Read this review to find out if Jules is worth watching. Jules, which has a fantastic ensemble cast and a fun concept, tackles sensitive and widely relevant topics.
About Jules
- Directed by Marc Turtletaub
- Written by Gavin Steckler
- Synopsis: Jules follows Milton (Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls “Jules.” Things become complicated when two neighbors (Harris and Curtin) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life – thanks to this unlikely stranger.
- Release date: August 11, 2023
- Starring: Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jane Curtin, Teddy Cañez, Narea Kang, Edward James Hyland, Blair Baker, Joshua Moore, John Skelley, Christopher Kelly, Zoe Winters, Jade Quon, Aubie Merrylees, Andy Daly, and Anna George
If you want to avoid spoilers for this movie, skip to the overall section at the end.
Warning: Spoilers for Jules
Recap Jules (2023)
Milton Robinson (Ben Kingsley), a 79-year-old widower, spends his days watching TV and complaining to the city council that the town slogan “A Great Place to Call Home” is confusing.
He’s awoken by a spaceship crashing in his backyard flower garden and encounters a blue humanoid alien. Milton tries to get help from the police and his daughter, but they believe his claim is proof of his senility. He treats the alien as a house guest and discovers it only eats apples. Sandy (Harriet Harris), an acquaintance, discovers the alien and names it “Jules,” but Joyce (Jane Curtin) wants to call it “Gary.”
Milton’s daughter, Denise (Zoe Winters), hears about her father’s antics and schedules him for a mental evaluation. They are told that his faculties are diminishing and he should consider assisted living. Sandy is attacked in a home invasion, and the intruder is killed by Jules. This raises suspicions at the police station and the NSA. Milton, Sandy, and Joyce discover that Jules needs seven dead cats to power the spaceship. They are unknowingly followed by the police. Joyce sacrifices her deaf and blind cat to repair the spaceship.
Jules invites the three to travel in the spaceship, and Milton considers accepting. However, when the NSA kicks down Milton’s door, he, Sandy, and Joyce escape in a UFO. Jules drops them off at another location on Earth, and they part ways.
Milton continues to deteriorate mentally, and in the final scene, Jules visits him again later.
Overall: Buy Jules (2023)
Jules is a sci-fi comedy film set in small-town Pennsylvania, USA, directed by Marc Turtletaub. The film tells the story of pensioner Milton (Ben Kingsley), who lives alone with early-onset dementia. A spaceship crashes in his backyard and is stranded. Despite his nervousness, Milton invites the mute, hairless alien, Jules (Jade Quon), into his home and feeds him apples. The film features Harriet Sansom Harris as Sandy and Jane Curtin as Joyce. The trio of lonely elderly singles finds heartwarming late-life kinship in their urgent need to help their new friend get home to his planet.
The film explores themes of melancholy and whimsy in the close encounters of the lonesome kind. When a flying saucer crashes into Milton’s backyard, he provides the alien with a blanket and snacks. The alien, nicknamed Jules, favors sliced apples. Two elderly neighbors, Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin), learn of Milton’s house guest, and the old man finds the friendship and support he has long been missing from his life.
The film is gently inoffensive, with an amiably jovial score. Still, it elevates itself by its handling of melancholy themes of aging and loneliness and a superb gruff-yet-vulnerable performance from Ben Kingsley.
It reminds me a lot of Cocoon (1985) in how it shows respect to older people while recognizing their challenges. It also subverts the concept of E.T. (1982) by having people treat Milton like a child.
The best part is when Milton complains, “There is a spaceship that’s crashed in my backyard. And it has crushed my azaleas.” Everyone around him just thinks he’s crazy for telling the truth. It’s also wonderful to see Jane Curtin on screen again. Her comic timing is still as sharp as it was when she was on 3rd Rock From the Sun.
Overall, I’d recommend buying Jules (2023). It’s not a perfect film, but there are a lot of fun little moments that hold up to repeat viewing.
