The effects are remarkable. I'm not positive exactly how they did it. Even though Harry has a very cartoonish appearance and demeanor, he still appears very realistic. Most of this could be accomplished by a man in a suit, but I'm uncertain how much of the facial work was done by animatronic work, and how much of it was just a spectacular mask.
I never connected to this movie. It seemed a little like a knockoff of E.T. or any movie about a badly behaved pet that the family comes to love.
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