The Worst Parents on Film
Cinema
has a long and illustrious history when it comes to parents who
aren’t perhaps best suited to bringing up their unfortunate
offspring. To celebrate the home entertainment release of Can’t
Come Out To Play, out
on DVD and digital platforms from June 22, 2015 courtesy of Signature
Entertainment, we take a look back at some of the worst parents
to grace the big screen...
Katherine
and Richard (Can’t Come Out To Play)
When
it comes to overprotective parents, it doesn’t get much worse than
Katherine and Richard (Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon). Their
son Andy is in very poor health, and he must stay within his home
adhering to the strict instructions of his mother - who also forbids
him from having any visitors. When Andy’s new friend Maryann begins
visiting and is discovered, Richard is seemingly fine with the
visits, but Katherine does not feel the same, and her behaviour grows
increasingly erratic...
Mr
and Mrs Wormwood (Matilda)
Based
on Roald Dahl’s beloved classic about a sweet and extremely
intelligent girl with a love of books, this adaptation stars Mara
Wilson in the titular role with Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman as her
superficial, bad-tempered parents, who neglect Matilda in favour of
her spoilt brother. After a while, her parents send her to school
with Miss Trunchbull, the worst principal in the world. While trying
to put up with her parents' and principal's constant cruelty, she
unwittingly begins unleashing telekinetic powers, and is soon
concocting a plan to drive her principal away from the school.
April
and Frank Wheeler (Revolutionary Road)
Leonardo
DiCaprio and Kate Winslet take the lead roles in this adaptation of
the classic novel by Richard Yates about the futility of the American
dream. Fundamentally flawed, selfish, and struggling with
disillusionment, Frank and April Wheeler are raising two young
children, while April has forgone her dream of becoming an actress,
and Frank loathes his job, although he has no idea what he really
wants to do. Self-involved and unable to connect with each other,
their carefully constructed facade of a perfect family slowly begins
to crumble around them, culminating in unimaginable tragedy...
Darth
Vader (Star Wars)
When it comes to the award for ‘Worst Parent Ever’, the honour goes to Darth Vader a million times. Not only was discovering he was Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia’s father a cinematic shock, but the reveal seemed to change nothing. If there was any hope of Darth Vader transforming into father of the year material it was all lost when he cut Luke’s hand off.
When it comes to the award for ‘Worst Parent Ever’, the honour goes to Darth Vader a million times. Not only was discovering he was Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia’s father a cinematic shock, but the reveal seemed to change nothing. If there was any hope of Darth Vader transforming into father of the year material it was all lost when he cut Luke’s hand off.
Joan
Crawford (Mommie Dearest) Joan Crawford (Faye
Dunaway) may have been a screen queen to the world, but to her
daughter Christina (Diana Scarwid) she was a living nightmare. While
most mums are baking cookies for their kids Crawford was abusing and
traumatizing hers. What makes her even more awful is that she was
actually a real person.
Mrs. Livingston (Bubble Boy)
There is no doubt Mrs. Livingston (Swoosie Kurtz) loves her son, but
she takes her love to downright suffocating extents. When loving your
kid involves a lie that confines him to a bubble for much of his life
there clearly is an issue there. As they say, if you love him let him
go; a lesson Mrs. Livingston clearly did not learn.
Peter and Kate McCallister (Home Alone)
Peter (John Heard) and Kate (Catherine O’Hara) McCallister may be
well intentioned and loving parents, but they make this list for
their utter carelessness. It is one thing to forget to pack your
toothbrush when going out of town, but leaving your child behind all
together on a family vacation is never a good sign. In their case
they are repeat offenders of leaving their son behind clearly showing
their lack of parenting skills.
***
CAN’T
COME OUT TO PLAY comes to DVD and digital platforms from June 22,
2015, courtesy of Signature Entertainment.