Directed by Bob Balaban. Starring Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Bryan Madorsky, Sandy Dennis, Juno Mills-Cockell, Kathryn Grody, Deborah Rush, Graham Jarvis. (R)
Young Madorsky ought to be living the mundane-but-idyllic life in 1950s suburbia, but something is definitely off about his folks (Quaid, Hurt), and where does all that leftover meat they serve up every day come from? Bizarro black comedy/horror pic isn't especially funny or scary, but does manage to weave a discomforting spell from start to finish. Quaid and Hurt bring the right askew notes of alienation and predatory abuse to their square-shaped personas, but Madorsky's quiet, wide-eyed anxiety doesn't make him a particularly engaging protagonist--he never does much of anything, even when things start escalating outrageously in the final act. Individual creepy, unsettling moments stand out, but its aggregate effect is awfully mild considering the offbeat and grotesque subject matter. Feature directing debut for actor Balaban.
56/100
Young Madorsky ought to be living the mundane-but-idyllic life in 1950s suburbia, but something is definitely off about his folks (Quaid, Hurt), and where does all that leftover meat they serve up every day come from? Bizarro black comedy/horror pic isn't especially funny or scary, but does manage to weave a discomforting spell from start to finish. Quaid and Hurt bring the right askew notes of alienation and predatory abuse to their square-shaped personas, but Madorsky's quiet, wide-eyed anxiety doesn't make him a particularly engaging protagonist--he never does much of anything, even when things start escalating outrageously in the final act. Individual creepy, unsettling moments stand out, but its aggregate effect is awfully mild considering the offbeat and grotesque subject matter. Feature directing debut for actor Balaban.
56/100