Mrs. Beatrice Lever (Catherine O'Hara) is a dangerous woman. When she discovers that her husband is cheating on her she gets her two sons, military pilots Angus (Jake Busey) and Dorian (Luke Wilson) Montier to scare him to death in a helicopter. The lover, Sally Jackson (Drew Barrymore ), works in a burger joint and is pregnant at the time of her lover's death. She also just might have heard what happened because of a freak radio signal. So one of the sons is sent undercover to find out just what she knows. While his brother and mother would be happy to see Sally dead too, Dorian falls in love with her.
Vince Gilligan originally wrote the screenplay for this film in 1989, for a screen-writing class he was taking at New York University.
When Angus is in the helicopter chasing Dorian, Sally and his mom, we see through the windshield of the helicopter that the highway is blocked off by orange cones and police cars. In the previous and subsequent shots, there is traffic flowing.
It has elements of sweet romance and elements of macabre humor, and divides its characters between the two. Reviewed by: Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times.
A fast-food type of movie - it looks good in the commercials and is easy to sit through, but it doesn't offer much in the way of satisfaction. Reviewed by: James Berardinelli of Reel Views.
A twisted, but not particularly clever, black comedy. Reviewed by: Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail (Toronto).
This absurdist satire of sex, sibling rivalry, Oedipal ties, homicidal fantasies and fast food in the American heartland at least has the right attitude. It just isn't funny enough in its particulars to make you break up laughing. Reviewed by: Stephen Holden of The New York Times.
The just plain folks in Home Fries -- down home, slightly slow, and desperate for happiness -- would make great Jerry Springer Show guests if they weren't so damned pretty. Reviewed by: Gary Dauphin of The Village Voice.
