Harry and the Hendersons

Harry and the Hendersons was released in 1987 and directed by William Dear. Rather than simply retelling the plot, the film is worth revisiting for the characters, conflicts and ideas that give its story its identity.

Love emerge through what the characters face and the choices they make, giving the story more to explore beyond its immediate plot.

Nick, Charlie and Edward Saunders do not begin the film seeing one another clearly, and watching those first impressions break down is a big part of why Harry and the Hendersons still works.

Elsewhere, nick and Charlie, a couple of aging thieves looking for a last score before they retire, come to ritzy Palm Beach, Florida, where they have an elaborate scheme to rob a Harry Winston jewelry store.

The shop is well-guarded and has high-tech security. That detail matters because it shapes the way the characters initially see one another.

Its manager, Edward, welcomes an elderly customer seeking an expensive gift for a terminally ill wife. From there, the film can concentrate less on explaining the setup and more on what happens between the people inside it.

He gets better acquainted with her while haggling over a Louis XVI table that she covets, and before long a romance begins to bloom.

An old woman drops by Harry Winston, also interested in making a purchase.

She, too, is Nick in disguise.

During these visits to the store, Nick is casing the joint, making mental notes of the security system in place, with help from Charlie, who is pretending to be a chauffeur.

On the night of the robbery, most but not all of Nick's preparations go well.

He also didn't count on the participation of Carolyn, who could be convinced to begin a new life in South America with a new partner, as long as he doesn't end up behind bars.

Peter Falk plays Nick. Nick and Charlie, a couple of aging thieves looking for a last score before they retire, come to ritzy Palm Beach, Florida, where they have an elaborate scheme to rob a Harry Winston jewelry store.

The eager-to-please Edward has no idea that this old gentleman is a middle-aged criminal, Nick, in disguise.

Dressed as himself, Nick encounters a sophisticated, attractive woman named Carolyn Benedict who owns an antique shop next to the jewelry store.

The movie has more on its mind than the basic setup suggests. love sits close to the centre of the film, but it is explored through the characters rather than treated like a lesson.

The film could hardly be separated from the decade that produced it. Released in 1987, it carries the attitudes, style and filmmaking rhythms of the 1980s without needing to announce them.

It also sits comfortably within the era's fantasy, buddy, monster, science fiction and comedy filmmaking, even if the movie itself is more interesting than any single genre label suggests.

That is part of why it still appears in conversations about 1980s movies and 1980s fantasy movies. The film has become tied not only to its own story but to the wider memory of what 1980s movies felt like.

Watching Harry and the Hendersons now means seeing both what has lasted and what unmistakably belongs to 1987.

What still works best is the human material. Ideas around love have not stopped being relevant simply because the clothes, language and cultural references belong to another era.

Some moments inevitably land differently for a modern audience. Revisiting an older film properly means enjoying what still works without pretending every choice has aged equally well.

A large part of that staying power comes from the characters. Nick, Charlie and Edward Saunders are still useful shorthand for the personalities and pressures the film explores.

Carpenter's film has lasted because people continue to recognise something in it. Nostalgia helps, but nostalgia alone does not keep a movie in the conversation for decades.