The Good Son (1993)

The Good Son

I always loved this movie. I would have liked a commentary for the disc though. July 25, 2008

"The Bad Seed" Gone Wrong

It is ironic that the film that could have elevated the extremely popular, Macaulay Culkin from cliché to substantive actor instead served to showcase his flaws as an actor. In the "Home Alone" movies Culkin was a pretty face that Chris Columbus molded into an engaging child hero in his sadistic series of movies. Never had two lackluster villains been so violently abused. For Culkin that was as good as it was going to get.

In "The Good Son," Culkin lacks the backbone to bring the evil Henry to life. Henry is every bit as evil as the monster in "The Bad Seed," but his portrayal lacks the conviction that is necessary to bring off a psychopath. Conversely, Elijah Wood, who turns out to be the good son, brings a considerable verisimilitude to his role and in so doing further highlights the need for a stronger antagonist.

Perhaps the explanation for Culkin's poor performance was that he burned out at a tender age, or that he was reared in a dysfunctional family. I remember him most as the smart allecky five year old in "Uncle Buck." Here he peppers his hapless uncle (John Candy) with a string of questions that only a child can carry off. Elijah Wood went on to become a fine actor who is perhaps best known for his role in "The Lord of the Rings." Macaulay was to fall further in the coming years, and this is disappointing for those who saw such early promise.
The Good Son July 24, 2008

Evil is as evil does.

The Good Son starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood may seem like a silly film but I actually enjoyed this dark story. Culkin is anything but likable in this thriller, Wood always gives a good peformance. The two stars have great chemistry and many people see this film as a guilty pleasure, I guess you can say that so with that in mind give this sleeper film a try, enjoy! July 8, 2008

No Country for Little Boys

"The Good Son" was the edgy '90s "thriller" in which Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin channeled his demon seed equivalent. It has an oddly good pedigree, with Ian McEwan (who atoned for this with "Atonement",another story about a malicious child) as its screenwriter and Elmer Bernstein,a mainstay of '50s/'60s classics, composing the score. It's a B movie that has a soundtrack and a screenplay too good for it.

"Good Son" has grieving little Mark (Elijah Wood) sent from the beautiful land of New Mexico to the Maine wilderness to live with his mischievous cousin Henry (Macaulay Culkin),Henry's sister Connie (Quinn Culkin) and his uncle Wallace (the actor is currently starring as the homophobic,homicidal Col. Mayer on "As the World Turns",soap fans!) Mark learns that Henry is a creepy fellow with a morbid fascination with death. Culkin is quite amazing as the charismatic,manipulative Henry. He&his real-life sister have a realistic dynamic. There are many suspenseful moments, and the soundtrack is excellent!

On the other hand,"Good Son" has some weak spots. Most significantly,its lead. When Wood tells his shrink about evil's existence, he says it so blandly he's outdoing then-90s blandfest Keanu Reeves. His stock response to Culkin's evil acts is a blank look. He's got the requisite B-movie Prince Valiant 'do. He spends the movie being wide-eyed,hiding,and running (there,I have "Fellowship" summed up if you don't have three hours) Usually child stars aren't catatonic; on the whole,they're hammy or sappy. It's quite astounding that once Wood came of age and starred in a certain 9 hour epic involving orcs&evil bling,he'd inspire tons of racy fanfiction,because he's homely in "Good Son." It's a "thank God for puberty and Peter Jackson!" film.

"Good Son" is riveting in its badness. The "Mr. Highway" scene-in which Henry causes a massive accident-is so ludicrous it's laughable. Henry's snarkiness keeps the movie going. This film deserves a MST3K treatment,as another reviewer noted. "The Good Son" gets three stars for Culkin's standout performance,the few moments of suspense,it's a movie so bad,it's good. March 15, 2008

Who would of thought that Macaulay Culkin had it in him!,

"The Good Son" is more of an answer than a question, I think. Because it tells the viewer that sometimes things aren't always what they appear to be. When I first saw this movie, some 15 years ago when it was first out, I had a hard time believing the plot; especially the ending. How can parents be so blind? Could this really happen? The film is rather thought-provoking in that regard.

Here's the characters of this movie (listed in order of importance:)
Henry Evans (Macaulay Culkin)
Mark Evans (Elijah Wood)
Susan Evans (Wendy Crewson)
Connie Evans (Quinn Culkin)
Wallace Evans (Daniel Hugh Kelly)
Jack Evans (David Morse)
Dr. Alice Davenport (Jacqueline Brookes)

I also enjoyed the movie because it showcased Macaulay Culkin in a new and exciting role. Before this, we all knew him as cute Kevin McCallister in the Christmas-classic, Home Alone. Maybe, one of the reasons why this movie is somewhat controversial is because a lot of people can't get passed that.

Once Mark goes to stay with Uncle Wallace and Aunt Susan Henry really starts to unravel. He plans that horrible accident (over the freeway,) he kills the dog and he makes cryptic threats to Mark. And, that was something else that made me think. Why was he all-of-a-sudden starting to unravel? In hindsight, the answer is two-fold. Henry was always a kook. But his parents were too oblivious to that detail. And, things only began to get worse when Mark came around because Henry was acting up out of jealousy.

Macaulay Culkin plays a severely disturbed child with such finesse and talent. Because Henry wasn't just a spoiled brat that always wanted to get his way and always wanted attention. He was a calculating misery-machine who didn't let anything stand in his way when he wanted something. And he was vastly intelligent.

My favorite part is when Mark confronts Henry in the tree house. This is probably the first (and only) time in Henry's life where he was called to explain his evil actions. And, I loved what Henry said to him, "don't f-u-c-k with me." Who would of thought that Macaulay Culkin had it in him!

The ending of the movie was incredibly outrageous and over-the-top. But it was pure drama and interesting up and until the last second!

The supporting cast was extraordinary. I really enjoyed the performance by soap opera veteran, Jacqueline Brookes as Dr. Alice Davenport. Dr. Davenport added a touch of realism and continuity to the film because she was always around to help the "troubled" Mark. I loved it when she said to Mark (in the park, after he missed his appointment with her,) "I don't believe in evil," and the very talented Elijah Wood (as Mark) said to her, "you should."

I did find one scene towards the end to be rather odd. Remember when Uncle Wallace locked Mark in his office and Mark started banging on the windows to warn Aunt Susan about Henry? Why did he call her "Susan?" He never once referred to her as "Aunt Susan" as one would expect him to.

There isn't a bona fide "special edition" DVD. However the DVD does include some special features, such as: a full screen version of the film, a wide screen version of the film, close-captioning, language selection, the original movie trailer and a brief featurette on the making of the film. The movie is a total of 86 minutes long, which goes by very quick.

Doesn't it seem like the early to mid-90's were the Golden Age of Suspense/Mystery Thrillers? There were so many great movies in this genre, during this time. Besides "The Good Son," I highly recommend these pictures: Single White Female, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Unlawful Entry, The Crush, Passenger 57, The Client, Under Siege, Poison Ivy and The Fugitive.

I really love "The Good Son." It has everything you would expect in an over-the-top film. Excitement, suspense, drama and maybe even a bit of comedy and camp thrown in for good measure. But this is not a children's movie. Just because the 2 main stars are children does not mean kids should be watching it. It's Rated-R for a very good reason.
January 29, 2008

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