Emperor Tod Spengo (Jon Lovitz), Ming-like rule of the planet Spengo, plans to blow up Earth, but delays his strike where he spots an Earth woman on his screen and decides to make her his bride. Thus, Dick and Marge Nelson (Jeffrey Jones and Teri Garr) are sucked into the far reaches of outer space in their station wagon. Marge is quickly wooed and Dick is promptly imprisoned. Dick decides to fight for his wife and save our world and he's in luck because everyone on Spengo is an idiot.
After watching this, I have to wonder if a section of the water supply in the offices of Warner Bros. Execs was spiked. During 1991-92, the studio had some of the biggest hits of those years including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Batman Returns (1992), and The Bodyguard (1992). In that same period, they also released some of the weirdest studio releases of the era including Nothing But Trouble (1991), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Stay Tuned (1992), and this. Mom and Dad Save the World might be the oddest film I've seen this year. It is one of those films where I admire parts of it and would love to read a 50-page article about how the hell this got made. Sadly, it didn't garner that type of attention and a two-page article in Cinefantastique is all I get. It has all the hallmarks of a production the studio had no idea what to do with - shot in the summer of 1990, rigorously test screened, multiple release dates missed in 1991, and ultimately dumped on 900 screen in July 1992 (it opened in an ominous 13th place). Director Greg Beeman had a hit with License to Drive (1988) and appears to be diplomatic in the article, saying the studio never forced him to make "unnecessary" changes. But it is obvious the studio cut it down with clues like the ten-minute end credits beginning at the 78 minute mark, a script for sale on eBay showing a 119 pages length, and the ominous "additional editing by..." end credit.
So what is admirable about the film? Well, the production design is, pardon the pun, out of this world. This is like if the makers of the adult spoof Flesh Gordon (1974) had a $15 million dollar budget. Like the aforementioned Trouble, you can clearly see every dollar spent on screen as Planet Spengo is fully realized via the production design, set design and costume design teams. The costumes and hair are a bizarre Dr. Seuss meets Terry Gilliam look. Tony Gardner's FX company Alterian Studios also supplies some bizarre creatures including bulldog-boys (the main one played by Tony Cox), fish-girls (the main one played by Debbie Carrington), and vicious mushroom monsters (again, who was on the drugs!?). Everyone worked their asses off on this film. The cast is also fun outside of Lovitz, who has always been in my top 5 of most annoying performers ever. Watching anything with Jones is kinda queasy due to his later arrest, but he and Garr are both good here. Supporting players include Thalmus Rasulala, Eric Idle, Dwier Brown, super-hot Kathy Ireland, and semi-hot Wallace Shawn; the latter two share an onscreen kiss, no doubt why Shawn signed on to the project. The Matheson/Solomon script is funny at points (lots of people calling Jones "Earth Dick") but I think it would have worked better without someone as highly annoying as Lovitz in the villain role. That said, it was made for kids and judging from the nostalgic love for it on IMDb comments, it hit that market eventually. Matheson/Solomon worked on the even more confounding bomb Super Mario Bros. (1993), but recovered with the much loved Men in Black (1997). Mom and Dad Save the World is not a film I would recommend as a classic, but interesting to watch nonetheless.
After watching this, I have to wonder if a section of the water supply in the offices of Warner Bros. Execs was spiked. During 1991-92, the studio had some of the biggest hits of those years including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Batman Returns (1992), and The Bodyguard (1992). In that same period, they also released some of the weirdest studio releases of the era including Nothing But Trouble (1991), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Stay Tuned (1992), and this. Mom and Dad Save the World might be the oddest film I've seen this year. It is one of those films where I admire parts of it and would love to read a 50-page article about how the hell this got made. Sadly, it didn't garner that type of attention and a two-page article in Cinefantastique is all I get. It has all the hallmarks of a production the studio had no idea what to do with - shot in the summer of 1990, rigorously test screened, multiple release dates missed in 1991, and ultimately dumped on 900 screen in July 1992 (it opened in an ominous 13th place). Director Greg Beeman had a hit with License to Drive (1988) and appears to be diplomatic in the article, saying the studio never forced him to make "unnecessary" changes. But it is obvious the studio cut it down with clues like the ten-minute end credits beginning at the 78 minute mark, a script for sale on eBay showing a 119 pages length, and the ominous "additional editing by..." end credit.
So what is admirable about the film? Well, the production design is, pardon the pun, out of this world. This is like if the makers of the adult spoof Flesh Gordon (1974) had a $15 million dollar budget. Like the aforementioned Trouble, you can clearly see every dollar spent on screen as Planet Spengo is fully realized via the production design, set design and costume design teams. The costumes and hair are a bizarre Dr. Seuss meets Terry Gilliam look. Tony Gardner's FX company Alterian Studios also supplies some bizarre creatures including bulldog-boys (the main one played by Tony Cox), fish-girls (the main one played by Debbie Carrington), and vicious mushroom monsters (again, who was on the drugs!?). Everyone worked their asses off on this film. The cast is also fun outside of Lovitz, who has always been in my top 5 of most annoying performers ever. Watching anything with Jones is kinda queasy due to his later arrest, but he and Garr are both good here. Supporting players include Thalmus Rasulala, Eric Idle, Dwier Brown, super-hot Kathy Ireland, and semi-hot Wallace Shawn; the latter two share an onscreen kiss, no doubt why Shawn signed on to the project. The Matheson/Solomon script is funny at points (lots of people calling Jones "Earth Dick") but I think it would have worked better without someone as highly annoying as Lovitz in the villain role. That said, it was made for kids and judging from the nostalgic love for it on IMDb comments, it hit that market eventually. Matheson/Solomon worked on the even more confounding bomb Super Mario Bros. (1993), but recovered with the much loved Men in Black (1997). Mom and Dad Save the World is not a film I would recommend as a classic, but interesting to watch nonetheless.