Parents
Directed by Bob BalabanMichael Laemie (Brian Madorsky) is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburban home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and his continued unease around his parents. Especially his father, Nick Laemie (Randy Quaid). Young Michael begins to suspect that his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or to the school's social worker.
Where to Watch Parents
Parents Ratings & Reviews
- RazorbitzNovember 29, 2025Possibly Randy Quaid's best performance and an all around excellent film from the eyes of a paranoid child. Some really interesting shots and creeping dread in a film that has no right being as good as it is. But it is. Don't miss this one.
- Kevin WardJuly 14, 2025I had no idea Bob Balaban was even a director let alone one with this much talent. I thought his direction was one of the stand outs in this film. There were several creative flourishes with some of the shots and edits that worked really well. Dark comedy with a much greater emphasis on the dark rather than the comedy. Randy Quaid, I’ve never really been a fan of, but he really impressed me. I was expecting a kind of hammy performance from him but he was actually quite understated and subdued which really worked. I will say I was expecting a higher kill count. Excellent ending too.
- Jacob O’NealJuly 6, 2025From my MonsterVision With Joe Bob Briggs collection comes the feature film directorial debut of actor Bob Balaban (Close Encounters Of The Third Kind). The film follows a young boy who moves to a new town with his parents when notices strange things. His parents may be cannibals. Set in the 1950’s world of suburbia, Balaban managed to turn into a perfectly normal looking place with that sense of childlike imagination. I don’t mean like the film has a sense of wonder. I mean the imagination of a kid when he’s uncomfortable or in a heightened state of emotion. Randy Quaid and Mary Kay Place as the parents really help to set that mood for our poor lead. The tone of this film is darkly comic, bordering on horror. For a debut film, Balaban was very self assured and the movie works based on his directing and the actors performances. The script is solid, but it could have easily been mishandled in the wrong hands. All three elements had to come together on this film or it wouldn’t work. If you like horror, dark comedy or you’re just a Randy Quaid fan, you should watch this film. If you can find the MonsterVision bits with Joe Bob Briggs, it’s even better. His opening monologue is hilarious for this one. But Joe Bob’s bits are not what the film is judged on. The star rating is solely that of Parents.
Parents Trivia
Parents was released on January 27, 1989.
Parents was directed by Bob Balaban.
Parents has a runtime of 82 min.
Parents was produced by Bonnie Palef.
The key characters in Parents are Nick Laemle (Randy Quaid), Lily Laemle (Mary Beth Hurt), Millie Dew (Sandy Dennis).
Parents is rated R.
Parents is a Horror, Comedy, Mystery film.
Parents has an audience rating of 5.4 out of 10.