“As kids in the 1980s, Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler), Will Cooper (Kevin James), Ludlow Lamonsoff (Josh Gad), and Eddie “The Fire Blaster” Plant (Peter Dinklage) saved the world thousands of times – at 25 cents a game in the video arcades. Now, they’re going to have to do it for real. In Pixels, when intergalactic aliens discover video feeds of classic arcade games and misinterpret them as a declaration of war, they attack the Earth, using the video games as the models for their assaults — and now-U.S. President Cooper must call on his old-school arcade friends to save the world from being destroyed by PAC-MAN™, Donkey Kong™, Galaga™, Centipede®, and Space Invaders™. Joining them is Lt. Col. Violet Van Patten (Michelle Monaghan), a specialist supplying the arcaders with unique weapons to fight the aliens.”
Columbia Pictures presents in association with LStar Capital and China Film Co., Ltd., a Happy Madison / 1492 Pictures production in association with Film Croppers Entertainment, Pixels. Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, and Brian Cox. Directed by Chris Columbus.
The movie starts out in 1982 with some tween boys who love going to the arcade and playing video games. I was 22 and I had just graduated college, where I too had been playing all of these same games! The nostalgia effect was terrific! My now 12 year old son also knows all of these games, they are still around in one iteration or another.
Fast forward to present day and one of the friends is the President of the United States, one is is now a video game/TV installer, and the third is a conspiracy theorist who lives with his grandmother (I did not get enough of Lainie Kazan in that role. I love her!).
Turns out some aliens got hold of the rocket sent into space in 1982 that contained a video game competition that the boys had been in, and thought we were threatening them. They thought the video games were a challenge of war. Of course hilarity ensues. Wreck-It Ralph meets Ghostbusters on steroids. We laughed the whole way through this entertaining movie!
The President calls in his old friends, and also Peter Dinklage’s character to use their video game “know how” to defeat the aliens. This is not a job for all those handsome, well built Navy Seals that they try to train, this is a job for Nerds!
Hey, isn’t that Centipede!
I personally could not get enough of my old best friend from the lamp Post bar in Albany, Pac-Man:
There were also a few cameos, but I have said too much already! Suffice it to say that you would not expect a domestic diva to show up!
I was also lucky enough to sit in on the interview at AOL headquarters with Director Chris Columbus (His IMBD link is here, I could not believe the list of movies he has worked on! ), actor Josh Gad, and actress Michelle Monaghan.
I periscoped the below and then uploaded to youtube so that I could share it with you (excuse the quality!). I was hysterical to find out that the Kevin James Presidential character was loosely based on the idea of a Chris Christie type President! I thought that was hilarious! Mr. Columbus also mentioned that as a dad he hates going to kids movies and being bored so he put in some treats for the adults: the aliens communicated using old characters from the 1980’s: Hall & Oates, a young Madonna, the guys from Fantasy Island, etc. My son and his generation will not get these folks as a nostalgic reference, but all of our generation will! Thanks Chris, because that was hilarious, especially the mention of the famous “Where’s the Beef” lady. It was also great to hear about the ad-libbing these genius comedians were doing, and how much of that made it into the film.
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Disclosure: This is a compensated post. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.
And then, a dream come true, a picture with Josh Gad!
Laura Collins says
I first heard about this movie on a talk show but your writing is great.I know more about the movie
brittani adams says
I saw the movie and I wasn’t a big fan, alot of people I know were though. I didn’t get alot of those references you mentioned in the movie either, lol.
Kelly Nicholson says
the movie got panned by the critics,but I have a feeling it will be a good movie as long as you don’t take it seriously..