The Basic Plot in Five Words or Less: Do, do, do, do, do.

My Basic Ramblings: This is one of those movies I felt morally obligated to see, that it was one of those "classic" films and how could I even consider myself a movie lover if I havenít seen it. So I did.

I always thought it was a "Richard Dreyfuss sees the UFO but no one else does and he spends the entire movie trying to convince the world heís seen it" film, but really, itís not. I mean, he tries convincing wife Teri Garr (who has always kind of annoyed me for no real good reason), but thereís a whole bunch of scientists who know somethingís out there, and through a typical Movie Leap of Logic, they instantly know that a list of seemingly random numbers is really latitude and longitude for a place right by Devilís Tower. The numbers could mean anything. It could be someoneís Social Security number. It could spell out "Drink Coca-Cola" in some foreign language. It could be Steve Spielbergís high school locker combination. But no, they know right away that itís the coordinates for Devilís Tower.

Then youíve got the people who have visions of Devilís Tower but donít know that itís Devilís Tower - they just paint/draw/sculpt these giant phallic symbols out of whateverís handy. Then, thanks to a really gratuitous shot of the Tower in a television news report, itís Road Trip time to Colorado or Wyoming or whatever state it is out there that Devilís Tower is in. (I saw this movie about a month ago and Iím trying to remember the plot, so excuse any mistakes or lapses in memory I may have.)

So Richard and this woman who saw the spaceship with him (whose son got taken) meet up as the town nearest Devilís Tower is being evacuated. Figure itís a town of about thirty thousand people. What are the odds that two people, in part of a mad dash to escape the town (because the residents have been told there was an accident and deadly gas is heading their way), are going to run into each other? Pretty frickiní low, until you realize that this is a movie, and therefore they see each other almost instantly.

Because this is a movie, you also know that the guy that Richard Dreyfuss and his little chickie pick up near Devilís Tower ainít gonna make it. His name wasnít on the marquee, was it?

As for the ending, when olí Rick is welcomed into the spaceship by the happy little aliens, you gotta admit thatís pretty frickiní selfish of him. What about his wife and kids? Whatíre they supposed to do? Dadís out gallivanting across the universe, and Teri Garrís working for minimum wage in some restaurant somewhere. Nice ending, Mr. Spielberg.

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