Tubi Thursday: Parents (1989)

 Since both of my Parents' Birthdays this Week, let's do a special Film.  It's about someone's...

In 1950s Ametica, a young family- the Laemle Clan- move to a new home.

All looks great.

So why do they look so ominous when they are cooking all of this meat?

Their Son is full of ideas and high on imagination.

Is he imagining all of the weird things in his life though?
If even 1% of it is real, that's a big thing!

Can he make sense of his dreams?  Is he a reliable Narrator?

Will this at least be less depressing than the *last* 'Kid in '50s America thinks that X is an X' Film I watched?

Things continue to get weirder as the Son learns about what his Dad does for a living.

He's working to create dangerous chemicals (like Agent Orange) and is studying the effect it has on 'the kidneys.'

Is that what he's sautéing in the pan?

It all comes to a head one night in this Dark Comedy...which I won't SPOIL.

As the Title suggests, it's on Tubi.  See it if you need to know.

A weird, dark little Film.  The first thing to note is that the Film was made by Bob Balaban, who I don't think of as a Director.  I think of him as 'that deadpan guy from that Movie.'  You have one in your head, don't you?  So it is interesting to see him leaning into what is more of a weird, dark Film than a quirky one.  At times, it seems like it might go for silly.  Most of the time, however, underlying tension just keeps building and building.  The thing here is the balance.  Can the Film balance the weird, the mundane, the dark and the light?  Not quite.  Like another Film I talked about recently, I could see someone taking another crack at this concept.  Yes, I do know about Mom and Dad (with Nic Cage) and it's not quite the same.  That one is more like The Screwfly Solution (from Masters of Horror) than this Film.  Without SPOILing the Ending at all, they basically had to commit to an ending and I'm not sure that they picked the right one.  That's subjective, admittedly.  Parents isn't quite what you expect it to be, nor does it ultimately end up like you're maybe hoping it will be.  Speaking of hoping, I'd hoped to find more Films with the Actor playing the Son...but he only did this one.  This Credit sure is...unnecessary in hindsight then, no?

An odd little Film that tries to balance the idea of the mystery and the reality.  In the end, it doesn't *quite* stick the landing though.