Cocoon: O Regresso

I was fascinated by the original Cocoon movie which had a real novel theme and succeeded in making most of us think of the value of old age, the struggles, aspirations and what would happen "if only they could". It was touchy, endearing and with real after thoughts generated out of the theme of aging.

But the return is nothing novel and nothing like the first. It is embarrassing at times. Jack is back with Kitty! Oh ma! We may have excused the innocence of the initial encounter but what is happening in this movie was from clumsy to simply unsophisticated. The pregnancy topic is a mediocre addition, there is an under developed story between the Grandpa and the grandson and overall, nothing really new happening we have not seen in or extrapolated from the first movie. The original cast of "oldies" stays more or less within character and if it was not for hem and actors like Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy, Fried Green Tomatoes, ...) I would have given an even worst grading.

In short, the magic was gone and it would have been best not to make a sequel.

After I enjoyed the first Cocoon so much I decided that the sequel could not be too bad. For the most part, the Cocoon: The Return remains a generally enjoyable film even if most of the magic remained in the original. In this one, the elderly friends return back to earth to catch up on everything that had missed out on while they were away. The biggest problem when they get back to earth is that all of the special protection from illness and aging that they had with the aliens eventually wears off, and if they don't get back to their planet with the aliens quickly, some of them may die. Overall, an enjoyable and harmless sequel to the original. If you liked the original you will most likely enjoy this sequel. ***1/2 out of *****.

Sequels are usually not as good as the original, unless the sequel happens to be called "Godfather II," so "Cocoon: The Return" is no exception.

On the other hand, I didn't find it ghastly (though a few others on this board did). It has the same terrific cast, which includes Don Ameche, Jack Gilford, Maureen Stapleton, Gwen Verdon, with the addition of Elaine Strich in the old folks' department, and Tawnee Welch, Tyrone Power Jr., and Steve Guttenberg with the addition of a very young Courtney Cox in the young folks' department. Brian Dennehy makes a brief appearance at the end of the film.

The Anterians need to return to pick up some cocoons, so the old folks come back to catch up with friends and family, with some interesting results.

Another plot concerns scientists taking one of the cocoons and studying it, while the Anterians attempt to rescue it before it's too late.

The movie actually has some very sweet moments - it probably would have been lousy without the same cast, but they're all very likable.

Okay, not great, and anyone under 55 probably won't want to be bothered. By the way, I cried during some of it. Guess my age.

Multiple different plots, none of them interesting. They try to cram a bunch of stuff in, but don't focus long on any one thing. There's the kid who can't play baseball real good, bernie and his dead wife, the guy whose cancer comes back, the wife who gets hit by a car, the other two old people who are pregnant, wilford brimley and his wife are having doubts about leaving, gutenberg and welch's relationship, an earthquake releases cocoons, an alien gets captured and they have to rescue it, and more. Why are there so many plots, all of them maudlin?

It is laugh out loud funny when the alien looks at courtney cox. It looks like someone in a lumpy vacuum-sealed garbage bag.

I would recommend this to people who want to see a shirtless steve guttenberg in the best shape of his life and people who really like side plots.

I had hesitated on watching this sequel because it good bad reviews, but I really enjoyed it. They had to come back for the cocoons, right? What makes this movie worthwhile is that all of the Seniors struggle with whether they want to leave Earth again. Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be.