Of Jonathan Klotz
| Published
After the success of ET the alienTrying to duplicate its success, Hollywood filled the 80s with family-friendly alien adventures, some more successful than others, but none as infamous as the disastrous Mac and me. Not only was the plot a direct rip-off of the Steven Spielberg classic, but the product placement was so gross and in your face that an entire scene at a McDonald’s includes Ronald McDonald.
The McDonalds scene isn’t the worst product placement in the movie. Considered one of the worst movies of all time, it is impossible to sit through and enjoy Mac and me without making it ironic.
A Sci-Fi Knockoff
The act of Mac and me sounds like someone took the novel off E.T and changed some words thinking no one would notice. Mac, which stands for Mysterious Alien Creature and just happens to remind you of McDonald’s Big Mac, arrives in Los Angeles, befriends a young kid, is hunted by the FBI, and ends up using his alien abilities to perform a healing miracle. What makes it different is that Mac’s family is on Earth with him and, of course, the creepy product placement.
ET the alien made Reese’s Pieces famous, and every other company in the country wanted the same kind of boost for their brands, which is why McDonald’s is so prominent, including a five-minute dance sequence, which got Ronald McDonald nominated for a Razzie. However, the worst product placement is not fast foodbut Coca-Cola. When Mac’s family is finally found, they are suffering from dehydration and are revived by the cool, crisp, refreshing taste of Coke.
While promoting his documentary Pom wonderful gifts: The best movie ever soldMorgan Spurlock referred Mac and me as the “worst thing you will ever do in your life, and it was paid for by my best friends at McDonald’s” in an interview with Yahoo! Movies. At the time, critics, including Gene Siskel, called out the film for its product placement and also for being a blatant rip-off, which helps explain the impressive Rotten tomatoes score of zero percent fresh.
Paul Rudd’s favorite movie
But to a generation Mac and me are more famous for the clip of a child in a wheelchair going downhill and falling into the water, thanks to Paul Rudd. Every time Rudd is interviewed by Conan O’Brien, including on a podcast, he shows the same clip every time.
What most people don’t know, or they forgot as their brains try to protect them from remembering the movie, is that the kid, Eric, is killed by a stray bullet. Even in the 80s, a decade of exaggeration and pushing the envelope, showing a kid getting shot in a family film was too much, so the moment was cut, and instead he simply died off-screen.
Don’t worry, though; he is getting better.
Mac and me now the test of time stands as an argument that not every director is a visionary, not every film is a work of art. Some, although the argument can be made that this is true of most films, are completely soulless money-making.
Product placement is still going on today, but one of the worst I’ve ever seen is McDonald’s rival, Burger King, as in Men in Black II has a working restaurant inside the organization’s super-secret headquarters. At least when Vin Diesel talks about family while holding a Corona, or Allspark in it Transformers becomes one Xbox into a killing machine, they have plot relevance… sort of.
If you’ve never seen Mac and Me and want to either laugh along or punish your friends, you can stream it for free on Pipe, Pluto TVand Amazon Freevee.
