Parents (film)
Encyclopedia
Parents is a 1989
horror-comedy film
written by Christopher Hawthorne
and directed by Bob Balaban
. The film is about a suburban 50's boy living who suspects his parents
of cannibalism
. The film starred Randy Quaid
, Mary Beth Hurt
, Sandy Dennis
, and Bryan Madorsky
. Although the film is primarily in the horror genre (it can also be categorized as surrealistic horror
, and the film has sometimes been compared to the work of David Lynch
, particularly Blue Velvet), it features many comic moments, including the use of sitcom-like music in its soundtrack, and has sometimes been categorized as a black comedy
. The production of the film spared no expense in creating each detail, reproducing accurately the modern style of the 1950s, right down to the clothing, wallpaper and carpeting. It was filmed in Ontario
. Its tagline is: There's a new name for terror!.
Massachusetts
. He has new friends at his school, a father with a great job at the mortuary, and a mother who is the perfect homemaker
, both always smothering him with kindness. However, when he questions where the huge cuts of meat come from that his parents
serve every night, his parents aren't so kind. They are short tempered, and refuse to answer his questions. He quickly begins to fear both of his parents when he begins to suspect his "perfect" family of keeping dark secrets from him. Why isn't he allowed in the basement
? Michael knows his parents are engaging in cannibalism
, and that he is in danger. Michael grows more hysterical and disturbed every time his parents try to feed him their "choice cuts". He confesses to the school counselor why he is afraid of his parents. She doesn't believe him, and if she doesn't, who will?
, but grossed only $870,532 in the United States. Since its initial box office failure, however, the film has developed a cult following
on home video
. The film was released on DVD
on May 25, 1999 in its unmatted
full screen format. The original DVD went out of print for a brief period of time before the film was re-released in the DVD format as a double feature with the film Fear
, and Parents was presented for the first time in widescreen
since its original theatrical release.
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
horror-comedy film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written by Christopher Hawthorne
Christopher Hawthorne
Christopher Hawthorne is an American screenwriter and producer.Hawthorne is best known for writing the screenplay for director Bob Balaban's surrealist horror-comedy Parents, starring Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Bryan Madorsky and Sandy Dennis....
and directed by Bob Balaban
Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television...
. The film is about a suburban 50's boy living who suspects his parents
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
of cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
. The film starred Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
, Mary Beth Hurt
Mary Beth Hurt
Mary Beth Hurt is an American actress of stage and screen.-Personal life:Hurt was born Mary Supinger in 1946 in Marshalltown, Iowa, the daughter of Delores Lenore and Forrest Clayton Supinger. Her childhood babysitter was actress Jean Seberg, also a Marshalltown native...
, Sandy Dennis
Sandy Dennis
Sandra Dale “Sandy” Dennis was an American theater and film actress. In 1966, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.-Early life:...
, and Bryan Madorsky
Bryan Madorsky
Bryan Madorsky is an American former child actor.Madorsky's first and best known role is that of Michael Laemle in Bob Balaban's Parents, starring Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt and Sandy Dennis.-External links:...
. Although the film is primarily in the horror genre (it can also be categorized as surrealistic horror
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, and the film has sometimes been compared to the work of David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, particularly Blue Velvet), it features many comic moments, including the use of sitcom-like music in its soundtrack, and has sometimes been categorized as a black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
. The production of the film spared no expense in creating each detail, reproducing accurately the modern style of the 1950s, right down to the clothing, wallpaper and carpeting. It was filmed in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Its tagline is: There's a new name for terror!.
Plot
Michael Laemle is a ten year old boy living in 1954 suburbanSubUrbia
subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He has new friends at his school, a father with a great job at the mortuary, and a mother who is the perfect homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
, both always smothering him with kindness. However, when he questions where the huge cuts of meat come from that his parents
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
serve every night, his parents aren't so kind. They are short tempered, and refuse to answer his questions. He quickly begins to fear both of his parents when he begins to suspect his "perfect" family of keeping dark secrets from him. Why isn't he allowed in the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
? Michael knows his parents are engaging in cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
, and that he is in danger. Michael grows more hysterical and disturbed every time his parents try to feed him their "choice cuts". He confesses to the school counselor why he is afraid of his parents. She doesn't believe him, and if she doesn't, who will?
Cast
Main characters:- Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
as Nick Laemle - Mary Beth HurtMary Beth HurtMary Beth Hurt is an American actress of stage and screen.-Personal life:Hurt was born Mary Supinger in 1946 in Marshalltown, Iowa, the daughter of Delores Lenore and Forrest Clayton Supinger. Her childhood babysitter was actress Jean Seberg, also a Marshalltown native...
as Lily Laemle - Sandy DennisSandy DennisSandra Dale “Sandy” Dennis was an American theater and film actress. In 1966, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.-Early life:...
as Millie Dew - Bryan Madorsky as Michael Laemle
- Juno Mills-Cockell as Sheila Zellner
- Kathryn Grody as Miss Baxter
- Deborah RushDeborah RushDeborah Rush is an American actress.Rush has worked in television, film and on Broadway. In 1984, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Michael Frayn's comedy Noises Off. She also acted in Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot...
as Mrs. Zellner - Graham JarvisGraham JarvisGraham Jarvis was a Canadian character actor in US films and TV from the 1960s.Born in Toronto, Jarvis attended Williams College before moving to New York to pursue a career in theater...
as Mr. Zellner - Helen Carscallen as Grandmother
- Warren Van Evera as Grandfather
- Wayne RobsonWayne RobsonWayne Robson was a Canadian television, film and stage actor best known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom The Red Green Show from 1993 to 2006, as well as in the 2002 film Duct Tape Forever.Robson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia...
as Lab Attendant - Uriel Byfield as Little Boy
- Mariah Balaban as Little Girl
- Larry Palef as Announcer
Critical reception
Critics were mixed in their reaction to the film, and it was not well received by audiences when it was originally released. The film had an estimated budget of $3 million, according to the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, but grossed only $870,532 in the United States. Since its initial box office failure, however, the film has developed a cult following
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
on home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
. The film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on May 25, 1999 in its unmatted
Open matte
Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte for a full screen home video release.Usually, non-anamorphic 4-perf films are filmed directly on...
full screen format. The original DVD went out of print for a brief period of time before the film was re-released in the DVD format as a double feature with the film Fear
Fear (1990 film)
Fear is a thriller/horror/suspense film. It is directed by Rockne S. O'Bannon and stars Ally Sheedy, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Michael O'Keefe, Lauren Hutton, Keone Young, Stan Shaw, Dean Goodman, Don Hood and Jonathan Prince.-Plot summary:...
, and Parents was presented for the first time in widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
since its original theatrical release.