And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird
Directed byTony Cookson
Written byTony Cookson
Produced byJust Betzer
Starring
CinematographyPaul Elliott
Edited byMichael Ornstein
Music byRandy Miller
Production
company
Panorama Film International
Distributed byTrimark Pictures
Release date
  • November 15, 1991 (1991-11-15)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$202,590[2]

And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird is a 1991 American comedy film written and directed by Tony Cookson in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Marcia Strassman, Joshua Miller, Edan Gross, John Quade, Sam Behrens, and Alan Thicke. It follows two inventor brothers creating a working robot that is also inhabited by the spirit of their dead father.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 15, 1991, by Trimark Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office. For his performance, Miller was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.

Plot

Two brothers Josh and Max attempt to invent a fully mobile robot with advanced artificial intelligence to help their mother, Sarah, with household chores. However, after a playfully performed séance on Halloween, the ghost of their late father, Matthew, possesses the robot. The boys are overjoyed at the return of their father, but it soon becomes apparent that the people who stole their father's work are after their robot, Newman. Eventually, Matthew returns to the afterlife after setting his boys on the right path as they sell the plans for their robot to a rich Texan investor.

Cast

Production

In June 1990, it was reported that producer Just Betzer planned to finance the film through his company, Panorama Film International. Principal photography began in mid-July 1990 in Los Angeles, California, under the working title Newman, and wrapped in late-May 1991.[1]

Reception

Box office

The film was a box-office bomb, grossing only $202,590 in North America.[2]

Critical response

Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated, "And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird has a low-budget look and a lot of strained wholesomeness, although it works best when its eccentricities are allowed to show."[3] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called it "a cute robot movie" and noted, "And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird is so soft and squishy, that any decently cute robot would probably sink through its center like a stone."[4] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two out of four stars, and wrote, "And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird seems inspired by several different sources. […] Is the movie worth seeing on its own? Only marginally; it's the kind of entertainment that seems like more fun on Nickelodeon than when you paid for your ticket."[5]

Accolades

Year Award Category Recipient Result
1992 18th Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor Joshua John Miller Nominated
1993 14th Youth in Film Awards Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture Nominated
Best Young Actor Co-Starring in a Motion Picture Edan Gross Nominated
Best Young Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture A. J. Langer Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 "AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR PARENTS WERE WEIRD (1991)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  3. ↑ Maslin, Janet (November 15, 1991). "Review/Film; A Typical Family With a Robot For a Dad". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  4. ↑ Wilmington, Michael (November 15, 1991). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Parents' Short-Circuits With Overload of Cuteness". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ Ebert, Roger (November 15, 1991). "And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
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