Home Movies (film)
Encyclopedia
Home Movies is a 1980 independent film
directed by Brian De Palma
and starring Kirk Douglas
, Nancy Allen
, Vincent Gardenia
, Keith Gordon
, Theresa Saldana
, and Gerrit Graham
.
's emotional crescendo with her hand up a puppet-bunny's hindquarters, Home Movies is an unashamed farce, though the comedy is tinged by De Palma's obsessions; the narrative is continually recorded, and every character is defined by his or her relationship to the lenses. The hilariously dysfunctional Byrd clan is the main subject: Young Denis (Keith Gordon
) is saddled with a philandering father (Vincent Gardenia
), a self-pitying mother (Mary Davenport), and a brawny older brother (Gerrit Graham
), to say nothing of a lingering feeling of being "an extra in his own life." Personal growth -- and love, embodied by Allen as Graham's ex-fiancée -- hinges on being able to master the ongoing mise-en-scène that is life, a task as perilous to the hapless Byrd protagonists as to the Maestro (Kirk Douglas
), the "star therapy" professor who oversees their foibles and whose cinematographic paraphernalia constantly intrudes upon their realities.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
directed by Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
and starring Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Nancy Allen
Nancy Allen (actress)
Nancy Anne Allen is a Golden Globe nominated American actress and cancer activist.Allen began an acting and modelling career as a child, and from the mid-1970s appeared in small film roles, most notably the anchor of Robert Zemeckis's ensemble comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand...
, Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia was an Italian American stage, film, and television actor.-Early life:...
, Keith Gordon
Keith Gordon
Keith Gordon is an American actor and film director.-Life and career:Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Barbara, an actress, and Mark Gordon, an actor and stage director. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family and was inspired to become an actor at the age of twelve, after seeing James...
, Theresa Saldana
Theresa Saldana
Theresa Saldana is an American actress, known for her work in motion pictures and television. She is perhaps best known for her role as Rachel Scali, the wife of Police Commissioner Tony Scali, in the 1990s television series The Commish, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best...
, and Gerrit Graham
Gerrit Graham
Gerrit Graham is an American actor and songwriter. He's appeared in such films as Used Cars, TerrorVision, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, and Greetings, where he worked with Brian DePalma for the first time...
.
Plot
From the opening credits caricaturing the cast to Nancy AllenNancy Allen
Nancy Allen may refer to:* Nancy Allen * Nancy Allen -See also:* Nancy Allan , Manitoban politician...
's emotional crescendo with her hand up a puppet-bunny's hindquarters, Home Movies is an unashamed farce, though the comedy is tinged by De Palma's obsessions; the narrative is continually recorded, and every character is defined by his or her relationship to the lenses. The hilariously dysfunctional Byrd clan is the main subject: Young Denis (Keith Gordon
Keith Gordon
Keith Gordon is an American actor and film director.-Life and career:Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Barbara, an actress, and Mark Gordon, an actor and stage director. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family and was inspired to become an actor at the age of twelve, after seeing James...
) is saddled with a philandering father (Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia was an Italian American stage, film, and television actor.-Early life:...
), a self-pitying mother (Mary Davenport), and a brawny older brother (Gerrit Graham
Gerrit Graham
Gerrit Graham is an American actor and songwriter. He's appeared in such films as Used Cars, TerrorVision, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, and Greetings, where he worked with Brian DePalma for the first time...
), to say nothing of a lingering feeling of being "an extra in his own life." Personal growth -- and love, embodied by Allen as Graham's ex-fiancée -- hinges on being able to master the ongoing mise-en-scène that is life, a task as perilous to the hapless Byrd protagonists as to the Maestro (Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
), the "star therapy" professor who oversees their foibles and whose cinematographic paraphernalia constantly intrudes upon their realities.