Home Fries parents guide

Home Fries Parent Guide

Overall C-

Home Fries stars Drew Barrymore as Sally, a young girl who works at the local burger joint.

Release date November 25, 1998

Violence C-
Sexual Content C
Profanity C-
Substance Use --

Why is Home Fries rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Home Fries PG-13 for thematic elements and some sexual humor

Run Time: 91 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Home Fries stars Drew Barrymore as Sally, a young girl who works at the local burger joint. She is about to become a pawn in an intricate plot when the adulterous father of her almost-born baby (he originally told her he wasn’t married) pulls up to the drive-through and tells her that he’s confessed the situation to his wife. When he offers Sally a ride and hints at other sexual activity, Sally refuses, saying, “I don’t want a ride… I want a father for my baby.”

Moments after driving away, he’s chased by a military helicopter and gunned down with blank bullets. The experience kills him from cardiac arrest. Amazingly, Sally overhears the conversation between the helicopter pilots, Angus (Jake Busey) and Dorian (Luke Wilson), on the wireless headsets she wears. Even more amazingly, they hear Sally talking about cleaning the milkshake machine. Angus is convinced that the only way to tie up the “loose ends” is to murder Sally. Dorian isn’t so sure. He didn’t want to kill anyone in the first place, and contemplating a second murder is more than he bargained for.

Some use the term “dark comedy” to describe this type of film. For movies like this to succeed at being funny, the characters have to be doing hilarious things in between their heinous acts and the audience has to be of a mind that finds scaring a man to death and plotting to murder a pregnant woman funny. Add to this the implausibility of the situation: The movie takes place in a small town, yet the somewhat mentally deprived Angus and Dorian “borrow” a military helicopter (I can’t believe they could pilot a pickup truck) and shoot off a dozen rounds without attracting any attention.

The most entertaining aspect of Home Fries is the plot twists it contains, and I’ll keep those unspoiled. However, parents will want to consider the themes of adultery and murder along with the many instances of moderate profanity and terms of Deity before bringing this film home for anyone.

Starring Drew Barrymore, Catherine O'Hara, Luke Wilson. Running time: 91 minutes. Theatrical release November 25, 1998. Updated

Home Fries Parents' Guide

Home Fries isn’t recommended for family viewing, but if you do have family members that see the movie, you may want to talk to them about it. Home Fries has many examples of people exhibiting anger in dangerous and exaggerated ways. What do you think would be an appropriate penalty for Angus and Dorian’s illegal acts? How responsible is their mother for what they have done? Finally, you may want to discuss why this movie is classified as a comedy. What elements in it did you find funny, if any? Would you find these situations just as funny if they happened to you personally?