By
Joe Lehman
September
2016
1985’s D.A.R.Y.L., directed by Simon Wincer
(“Lonesome Dove” of TV) and starring past child actor Barrett Oliver (The NeverEnding Story) is a film that
could easily be called an overlooked ‘Pinocchio’ story. That is to say, it
evokes the image of Pinocchio as rendered in the 1940 Walt Disney classic, (not
the mostly forgotten, harsh, serialized 1881 story by Italian journalist and
radical activist Carlo Collodi). That Disney image is that of the naïve
marionette-come-alive, with a penchant for telling fibs, and a longing desire
to be accepted and adopted as a live boy by his would-be father, puppeteer
Gepetto. D.A.R.Y.L.’s place in that
image is overlooked in that the movie does not coat itself in it the way that
the similarly themed and more well known Stanley Kubrick/Steven Spielberg
collaborative effort 2001’s A.I.
Artificial Intelligence does, ever so relentlessly. Upon re-watching D.A.R.Y.L. for the umpteenth time (on
DVD, granted, that this writer was merely two years old when it premiered in
theaters) it deserves special recognition, not simply from lovers of ‘80s
kitsch, which seem to comprise its largest fan-base, but from cultural critics
of the Pinocchio matter.
The Daryl
of the film’s title is a preadolescent android whose name is an acronym of Data. Analyzing. Robot. Youth. Lifeform. Daryl stands out as a kind of Pinocchio-figure that
strives to become authentic as a child on a reversed course than the immortal
Tuscan marionette. Where Pinocchio becomes “real” through evolving into
maturity, Daryl begins as fully matured and adapts childish qualities through
his social interaction with the family and friends that become his, by the
story’s end.
The movie
begins with the “boy’s” mysterious appearance, following the opening shot of a
military helicopter chasing a speeding car, with Daryl occupying the backseat.
The chopper pursues the fleeing driver until the vehicle speeds to his demise,
off a cliff, but not before the driver has released the child into the woods,
where passing motorists discover him, deliver him to social services, where it
is obvious from the start that he has selective amnesia, recalling only his
name—Daryl, and the ability to speak proper English, and is seemingly a prodigy
in almost every cognitive and academic ability. He has a perfect photographic
memory and talent for reading, mathematics, and for processing new information
in general, especially machines with computers, such as ATMs, (an early model
of which show up in one particularly funny scene). The movie leaves the
explanation for Daryl’s origin, the identity of the doomed driver, and the
reason for the helicopter chase until midway. This is a smart move.
Placed in the care of loving foster
parents Joyce and Andy Richardson (Mary Beth Hurt and Michael Mckean), who he
instantly adores, and making the friendship of a neighbor boy “Turtle” Fox, the
son of Daryl’s social workers (Steve Ryan and Colleen Camp). Daryl quickly
becomes and overnight sensation in Little League and sets an all-time high
score on his Atari games (those 80s kitsch-lovers will be the first to
recognize Atari).
To be continued…
No comments:
Post a Comment