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I was looking forward to seeing this movie when I first heard that it was
going to be made. I was a big fan of the short story (which I will call
the book from now on), and I figured it'd be interesting to see what they
do with it. It stayed pretty close to the original story throughout most
of the film. Andrew (Robin Williams) is the robot, and he develops a
personality. He spends the next several years trying to become human which
he eventually does. There's a part in the book in which Andrew is
discussing how he'd like to use the same energy source that humans use,
and how he'd like to have a digestive system installed. This part is very
important to the story as it tells everyone that he's actually trying to
evolve. The movie (which was made by Disney who, of course, Disneyfied it
as they do so often) omits the digestive system thing and instead decides
that what Andrew really needs is a penis and a love interest. I kid you
not. So, he gets his sex organs attached, falls in love with his woman,
and they have sex. Lots of it. This never happened in the book, and if it
did, I'd lose all respect for Asimov. Instead, I lose what little respect
I had for Disney. Those bastards ruined a great story by changing the
subject from the possibility (or impossibility) of artificial intelligence
and the essence that makes us human to cheap mindless, useless sex. What's
the deal with that? I mean, I like Robin Williams and all (or at least I
did), but I get the impression that he has an exclusive contract with
Disney, and that's really hurting him.
This movie was not good. It had its moments, but between the sappy dialogue, the sex thing, and the Pepsi girl, it's just not worth it. |