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Message
Richard Dreyfuss was a scum bag in Close Encounters
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:18 am
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:18 am
Spoilers but Terri Garr was trying so hard to be the perfect wife and stood by him until he started slinging shrubs through the kitchen window and ripping up the neighbor's chicken wire and making his teen son sob uncontrollably. He threw his family away as nonchalantly as he did his job.
Add to that he was already being an a-hole when his son asked for help with fractions and decided he was going to force his family to see a movie only HE wanted to see rather than Goofy Golf.
This all happened before he fricking made out with the other poor woman who was trying to get her son back.
I don't buy anything about him being possessed with the Devil's Peak image because the mom looking for her son didn't turn into an a-hole.
Teri Garr was sexy in this movie, was trying so hard to stick with him and didn't deserve anything he did to her or his poor kids.
I'm glad the aliens took him away and I hope they tortured him relentlessly with a barbed wire probe up his arse while forcing him to watch images of his family crying over him.
As a kid I thought his antics were hilarious but watching as a grown man now I feel so bad for his family. They did nothing to deserve that psycho.
ETA he should be a finalist in that Villain thread we had on here a few weeks ago
Add to that he was already being an a-hole when his son asked for help with fractions and decided he was going to force his family to see a movie only HE wanted to see rather than Goofy Golf.
This all happened before he fricking made out with the other poor woman who was trying to get her son back.
I don't buy anything about him being possessed with the Devil's Peak image because the mom looking for her son didn't turn into an a-hole.
Teri Garr was sexy in this movie, was trying so hard to stick with him and didn't deserve anything he did to her or his poor kids.
I'm glad the aliens took him away and I hope they tortured him relentlessly with a barbed wire probe up his arse while forcing him to watch images of his family crying over him.
As a kid I thought his antics were hilarious but watching as a grown man now I feel so bad for his family. They did nothing to deserve that psycho.
ETA he should be a finalist in that Villain thread we had on here a few weeks ago
This post was edited on 12/26/25 at 9:23 am
9
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:22 am to CAD703X
Yeah, I’m not sure why they made him SUCH a selfish a-hole. It detracts
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:40 am to CAD703X
quote:
don't buy anything about him being possessed with the Devil's Peak image because the mom looking for her son didn't turn into an a-hole
The mother had nobody else and was possessed by the same drive to get to the mountain. She was also looking for her son.
Dreyfuss just happened to in the middle of his family when he was 'touched' by the aliens, so the impact was much different.
He's not a villain at all. He's a guy who's mind got scrambled by a UFO and it had major consequences. Now was he an a-hole before... Probably, but not to that extent. That's why he has the breakdown. He knows he throwing his entire family away with craziness, but can't help it and can't stop it.
You also have to remember this is still when Spielberg had major daddy issues and it was evident in almost all of his films during that period. But that is whole nother story of bizarrness.
This post was edited on 12/26/25 at 9:42 am
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:44 am to CAD703X
Its been like 30 years since I have seen this movie
Zero chance I can remember this level of detail
Zero chance I can remember this level of detail
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:44 am to Jack Ruby
Mashed potatoes FTW.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:47 am to Jimbeaux
quote:
Yeah, I’m not sure why they made him SUCH a selfish a-hole. It detracts
To show how a person can become so obsessed with something that nothing else in their life matters. And for those who hate what he became only goes to show how his portrayal of the character affected you, the viewer too.
That's acting.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 9:57 am to gumbo2176
quote:
To show how a person can become so obsessed with something that nothing else in their life matters. And for those who hate what he became only goes to show how his portrayal of the character affected you, the viewer too. That's acting.
I agree with you generally, but if that’s the case, they should have shown his transformation more clearly. It seemed that he was pretty selfish before the encounter. That’s why it’s distracting and therefore detracts from the movie, imo.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 11:05 am to CAD703X
Cut him some slack. He was mind fricked by the aliens. Obviously.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 12:43 pm to SouthEasternKaiju
quote:
Cut him some slack. He was mind fricked by the aliens. Obviously.
Seriously…if I saw a UFO fly right over my truck I’d end up throwing potted plants thru my kitchen window too
Posted on 12/26/25 at 12:51 pm to SDTiger15
At the end of the day he chose to leave his wife and children and go with the aliens. Pretty sad.
That was prime Teri Gar too. She told him straight up she wasn't getting a job. Lol
That was prime Teri Gar too. She told him straight up she wasn't getting a job. Lol
Posted on 12/26/25 at 1:00 pm to CAD703X
I think Roy Scheider would have pulled off the character as obsessed but more likeable a al Sheriff Brody in Jaws.
This post was edited on 12/26/25 at 1:02 pm
Posted on 12/26/25 at 1:07 pm to CAD703X
I think Spielberg later said he regretted the way the character was handled. The focus was on making him driven and obsessed, but it also made him pretty unlikeable.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 1:28 pm to Jack Ruby
Well, he was a lineman for the power company, so statistically, there's a higher chance he's an a-hole.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 1:29 pm to CAD703X
Posted on 12/26/25 at 2:11 pm to CAD703X
Naa he was just driven insane
Posted on 12/26/25 at 2:29 pm to cypresstiger
Teri Garr 
Posted on 12/26/25 at 2:38 pm to CAD703X
You just don’t understand.
This is important. This means something. There will always be more mashed potatoes.
This is important. This means something. There will always be more mashed potatoes.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 3:48 pm to Dingeaux
Think the gov even tells her? Or just ... he's MIA. Sorry.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 4:58 pm to SouthEasternKaiju
I think part of the point is that neither one of them were model parents so it's not like he was a guy who had his shite together to begin with.
The house was a disaster even before Roy started shoveling dirt through the windows and the kids were not exactly well behaved.
The house was a disaster even before Roy started shoveling dirt through the windows and the kids were not exactly well behaved.
Posted on 12/26/25 at 5:07 pm to Jack Ruby
quote:
The mother had nobody else and was possessed by the same drive to get to the mountain.
Not really. It was a drive, but a different drive. I thought the movie made it a point to show that Dreyfuss's character was under the influence of some type of mystical attraction to Devil's Tower due to some unexplained powers that the aliens had. He was drawn there and could not resist. The aliens selected various people and basically put some type of spell or mind control on them. on them.
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