| D.A.R.Y.L. | |
| Director: | Simon Wincer |
| Producer: | John Heyman |
| Cinematography: | Frank Watts |
| Editing: | Adrian Carr |
| Music: | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Studio: | World Film Services |
| Runtime: | 100 minutes |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $10 million[1] |
| Gross: | $7.8 million[2] |
D.A.R.Y.L. is a 1985 science fiction adventure film directed by Simon Wincer and written by David Ambrose, Allan Scott, and Jeffrey Ellis. It stars Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp, Josef Sommer, and Barret Oliver. It follows a seemingly normal young boy who turns out to be a top secret, military-created robot with superhuman abilities.
The film was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on June 14, 1985, by Paramount Pictures, and in the United Kingdom on June 20, 1985, by Columbia Pictures through Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb. For his performance, Oliver won the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.
The film revolves around the character of Daryl, an acronym for "Data-Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform." Daryl is an artificial intelligence experiment created by a government company called TASCOM. Physically resembling a ten-year-old boy, Daryl's brain is actually a highly advanced microcomputer with extraordinary abilities, including exceptional reflexes, multitasking skills, and the ability to hack computer systems. The experiment was intended to produce a super-soldier and was funded by the military.
One of the scientists involved in the project, Dr. Mulligan, becomes disillusioned and decides to free Daryl. Pursued by a helicopter, Dr. Mulligan sacrifices himself to ensure Daryl's escape, driving his car off a cliff. Daryl is subsequently discovered by an elderly couple and taken to an orphanage in Barkenton, South Carolina. However, he has no memory of his true identity. After being placed with his foster parents, Joyce and Andy Richardson, Daryl begins to exhibit exceptional talents.
Daryl's social skills are limited due to his isolated upbringing, but he befriends Turtle, a sarcastic and wisecracking neighbor. Daryl shares that he has amnesia and hopes his real parents will find him someday. As Daryl observes Turtle playing a video game called Pole Position, he effortlessly outperforms him, displaying superhuman abilities. Andy decides to teach Daryl social skills through baseball, where Daryl excels, hitting multiple home runs and impressing everyone. Daryl also demonstrates his advanced capabilities when he helps Andy rectify an issue with an ATM and manipulates its display to show a large sum of money.
During a baseball game, government agents locate Daryl and return him to the TASCOM facility in Washington, D.C., where his memory is restored. Daryl undergoes debriefing, and it is revealed that his capacity for human emotions has deemed the project a failure, leading to a decision to terminate him. Dr. Stewart, one of Daryl's creators, helps him escape, assisted by Dr. Lamb, who now questions Daryl's true nature.
Daryl and Dr. Stewart evade their pursuers with Daryl's driving skills. However, the next day, while trying to escape a roadblock, Dr. Stewart is shot and later dies from his injuries. That night, Daryl sneaks onto a military base and steals a jet. Daryl contacts Turtle, instructing him and Sherie to meet him at Blue Lake, a familiar location. The Air Force attempts to intercept the plane but fails. Daryl ejects at the last moment to fake his death while the plane is destroyed. However, he lands unconscious in the lake and drowns. Daryl's body is rushed to the hospital but shows no signs of life.
Dr. Lamb discovers Daryl and reactivates his electronic brain, reviving him. With Daryl now declared dead, he is no longer pursued by TASCOM. He joyfully reunites with his foster family, bringing happiness to everyone, including Turtle, who believed Daryl could not die since he is a robot.
Principal photography began on January 2, 1985.[1] The film was shot at Pinewood Studios (near London); Orlando, Florida; and Dillsboro, North Carolina.
Almost all of the fictional town of Barkenton was filmed in Orlando and the surrounding area, with one exception that was filmed in Dillsboro.
The other locations in the movie were also filmed in Orlando.
The film grossed $7,840,873 in the United States and Canada.[2]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times stated, "The best that can be said about D.A.R.Y.L. is that it's inoffensive" and "though D.A.R.Y.L. is not really bad, it's pretty silly. It might be more profitably shelved and some of the earlier films of its actors re-released."[3]
Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post wrote, "The script is moronic and so riddled with improbabilities that the suspense element never takes root. Director Simon Wincer has no sense of pace or rhythm, but boy does he love to shoot helicopters and jet fighters, which whizz at the camera in great booming arcs. Well, it is noisy."[4]
In his review for Entertainment Tonight, Leonard Maltin said, "This is one of the blandest movies I've seen all year. No punch. No surprises. No juice, especially in the way it's directed."[5] On their show At the Movies, Gene Siskel gave D.A.R.Y.L. a "thumbs down" for being predictable and formulaic, while Roger Ebert recommended the movie, praising its ending and comparing its theme to that of the 1968 film Charly.[6]
DVD Verdict cites "wooden" acting and a "preposterous" plot, but ultimately concludes that the film is "a formulaic slice of family entertainment that doesn't do much new, but follows the blueprint well enough to warrant a look."[7]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 7th Youth in Film Awards | Best Family Motion Picture - Adventure | D.A.R.Y.L. | |
| Best Starring Performance by a Young Actor - Motion Picture | Barret Oliver | |||
| 1986 | 13th Saturn Awards | Best Performance by a Younger Actor | ||