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 Parents Released 1989 Directed by Bob Balaban Parents begins with the idyllic vision of 1950s Anytown, USA. Thought to be the golden age of America. The film centers on the Laemle family who is just moving to a new town. At the start we're treated with a montage of banal domestic bliss. The great American dream. After this montage the film shifts to the point of view of the Laemle son, Michael. Michael seems like a gloomy loner. Not at all experiencing the joy his parents seem to experience in their carefully crafted little world. To Michael his parents seem off. The things they do don't make sense. And he starts to think that they might have sinister secrets. Are these the product of a child's imagination and his lack of understanding of what adults do when the kids aren't around or are his suspicions hitting close to home?  So let's talk about the cast. First and foremost we should mention Randy Quaid. Here is playing against type and he knocks it out of the park. He sells a mix of sternness, ambiguity, caring father, overly strict, and harboring dark secrets. In my opinion this is his best performance. He very much embodies what you'd picture when someone says "50s dad". He works for a chemical company that contracts for the military.  The mother is played by Mary Beth Hurt. Her character seems right at home playing home maker. Her day to day activities seem like they're right out of a magazine and her house is constantly perfect looking. The only signs of life in her home are when she's pouring over her cook books in the kitchen. But sometimes the mask slips.  Lastly is Bryan Madorsky as Michael. He's basically a sullen "weird kid" who his parents and teacher view as a kind of problem child telling lies and acting out. His only friend in the new town is a girl in his class who is similarly a "problem child" but she's a lot more mischevious. She knows adults are full of poo poo and is all too willing to tell Michael and talk about their secrets. This would be Madorsky's only film appearance.  So as I hinted at before the world that Parents exists in looks like something out of an old magazine. The Laemle house practically looks like a museum. And visually the world of this film is dominated by a handful of colors, primarily blue, yellow, green, and red. Usually just two are most prominent in any given scene. The titular parents are usually seen dressed in or standing around yellow and blue. Mr. Laemle is almost always wearing a yellow cardigan and Mrs. Laemle wears dresses patterned in yellow and blue. Very often the color red is used in a scene to pop against what ever else you see. Often it's Mom's lipstick or blood seen in Micheal's visions and nightmares. The mundane 50s chic is often broken up by some surreal imagery or a creepy atmosphere. In contrast to his parents Michael wears only dark colors and is often seen in dim lighting. Much of the aesthetic sensibility of this film reminds me of Wes Anderson's famous "dollhouse" look. It's a shame Balaban didn't really go on to direct any features after this. He does things with aesthetics that would have been interesting to see him expand on.  Parents juxtaposes the pop cultural image of the 50s with its harsher realities. It screams "Nostalgia for an age that never existed.". The film is available to watch for free on Tubi. Previous Movies of the Month
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May 7, 2022 06:21
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Great movie for sure, I'm a big fan of it. Since my fav movies ever are say Blue Velvet and Repo Man, this variety of 80s offbeat gem is right where I like to be. It's just got that movie magic. Also something I notice when I watch an 80s and 90s movie especially lately, they just have that movie movie look to them. Not that I don't love recent digital flicks and whatnot, but the art and visual language of those times in film just really delights me. I've also taken to looking at the cinematographer (DP) and editor pages on Letterboxd lately. They always impress with a crazy list of credits. Here we have the DP from Re-Animator, House, Good Burger, all sorts of cool stuff. And the editor known from Naked Gun and 90s Muppet movies and more. I notice the director, editor, and DP were all also on My Boyfriend's Back. I liked that as a kid, I wonder if it'd be a fun rewatch. Kudos to all these filmmakers. Heavy Metal fucked around with this message at 23:07 on May 8, 2022 |
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May 8, 2022 23:01
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CPL593H posted:Parents begins with the idyllic vision of 1950s Anytown, USA. Yes, it's another demented reality lurking underneath suburbia. Stuff from The Stepfather (1987), Problem Child 2 and Edward Scissorhands came to mind. It reminds me that I need to watch Serial Mom as I'm guessing it's similar. As far as the subject matter. It's like some of the stories I've read about nasty serial killers/cannibals who were making burgers, chili and spaghetti et al. out of people and giving it to neighbors. I guess the ending implies the grandparents are also in on the game.
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May 22, 2022 00:03
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Thanks for the addition to my library. I have never seen this movie before but did enjoy the watch. It had a lot of the enjoyable vibes that movies from that era would give. The non-polished look from the era and the hard selling of the setting of this movie being back a different time from the society we live in now brought it all together. The actual story line itself was okay, i mean, it wasn't anything with a super shocking twist but it was constant. A couple scenes got intense and the very end was a good reveal. I would definitely recommend this to someone in the mood for a movie such as this.
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May 22, 2022 17:41
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