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The Good Son poster
The Good Son

Who Won the Movie?

The Good Son The Rewatchables

Macaulay Culkin is the performance choice, but Kit Culkin is proposed as the shadow producer who forced the film into existence.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:52:37Read transcript
  • Macaulay Culkin wins for a singular outlier performance in his short filmography.
  • Kit Culkin is proposed for forcing Macaulay and Quinn into the project and helping produce a hit.
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Macaulay Culkin
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Kit Culkin
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Macaulay Culkin
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The Good Son poster
The Good Son

Unintentional Comedy Award

The Good Son The Rewatchables

The film’s extreme premise, compressed plot logic, and numerous obvious nitpicks make its unintentional comedy unusually strong on a rewatch.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:53:11Read transcript
  • The first watch is described as harrowing child danger, while later watches can expose more absurdity.
  • The unintentional comedy is called off the charts.
  • The panel contrasts implausible writing with work by nine artisans described as great craftspeople of their era.
The Good Son poster
The Good Son

Top Ten List

The Good Son The Rewatchables

A ranked list of movies about dangerous children places The Exorcist first, The Shining second, Orphan third, We Need to Talk About Kevin fourth, The Omen fifth, The Bad Seed sixth, The Good Son seventh, Brightburn eighth, Late Night with the Devil ninth, and Village of the Damned tenth.

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:03Read transcript
  • The segment is introduced as a top-ten list of movies in which something is wrong with a child.
  • Village of the Damned is number ten, covering both the 1960 film and the 1995 remake.
  • Late Night with the Devil is number nine for its possessed girl on live television.
  • Brightburn is number eight and is described as an evil-Superman premise.
  • The Good Son is number seven.
  • The Bad Seed is number six and is identified as a major influence on The Good Son.
  • The Omen is number five.
  • We Need to Talk About Kevin is number four, ahead of The Omen.
  • Orphan is number three.
  • The Shining is number two, with Danny initially framed as a possible source of danger.
  • The Exorcist is number one for the observed Reagan.
  • Children of the Corn and Mikey are proposed as omissions after the ranked ten.
The Good Son poster
The Good Son

Roger Ebert's review

The Good Son The Rewatchables

Roger Ebert gave The Good Son one-half star and condemned its use of child performers and its ending; the panel finds his moral reaction understandable but too dismissive of the craft.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:50Read transcript
  • Ebert is described as hating the film with unusual intensity and questioning what Macaulay Culkin’s parents were thinking.
  • The panel argues that Ebert often let moral revulsion toward slashers, juvenile comedy, and mean-spirited films outweigh craft.
  • The episode states that Ebert awarded one-half star, described as unprecedented across roughly 440 covered movies.
  • Siskel is kept distinct: his objections focus on plot logic around Mr. Highway and the absent investigation.
  • Ebert asks who would want to see the film and calls it creepy and unpleasant because very young children enact horrible behavior.
  • Ebert proposes the alternate title Henry: Portrait of a Future Serial Killer.
  • Ebert calls the cliff climax unconvincing, contrived, meretricious, and manipulative; the panel rejects the severity of that judgment.
The Good Son poster
The Good Son

The Den of Thieves Benihana Award for Scene-Stealing Location

The Good Son The Rewatchables

The Rock Harbor house wins; the desert home and the coast used for Sleeping with the Enemy are alternatives.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:19Read transcript
  • The Rock Harbor house is the primary real-estate and scene-stealing-location choice.
  • The father’s isolated desert home is offered as an alternate.
  • The panel compares the Maine house with the coastal house in Sleeping with the Enemy.
The Good Son poster
The Good Son

What’s Aged the Best?

The Good Son The Rewatchables

Macaulay Culkin breaking from his sweetheart image, both child performances, practical stunt work, the untouched dead-child bedroom, unsupervised childhood danger, and high-end direction age best.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:14Read transcript
  • Casting the Home Alone star as a murderous child is praised as an effective break from his public image.
  • Culkin can appear sweet or eerily malevolent, making the role credible.
  • Elijah Wood preserves some doubt that grief may be making Mark unstable.
  • Practical cliff work, wide shots, and physical stunt staging give the film tangible danger.
  • The untouched dead-child bedroom functions as a recurring wound that the story can reopen.
  • The abandoned-building vandalism and freedom to roam recall unsupervised childhood play.
  • Henry playing taps for the dead dog and adjusting his weapon after missing a cat sharpen his characterization.
The Good Son poster
The Good Son

Gandolfini Butter on My Ass So It Pops in My Mouth Award

The Good Son The Rewatchables

Quinn Culkin’s performance as Connie is selected, largely because the panel enjoys how visibly she was forced into a substantial role.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:23Read transcript
  • The panel criticizes Connie’s monotone delivery and notes the difficulty of acting opposite Culkin and Wood.
  • The role is enjoyed as evidence of Kit Culkin using his influence to place another child in the film.
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