Panic Fest Film Festival Coverage
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank review.
A family tries to solve their problems with murder…and ends up creating many more, hilarious, problems.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank
Directed by Caden Douglas
Written by Caden Douglas
Starring Mindy Cohn, Enrico Colantoni, Melanie Leishman, Chad Connell, Juan Chrioran, Sharron Matthews and Izad Etemadi
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank Review
There’s no problem that a little murder can’t solve. Unless it’s dealing with the fallout of said murder. Mother Father Sister Brother Frank puts a funny spin on a deadly situation. Family secrets are revealed. Blood is spilled. Finally, something to shake up the boring Sunday family dinner.
Joy (Mindy Cohn) and Jerry (Enrico Colantoni) have been keeping some big secrets from their two adult kids. The couple, it seems has done a little money laundering. A side job that has netted them an extra five million dollars. Unfortunately, Jerry’s brother Frank found out and is blackmailing them for everything they have…including the family house. Their attempt to have one final traditional family dinner is ruined when Frank (Juan Chioran) arrives to kick them out. Their children, Jolene (Melanie Leishman) and Jim (Iain Stewart), are keeping secrets of their own. All will be revealed before the night is over…and Uncle Frank will be dead.
Let’s start with the most important part of Mother Father Sister Brother Frank. Mindy Cohn is amazing. As the matriarch of the family the Facts of Life actress steals every moment she is on screen. No small feat considering the rest of the cast is nailing everything in their own rights. Cohn is so funny…her character so fully realized…it makes Mother Father Sister Brother Frank a, pardon the pun, joy to watch from start to finish.
This is a comedy about murder. Frank’s blackmail means that the family either has to uproot their lives and everything they’ve worked for (and stolen) or deal with Frank permanently. It’s funny how fast three quarters of the family come to this conclusion. Jim is the only one who doesn’t immediately intend to take matters into his own bloody hands. Jolene (Jojo as everyone calls her) grabs some poison and goes to town on Frank’s favorite dessert. Jerry and Joy reason out that there is no other way and set out to address with a straightforward physical confrontation.
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank isn’t a movie about killing Frank. He’ll be dead by the end of Act 1. His death, like much of the movie, is very funny. He manages to fend off Joy and Jery despite having a lot of poison running through his body. He even keeps going after accidentally running into the wrong end of a knife Jim was holding when Frank stumbled towards him. Despite their best efforts, though with an assist from all four, Frank dies when a pie falls on his face and he chokes/drowns in it. But not before he clumsily destroys the family room. It’s a great scene in a movie that gives us a lot of great scenes.
Unfortunately, the family’s problems (and the movie’s comedy) have only just begun. Now they have a dead body, blood everywhere…and a constant string of nosy visitors. A neighbor looks for her escaped dog. Jim’s husband Pete shows up very drunk and angry. His outbursts drawing the attention of a pushy, suspicious police officer. The family may have been decent at pulling off a murder…but they’re progressively worse at cleaning up after one, disposing of the body, and hiding it from the world.
The family bickers about their situation as other, life-changing, secrets are revealed. Mother Father Sister Brother Frank is a very funny movie. Whether playing a game of keep away with a severed arm behind someone’s back or the constant stream of back-and-forth dialog…there are a ton of laughs here. The cast is uniformly excellent. Cohn and Colantoni give us some lovable parents. Even when their support involved body dismemberment. They couldn’t have found better actors for these roles. The happiness that Mindy Cohn brings to the aptly named Joy’s face is a constant treat.
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank has a secret weapon that benefits its zaniness. You believe the characters are a real family. Some may even remind you of members of your own. A family dinner worth attending.
Scare Value
Those looking for laughs will find plenty in Mother Father Sister Brother Frank. Getting away with murder has rarely been this funny. Mindy Cohn steals a show that is stacked with funny performances from top to bottom. It proves that a family that can get through murder can get through anything.
