PARENTS [1989]

Actor Bob Balaban made his theatrical directorial debut with the off-beat horror-comedy Parents.
Set in a 1950's suburban neighborhood, a social misfit of a young boy suspects his oddball parents are serving him human flesh at the dinner table.
Produced in a time when America was just discovering that even it's suburban neighborhoods hold terrible secrets, Parents had the potential to become a cult-classic like Blue Velvet, Flesh-Eating Mothers or The 'Burbs.  Instead it never seems to find a comfortable balance of horror, comedy or intelligent satire and instead tries to be too weird for it's own good and when it's not weird, it's just plain boring.  If not for it's pitch-perfect cast and flawed but inviting set-up the film would not have been as mildly enjoyable as it was.

2½ questionable leftovers out of 5