E.T. Honest Trailer Isn’t Really About The Extra-Terrestrial

The latest Honest Trailer’s purports to be a takedown of beloved children’s classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial but ends up pulling apart the shameless E.T. ripoff Mac And Me instead. Steven Spielberg’s tale of an alien who finds his way into the hearts of a group of children in California is regarded as an all-time cinematic classic. Directed by the prolific filmmaker, it’s come to be known as one of the best pieces of nostalgic cinema from the 1980s, and is a cornerstone of many people’s childhoods.

On the other hand, Mac And Me is a long-forgotten ripoff of E.T that shamelessly copies all of the plot elements of the original movie, without any of the heart, charm, or world-class filmmaking. It even features an alternate ending in which the child protagonist who uses a wheelchair is shot by a police officer. Ravaged by critics upon release, it has had an ironic second lease on life thanks to Paul Rudd. The Ant-Man star has a long-running joke on Conan that began when the host was on Late Night. Whenever Rudd appears on the show, he plays the same clip of Mac And Me instead of one from the movie or TV show he’s there to promote. He also never acknowledges that the wrong clip has been shown, pretending it’s all gone normally.

Now, Honest Trailers has released the latest in their series taking on summer blockbusters, but they spend most of the running time attacking Mac And Me instead of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. However, the rest of the video slams Mac And Me for being a soulless rip-off of Spielberg’s classic, taking particular aim at how it’s basically one long product placement for McDonald’s. The best joke is saved for last, when the narrator apologizes for the bait and switch, promising a deleted scene of Ant-Man from Avengers: Endgame to make up for it. Instead, the Paul Rudd Conan clip from Mac And Me is shown. You can watch the video below.

The video does at least criticize E.T. for the way E.T. creates a “co-dependent” relationship with Elliott without the child’s consent. And it acknowledges that they’ve focused on a different film from the one promised, but use the excuse that E.T. is perfect in almost every way, calling it a “groundbreaking piece of movie magic” and adding that it should have won Best Picture the year it was released.

The video series once again lives up to its name, as they are completely honest about both films. While E.T. has some creepy moments, for the most part, it is a perfect example of an 80s family blockbuster, and to attack it too harshly would be doing a timeless piece of cinema a disservice. Its enduring popularity has seen it referenced in countless movies and TV shows, including Stranger Things.

On the other hand, Mac And Me is a terrible film that deserves to be parodied for the way it manages to copy all the wrong elements of E.T The Extra-Terrestrial without keeping the stuff that made it a classic in the first place. And the acknowledgment of Rudd’s long-running joke is the cherry on top.