If there’s one thing that town halls do, it’s nothing.
At least, that’s the case with Boonton, Pennsylvania’s town hall—especially when Milton Robinson comes to visit.
Milton comes week by week, repeating his concerns about Boonton such as how the town slogan is confusing and how there needs to be a crosswalk on Trent Ave. The politicians are used to Milton’s concerns by now—until he walks in with a new one.
“A UFO has crashed in my backyard and has taken out my azaleas and has destroyed my bird bath,” Milton says.
And believe it or not, the town officials still don’t do anything! In fact, no one does—because no one believes Milton. Most people just assume the guy’s finally lost it. That is, until Milton’s neighbor, Sandy, comes over to use the printer and finds Milton watching TV with the alien.
“He’s just sitting on your couch?” she asks, bewildered.
“Yeah,” Milton says. “He’s very friendly. He watches whatever I watch. He’s understanding.”
Indeed he is, Sandy discovers. She dubs the alien “Jules,” and the two work to keep Jules’ existence from the rest of the world. It’s a change of tune for Milton, admittedly. But given Jules’ understanding nature, Milton’s pretty grateful that Boonton’s town hall didn’t follow up on his original complaint. After all, we all know from movies what governments do to aliens.
But who’d believe a crazy old man, anyway?
The film tells a story of connection. Milton, Sandy and their neighbor Joyce (who also eventually discovers the alien) all recount stories of feeling alone to Jules. In Milton’s case, his wife died, his son moved to California and his daughter is convinced that he’s developing dementia. Meanwhile, Sandy’s daughter spends more time with her mother-in-law than her, and Joyce spent time with many romantic partners without finding satisfaction.
The three of them ultimately develop a bond with Jules, an alien who never says a single word throughout the film. However, the fact that Jules listens to them is enough for them to grow fond of the creature.
But this story is more than our characters finding belonging and companionship: They also are forced to face their own issues.
Milton, for instance, must admit that some of his relationship problems have been his fault. As he admits in a confession to Jules, when his wife died, Milton gave up on being a dad because he didn’t feel like he was good at it.
“No sense keeping going with something you’re not good at,” he reasoned at the time. And that reasoning ultimately caused his son to move away. And recognizing this, Milton calls his son to apologize and attempt to reconnect.
Likewise, it should be noted that Milton actually is developing dementia, despite his denial. And throughout the film, he slowly comes to terms with it, helping to repair his relationship with his daughter, who is genuinely concerned for his mental wellbeing.
Jules seems to have telepathic powers that he uses a time or two.
Outside that, none, unless you’d really like to know about the church in the background of one shot.
Sandy’s daughter is a lesbian, and we see a photo of her with her wife. Sandy attempts to explain the concept of homosexuality to Jules, saying “I don’t know if you have that on your planet, where two people of the same sex end up loving each other, but it’s been happening here a lot over the last few years.” Sandy is upset that, despite her approval of the relationship, her daughter doesn’t reach out to her more. Sandy furthermore gives Jules one of her daughter’s shirts that reads “I’m not a lesbian…but my girlfriend is.” Another woman’s house has a pride flag hanging out front.
Joyce tells Jules that “in the big city, you can find all the pleasure and danger you’re looking for.” She also tells the alien that she’s had her “share of lovers.”
Sandy tells of being taken off of some medicine because it gave her “sexual feelings” as a side effect. “Do you have any of the old pills left?” Milton quips.
We should also note that Jules is naked for a portion of time, though the alien doesn’t have any nipples or genitals.
A man attempts to choke a woman to death. However, his head explodes (offscreen) via telepathy. We don’t see any of the gore, though we do later see a white sheet in the background that’s somewhat stained with blood. A cat is euthanized.
When Joyce discovers Jules, Milton and Sandy discuss what to do. Milton suggests that they kill her, and Joyce responds that she’ll kill them first.
Despite the PG-13 rating, Jules contains some language typically reserved for an R rating. The f-word is used three times. Additionally, we hear a single use of “d–n” and “h—.” God’s name is used in vain six times, including two instances which are in the form of “g-dd–n.” Jesus’ name is abused once.
A woman gives Jules a shirt that advertises Bud Light.
A woman urinates on the toilet, though we don’t see or hear anything. A man attempts to steal jewelry.
[Spoiler Warning] Part of Jules’ ship repair includes collecting dead cats, apparently for fuel. Milton and Joyce go around town picking up road-killed cats. Another woman is convinced to allow her blind and deaf cat to be put down for the cause.
E.T. may phone home, but Jules doesn’t talk at all.
And while Jules may be the one stuck on a different planet, but it’s the humans on Earth who feel like they’re strangers in a strange land. That’s because Milton, Sandy and Joyce, all advanced in years, no longer have any meaningful relationships. It’s not until the mute alien Jules listens to their relationship problems that the three finally feel like they matter to someone.
But despite some nice messages, Jules has some content issues that might come out of left field based on its PG-13 rating, especially when it comes to its uses of the f-word. There’s also a number of sexual quips and references, including those of the LGBT variety.
Instead of Ben Kingsley’s character looking to annihilate an alien species like in 2013’s Ender’s Game, this time, he (as Milton) is forging relationships with them. It’s a relationship that’ll reveal the very real need for love and friendship. But it’s also a relationship that’ll bring some content concerns with it.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
