BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED

Obviously, life has not always been easy on the last five residents of a deteriorated building in New York’s Lower East Side: Marisa, very pregnant, hopelessly wishes to see her prince charming show up again; Harry, a former boxer, has strength only to zap on his TV; Mason can only picture the deteriorating surroundings on his paintings; Faye and Frank try to be happy with their poor pensions…
But now, things seem to be wasted for good: some real estate developers have decided to make a clean break with their building whatever the cost.
Those five, who had nothing in common, will join forces to defend their home, but without much hope: all the more so as demolition workers, outraged by their resistance to make way for sacrosanct progress, hire a gang leader, who is supposed to harass and bully our protagonists. Don’t get your hopes up: only a miracle or external help can save them! And for their hopeless case, “external” help will come – from far, far away.
Batteries Not Included is the third movie of director Matthew ROBBINS (after Dragonslayer and The Legend of Billie Jean). He first became famous as a screenwriter with his colleague Hal BARWOOD, (MacArthur, The Sugarland Express). From Sugarland to Batteries, the connection is obvious: Steven SPIELBERG who directed the former and produced the latter with his Amblin Entertainment company. So, Batteries is also the crowning achievement of a long (and successful) friendship, adding to this trio George LUCAS’s Industrial Light and Magic, for special effects, which is the finishing touch of this team to an amazing movie.
Starring in Batteries Not Included are the famous lovers (in life as in movies too) Jessica TANDY-Hume CRONYN, whom we already loved in Cocoon.