Home Movies

Name: Home Movies
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2010-04-12T08:40:21-07:00

Critics Consensus

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TOMATOMETER

Total Count: N/A

40%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 7,109

Super Reviewer

Home Movies Photos

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Movie Info

Brian DePalma created Home Movies with the students in his film class at Sarah Lawrence University. This loose black comedy, suggestive of DePalma's earliest work, stars Kirk Douglas as Tuttle, a cult leader who inspires nerdy Denis (Keith Gordon) to seize control of his life by documenting every significant moment of it on film. As a result, Denis takes his camera and woos his brother's girlfriend (Karen Allen), reveals his father's extramarital affair, and films himself in a variety of increasingly bizarre scenarios.

Rating:

PG
Genre:

Comedy
Directed By:

Brian DePalma
Written By:

Kim Abler, Dana Edelman, Robert Harders, Charlie Loventhal, LeMay Stephan, Gloria Norris
In Theaters:

May 16, 1980 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Sep 10, 2002
Runtime:

89 minutes
Studio:

United Artists

Cast

Kirk Douglas
as Dr. Tuttle 'The Maestro'

Nancy Allen
as Kristina

Keith Gordon
as Denis Byrd

Gerrit Graham
as James Byrd

Vincent Gardenia
as Dr. Byrd

Mary Davenport
as Mrs. Byrd

Captain Haggerty
as Policeman

Bunny
as Himself

Loretta Tupper
as Grandma

Theresa Saldana
as Judy

Kim Herbert
as Biker

Charlie Loventhal
as Thomas

Jon Dawson
as Uncle Nelson

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Critic Reviews for Home Movies

All Critics (1)

At once Brian De Palma's most slapdash and most autobiographical picture.

Aug 21, 2006 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Fernando F. Croce
Slant Magazine

View All Critic Reviews (1)

Audience Reviews for Home Movies

Jul 11, 2012

An incoherent, unfunny and strange comedy movie by De Palma, a good director in suspense films, but very bad in humor. Sometimes, Home Movies have his moments, unfortunately flaw with the lack of laugh in the audience and make the people doesn't care about the characters or they destiny. Boring and forgettable. Rotten.

Lucas M Super Reviewer
May 08, 2012

This is a little known independent film made by Brian De Palma in-between "The Fury" and "Dressed To Kill". It was made with a crew of young film students as a philanthropic hands-on exercise in movie-making, helmed by De Palma and with contributions from his Hollywood contacts: composer Pino Donaggio; actors Kirk Douglas, Gerrit Graham and Nancy Allen; editor Paul Hirsch, etc. The hope was that the movie would be a commercial success and would kick-start a wave of independent film-making. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, but "Home Movies" is still a little gem which is well worth seeking out. Its humour is rather more absurd and less gentle than that of De Palma's first feature, "The Wedding Party", though the tangible enthusiasm for the project by all concerned is somewhat similar to that film's. This is more than just a fascinating cul-de-sac in his career, containing as it does a few of the recurring motifs of his major work, most notably voyeurism ("Hi, Mom!", "Sisters", "Body Double", etc) but also the idiosyncratic use of railway stations ("Dressed To Kill", "Blow Out", "The Untouchables", "Carlito's Way"). One comic episode in which Keith Gordon, grease-painted and sporting an afro wig, is assaulted by a racist cop reminds one of the "Be Black, Baby" segment in "Hi, Mom!". Essential viewing for die-hard De Palma fans.

Stephen M Super Reviewer
May 08, 2012

too bad this school-Hollywood experiment isn't better; Allen, Gordon are OK & Douglas shows he can cop a star presence even in this

Adam M Super Reviewer