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Parker Posey,
Parker Posey,
Josh Hamilton,
more...
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Mark S. Waters,
Mark S. Waters
see all cast/crew...
: 
: Miramax
: Comedies, Independent, Black Comedy, Dysfunctional Families
: 85 min.
: English
: English
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A wealthy young man wants to wed a painfully ordinary girl, and a few hours with his family will convince anyone why he's doing so in this black comedy. Marty Pascal (Josh Hamilton) is engaged to marry Lesly (Tori Spelling), a dizzy blonde he met when she was working at a doughnut shop, and he bravely decides that it's time she met his family, so he brings her along for Thanksgiving dinner at his mother's house in West Virginia. Bravery is necessary because the Pascals are not an especially healthy or wholesome family. Mother (Genevieve Bujold) explains her philosophy about parenting like so: "You raise cattle; children just happen." In this environment, where refusing your child anything is all but unknown, her youngest son Anthony (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) has grown up to be an overanxious virgin eager to seduce Lesly while Marty's not paying attention. And Marty's twin sister Jackie (Parker Posey), malignily obsessed with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, often re-enacts the murder of JFK using spaghetti sauce for blood (when she can't get ahold of real bullets) and enjoys incestuously seducing Marty (which hardly bothers Mother, who notes that "Jackie's hand was holding Marty's penis when they came out the womb"). The House of Yes was based on the play by Wendy MacLeod; first time director Mark S. Waters (brother of screenwriter Daniel Waters) also adapted the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Special Features:
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| ...with Freddie Prinze as Uncle Fester
by GernBlanston
August 1, 2007 - 9:19 AM PDT
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Young man brings fiancee home to meet his dysfunctional family. It was like an Addams Family episode where the outsider is introduced to the quirky family, but here, instead of the disembodied hand we get an incestuous Jackie O., brilliantly played by Parker Posey.
I'm not sure Tori Spelling quite pulls off her wholesome girlfriend/waitress character. She actually does a decent job here, but Her Name and face carry such a patina of showbiz glitz that it's impossible to forget who you're looking at. (Is there a word for that? I'm reminded of Liza Minelli's portrayal of the working class innocent in "Arthur".)
The pacing and dialog of the film appear to have been directly copied from the stage play. Maybe it was intended that way, but I found it distracting, if not tedious. Otherwise, this is a very funny movie.
The real reason to see this movie is Parker Posey. Her performance is right on the mark. |
| A Parker Posey Classic
by TAubuchon
May 3, 2002 - 11:15 AM PDT
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7 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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| This is not only classic Parker Posey, but classic Indie. It has great dialogue, dark humor, a deep stab at the bourgeois and even a bit of incest for that awkward feeling that is a staple of a good indie flix.Parker as Jackie O gone mad is absolutely hilarious. Jackie is such a vibrant and witty character that despite being severely disturbed creature in a deeply decayed family structure, you never feel sorry for her strange existence. The rest of the cast was strong and Tori Spelling was surprisingly good as the innocent girlfriend drawn into the upper crust mad house. Two up and coming stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Liegh Cook give solid performances as well. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.89)
261 Votes
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