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The film

The Good Son (1993)

Directed by Joseph Ruben · Thriller

86 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Elijah Wood Mark Evans
Macaulay Culkin Henry Evans
Wendy Crewson Susan Evans
David Morse Jack Evans
Daniel Hugh Kelly Wallace Evans
Jacqueline Brookes Dr. Alice Davenport
Quinn Culkin Connie Evans
Ashley Crow Janice Evans
Rory Culkin Richard Evans

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

2:03

Top Ten List

1. The Exorcist; 2. The Shining; 3. Orphan; 4. We Need to Talk About Kevin; 5. The Omen; 6. The Bad Seed; 7. The Good...
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:03Read transcript
20:50

Roger Ebert's review

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. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel argues that Ebert often let moral revulsion toward slashers, juvenile comedy, and mean-spirited films outweigh craft. — Sean Fennessey
  • The episode states that Ebert awarded one-half star, described as unprecedented across roughly 440 covered movies. — Bill Simmons
  • Siskel is kept distinct: his objections focus on plot logic around Mr. Highway and the absent investigation. — Sean Fennessey
  • Ebert asks who would want to see the film and calls it creepy and unpleasant because very young children enact horrible behavior. — Bill Simmons
  • Ebert proposes the alternate title Henry: Portrait of a Future Serial Killer. — Bill Simmons
  • Ebert calls the cliff climax unconvincing, contrived, meretricious, and manipulative; the panel rejects the severity of that judgment. — Bill Simmons
1:20:04

Casting What-Ifs

An abandoned 1988 version would have cast Michael Kleeseck as Henry, Jesse Bradford as Mark, Mary Steenburgen as Susa...

An abandoned 1988 version would have cast Michael Kleeseck as Henry, Jesse Bradford as Mark, Mary Steenburgen as Susan, and Michael Lehmann as director.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:04Read transcript
  • The earlier casting and director package is reported. — Bill Simmons
  • A Lehmann version is expected to lean further into black comedy. — Chris Ryan
1:23:54

Recasting Couch

Michelle Pfeiffer is favored as Susan, with Sam Shepard as Wallace and Tom Hanks as Mark’s father.

Michelle Pfeiffer is favored as Susan, with Sam Shepard as Wallace and Tom Hanks as Mark’s father.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:54Read transcript
1:26:18

Half-Assed Internet Research

Fake cigarettes, the Minnesota cliff shoot, Culkin’s 30-foot fall and BB-gun request, the novelization, the child act...

Fake cigarettes, the Minnesota cliff shoot, Culkin’s 30-foot fall and BB-gun request, the novelization, the child actors’ friendship, and the edited UK release

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:18Read transcript
  • The child actors reportedly smoked tubes filled with dried parsley and lettuce. — Bill Simmons
  • The cliff was filmed at Palisade Head, Minnesota, with tugboats roughening the water and cranes securing performers. — Bill Simmons
  • Culkin reportedly agreed to a 30-foot cable fall in exchange for a BB gun. — Bill Simmons
  • The novelization expands Henry’s inability to feel. — Bill Simmons
  • Culkin and Wood are described as remaining close friends. — Bill Simmons
  • The 1995 UK video release reportedly removed the visible Mr. Highway incident after copycat concerns. — Bill Simmons
1:38:59

Picking Nits

The absent father, adults stopping their pursuit, the cliff-death explanation, weak investigations, cousins who never...

The absent father, adults stopping their pursuit, the cliff-death explanation, weak investigations, cousins who never met, geography, dinner without a sitter, unsafe ice, ignored weapons, absent hospital parents, and unseen witnesses

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:59Read transcript
  • Mark’s father leaving for Japan immediately after the mother’s death is the largest premise problem.
  • Davenport and Wallace stop pursuing Mark after he escapes toward the cliff. — Chris Ryan
  • Susan would need to explain dropping Henry to police and Wallace.
  • Richard’s bathtub death and the Mr. Highway crash should have triggered investigations. — Chris Ryan
  • The cousins apparently never met despite the fathers being brothers. — Bill Simmons
  • The stated eleven-state drive from Arizona to Maine appears wrong. — Chris Ryan
  • The grieving parents go to dinner without a sitter while serving soup beforehand. — Chris Ryan
  • The public skating pond is dangerously managed and the rescue route makes little sense.
  • Susan sees a crossbow in the shed but focuses only on Richard’s duck. — Chris Ryan
  • Neither parent stays with hospitalized Connie. — Bill Simmons
  • The hospital provides immediate reassurance after prolonged submersion.
  • Many witnesses could have seen Henry push Connie toward unsafe ice. — Bill Simmons
1:48:40

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Whether Susan faces criminal exposure, whether the Tokyo deal closed, how the brothers’ relationship changes, whether...

Whether Susan faces criminal exposure, whether the Tokyo deal closed, how the brothers’ relationship changes, whether Henry is evil or sociopathic, and whether Mark saved the family

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:40Read transcript
  • Susan’s possible manslaughter exposure is questioned. — Chris Ryan
  • The panel asks whether Mark’s father completed the Tokyo deal. — Chris Ryan
  • The fathers’ relationship after the disastrous visit is questioned. — Chris Ryan
  • The film’s missing early scene would need to show Susan suspecting Henry killed Richard. — Bill Simmons
  • Mark’s identification of Susan with his dead mother shapes his conflict with Henry. — Chris Ryan
  • Mark may have saved Connie and Susan, though his arrival may also have accelerated Henry. — Chris Ryan
1:52:23

Best Double Feature

Mikey, Home Alone, and The Bad Seed
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:52:23Read transcript

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