Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Parents Blu-ray Movie Review

What's for dinner?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 30, 2017

Director Bob Balaban may be familiar to astute filmgoers for his on screen appearances in such movies as Midnight Cowboy, Catch-22 and Gosford Park, though as he states in the commentary on the Blu-ray release of Parents, his feature film helming debut, he has the kind of face few would want to put up on the big screen. Balaban hails from a rather iconic show business family in any case, with one of his uncles a legendary force at Paramount Pictures for decades, and other relatives (including his father) intimately involved with the movie business in one way or the other. Balaban’s kind of sad sack appearance is relevant, however, for as he himself states on the commentary track, he wanted to cast a child actor in the pivotal role of Michael in Parents who looked like Balaban as a child. One can see at least a passing resemblance between the adult Balaban and then quite young Bryan Madorsky, who essays the role of Michael, a kid who may or may not be imagining his seemingly picture perfect parents are up to no good. Parents didn’t really make much of an impact when it was originally released in 1989, but with the distance that hindsight can provide it now comes off as a rather winning if flawed black comedy that plies some of the same psychological discomfiture that informs other films featuring troubled children wondering what’s going on with their parental units, like Invaders From Mars. In the case of that science fiction classic, while there’s no real ambiguity as to what exactly is transpiring, the little boy might at least be thought of as suffering from something like Capgras syndrome (a mental illness that recently made headlines when former Saturday Night Live and SCTV cast member Tony Rosato, who reportedly suffered from it, passed away and it was referenced in several obituaries of him). That psychological state leads people to believe that their loved ones have been replaced by look-alikes, an anomaly that has also been used to good effect in some other films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In Parents, little Michael doesn’t think his parents have been replaced, but he begins to suspect that their eating habits might be akin to certain elements seen in films like Eating Raoul and/or Delicatessen.

Michael and his parents Nick (Randy Quaid) and Lily (Mary Beth Hurt) are new transplants to a mid- to late fifties suburban “paradise” that nonetheless seems to roil Michael’s perhaps already troubled psyche. Everything seems picture perfect in that “Cleaver family” sort of way, down to Mom always wearing dresses and being immaculately coiffed, and Dad at home in a tie and sweater working on his golf swing. But the film does a rather neat if subliminal job of detailing Michael’s psychological unrest. He gazes at his parents with a look of slight fear a lot of the time, something that becomes more overt at several key junctures. By the time he jumps into his bed and it dissolves into an imaginary pool of blood, it’s obvious this little boy has more on his mind than Saturday morning cartoons.

While considerably more ambiguous than Invaders from Mars, the film isn’t shy about dropping hints that some kind of nefarious activity is going on in the household, though it’s skewed, obviously from the point of view of a little tyke who may be suffering from some sort of post traumatic stress disorder. Seemingly innocent activities by the parents often echo ominously from Michael’s perspective, and when he spies them having intimate relations, it seems that things are set to go seriously off the rails. A psychologist named Millie Dew (Sandy Dennis) starts working with the little boy, but even she isn’t certain if what he’s experiencing is only in his mind or may be actually happening.

Parents kind of wants to have its cake and eat it, too, a perhaps appropriate analogy given the film’s emphasis on foodstuffs. There’s both ambiguity galore but also explicit depictions, especially in the film’s climax, which on their face conflict with that very ambiguity. Despite the tonal imbalances, the film is fascinating from a production design standpoint and also some of the cinematography (Balaban and DP Robin Vidgeon utilize split diopter techniques to give framings both intimacy and distance, simultaneously, something that tends to add to the off kilter feeling of much of the proceedings). Performances are very winning as well, especially young Madorsky, who according to the IMDb has no other professional credits and who according to Wikipedia works as an accountant.

Parents Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Parents is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films' Vestron Video imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. There are some passing but not really overly problematic issues with this transfer, including some fairly prevalent wobble, especially in the early going, as well as some age related wear and tear and a palette that is never really vividly saturated. Clarity and sharpness, along with grain structure, are at least somewhat variable, with some sequences looking rather nicely precise and others looking fairly soft and ill defined, at least in comparison to other moments. Close-ups can often reveal commendable fine detail in elements like the vintage fabrics, and as stated above in the main body of the review the use of split diopters gives some scenes a really distinctive appearance (see screenshot 5).

Parents Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Parents features a winning sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, one that really comes alive courtesy of some fun orchestral cues by Angelo Badalamenti and a score by Jonathan Elias. Occasional sound effects dot the fray, but the bulk of the film is in seemingly "innocent" dialogue exchanges where not much else is going on. Fidelity is fine and there are no age related issues to report.

Parents Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Bob Balaban and Producer Bonnie Palef


• Isolated Score Selections and Audio Interview with Composer Jonathan Elias


• Leftovers to Be with Screenwriter Christopher Hawthorne (1080p; 16:48) is an engaging interview with the scribe, who talks about the genesis of the project and what he was trying to convey. He also has some interesting and perhaps unexpected things to say about Randy Quaid.


• Mother's Day with Actress Mary Beth Hurt (1080p; 14:29) has some interesting insights into her character in the film.


• Inside Out: An Interview with Director of Photography Robin Vidgeon (1080p; 13:58) has some biographical information as well as interesting technical data on some of the film's unusual framings.


• Vintage Tastes with Decorative Consultant Yolanda Cuomo (1080p; 9:26) focuses on the film's vintage production design.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:33)


• Radio Spots (1:42)


• Still Gallery (1080p; 4:52)

Parents Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Parents is a really intriguing little film, and my hunch is it's going to enjoy a new audience with this Blu-ray release. It isn't perfect, and it probably tries to have things both ways with regard to ambiguity and certainty, but it's fun and disturbing in about equal measure, and it certainly has a very distinctive style. I will say that I have a decidedly off kilter sense of humor, and those of you who share that tendency will probably be more prone to enjoy this film than those expecting either traditional horror or comedy. Once again Vestron Video has offered some appealing supplements to sweeten the menu (so to speak). Recommended.