Folks! (1992) User Reviews (25)

This a great movie for people who aren't made of stone.

[sinkerhawk · 6/10 · 23 June 2002]

This is a good movie. Sure, it won't win any awards, but it's still a lot funnier than many more successful films out now. Some people seem to have a problem with mixing humor and Alzheimers. My own grandfather had this horrid disease and eventually passed away a few years back. Does this make me feel that this movie is less funny? Not for a moment. The reason is that nothing bad ever happens to Dom Ameche's character. He sets up Tom Selleck time and time again for painful slapstick gags, but he always comes out squeaky clean.

I found the writing witty with some good one-liners and great character interaction. On a believeability scale, it rates pretty low, but it is plausable. I saw no plot holes that others have mentioned, but it's easy to see plot holes when you already know the concept of the story, unlike the characters who are in the dark and haven't seen a "trailer" of their lives. The cast is also great, btw.

All in all, this movie is a great distraction, but if you haven't smile or laughed in awhile and you think South Park is immature, you probably won't like this film. If you do see it, just remind yourself that they are not making fun of Alzheimers, they are poking fun at the misadventures one man has trying to take care of his aging parents while trying to retain his own sanity.

hysterically funny MOVIE

[cal1946 · 6/10 · 12 June 2006]

Some people have no sense of humor. I laughed until I cried the first time I saw this movie. It is not reality, it is comedy. Real life situations that many of us may face as our loved ones age have been taken to the extreme, so we can laugh. The loss of a testicle is not funny but how it happened and being called one-nut is. I would call it a modern day screw-ball comedy along the lines of "Bringing Up Baby". It should be released on DVD shortly (I will be getting it) just sit back, suspend reality and enjoy--what's not to enjoy about watching Tom Selleck?! I also loved "Blind Date" with Bruce Willis and Kim Bassinger. I recommend this movie to anyone who loves to laugh.

Be careful and believe everything!

[Mort-31 · 7/10 · 3 February 2001]

There is a twist in this movie which is hard to believe and not convincingly brought across. I don't want to write a spoiler, so if you are about to watch this movie, just prepare for simply believing everything. Then you may enjoy the the film, if you don't expect a very high quality level.

In general, you have to be quite generous to this movie to like it. The mood of the film is disbalanced in a disturbing way. The film is definitely supposed to be a comedy but there are few, unsatisfying attempts of criticism on how society deals with elderly people. These should have been extended or left out. The story also has it's weak points. For instance, there is exactly one scene, where Don Ameche (who is, by the way, perfectly cast) wins his mind again and talks to his son as if he was normal. This happens never again later, although one would expect it. Another leave-out suggestion.

Apart from that, "Folks!` is a turbulent and quite black comedy, not suitable for bad nerves. It's the kind of movie, where everything goes wrong that can go wrong, and there is one character who gets more and more hits from life because he is too warm-hearted. If you enjoyed that, watch the Austrian movie "Hinterholz 8`. The humour of it is not as crude as in "Folks!` but the pity towards the main character is even stronger.

Terrific movie, enjoyable to the last drop!

[JGidusko · 29 October 2002]

I don't BUY many movies, once you've seen them, then what? But this is one that I bought! This one I palm off on house guests that are bored with playing pinochle. And I have watched it over and over as other members of the family watch it, and I enjoy it just as much as the first time! Don Ameche did a wonderful job on this one, Selleck also, and both pulled the comedy off just right. Yes, I believe that a guy like Selleck could have that much bad luck in the movie! (We are asked to believe much more than that sometimes!) And I think Amache was hilarious with his Alzheimer's schtick! And I did have a grandfather that suffered with it, so climb off me on that point. It's like watching somebody take a pratfall... and who hasn't smiled at one of those?

Funny but treads a fine line as "black comedy"

[merklekranz · 7/10 · 4 May 2020]

In order for "dark comedy" to work it cannot be mean spirited, and "Folks" has it's share of meanness for certain. It is pure and simple oftentimes painful to watch as poor Tom Selleck is subjected to an outrageous quantity of physical and mental abuse. The film is a very uneasy mix of slapstick, "black comedy", and stupidity. Fortunately, despite the constant shifting back and forth between comedy genres, "Folks" has enough uproarious moments that totally save the movie. It certainly is not in a class with films like "Eating Raoul", Fire Sale', or "War of the Roses", but it is worth seeing especially for those who appreciate the above mentioned movies. I would classify "Folks" as more of a near miss because of it's questionable use of what the writer must have considered "black comedy."

Slapstick rendering of darkly comic material...

[moonspinner55 · 1/10 · 13 March 2009]

Tom Selleck plays an absentee son to senile "pop" Don Ameche and weary mom Anne Jackson, making up for his indiscretions (one presumes) and taking them in after Ameche has burned down his mobile home; meanwhile, Selleck's job is vanquished by the F. B. I., his assets are frozen, his wife and kids leave him and his obnoxious sister and her brats have come to stay. Brightly-painted comedy-of-ills is as out of touch with reality as Ameche's doddering old coot. Perhaps a serious first draft (with scenes such as Ameche walking out into traffic with two toddlers) was incorporated into a sillier second or third version (with Selleck getting poked, bumped, prodded, and eventually losing a toe and a testicle!). Either way, it's a painful experience, and Selleck's sudden dedication to his father makes little sense; he hobbles around and howls in pain, but retains his heart of mush. This movie is mush. * from ****

Forget Leonard Maltin!

[drwhobob-2 · 8/10 · 25 February 2000]

Forget Leonard Maltin's comments. I can't remember when I laughed so hard. Sure, it's slapstick. There are plenty of cheap jokes and visual cheap shots. But there's just enough irony (McDonalds/McDonnel's) to make things interesting. An hour and a half of pure escapism and belly laughs.

Boring and depressing

[felicity4711 · 1/10 · 19 July 2005]

Folks! is a "comedy" about a man whose parents beg him to kill them because they're going senile and want to be put out of their misery. Several times he tries to kill them and then changes his mind, saving them from his death-traps at the last minute and losing one of his body parts each time in the process. The movie seems to hate its main character, which makes it all the more painful to watch. There's also the usual tacked-on love-interest and predictable ending.

This movie was also the first time I'd seen Tom Selleck without a mustache, and I remember his shaved upper lip looking weird and making me feel slightly slick. But this might have been just because of the terrible premise and lame execution of the movie.

One of the top ten funniest movies ever.

[johnkellogg · 10/10 · 26 April 2002]

Poor Tom Selleck's character provides the viewer with an endless string of laughs (and groans). His relationship with his parents is one that almost everyone can identify with in a loving, but humorous way. Throughout the movie there are funny events that I can see coming but am helpless to warn Selleck about. Also, there are several twists and turns that delight the viewer. All in all, a great comedy.

ONE OF TOM SELLECK'S FUNNIEST MOVIES !!!

[lilybear5923 · 9/10 · 24 July 2003]

This is a satirical look at a behind-the-scenes view of Tom Selleck playing a had-it-all stockbroker who loses it all. It has a black satire view of Alzheimer's but political correctness aside - it is one of the funniest movies of Selleck's that I have seen!!! I loved Don Ameche and Anne Jackson who were perfect as his parents and they deliver some of the best one-liners I can remember. If you liked the quirkiness of "HAROLD & MAUDE" or "the HOSPITAL" with George C. Scott or "WHERE'S PAPA?" with George Segal - this movie is just for you!!! I just wish it would be released on DVD as my VHS copy is getting a lot of play from being loaned to others who have never seen it.

Watch this movie!

[KES-3 · 18 October 1998]

When I watched Folks! for the first time I could not stop laughing. It was hilarious! I highly recommend you watch it. You will not regret it!

GREAT

[scoutwes2 · 10/10 · 5 October 2003]

I love this movie. It is a non stop laufgh. I first saw this movie when I was at someones house and have rented it many time. I now own it and still laufgh every time I see it. A great movie for anyone looking for a good comedy.

Just leave your brain at the door and have a good laugh

[dtucker86 · 21 October 2001]

This was one of Don Ameche's last films and he gives a great performance. This man was truly one of Hollywood's "greats" and I am so happy that he was finally recognized with that Oscar for Cocoon after such a long spell of being forgotten. I had a lot of guilty laughs watching this film. Some people might say that it is in poor taste because his character suffers from Alzhiemers (in the film they call it senile dementia). Just leave your brain at the beginning of the film and have a good time. Tom Selleck obviously went through a lot of pain making this film (ha ha). You should have a few guilty laughs at this as well. Wendy Crewson is wonderful as his understanding wife. This film may be the intellectual equivalent of a MacDonald's cheeseburger, but just watch it and have a good laugh!

Funniest movie

[rickeysmith-71027 · 10/10 · 20 October 2021]

Funniest movie I've ever watched love it I've watched it every time I can find it my whole family likes it I don't know why people have got so many low ratings they need to loosen up and just laugh and quit trying to be so sophisticated.

Painful but funny!

[crystalart · 8/10 · 13 August 2014]

This is a black, slapstick, offbeat comedy that may not be for everyone.

It's not your usual Tom Selleck as in Quigley Down Under or Runaway.

This film really shows his versatility as an actor.

Don Ameche shows that he still has what it takes. It's the first time I've seen him since Trading Places and he's still going strong.

At first I thought Tom's mother was being played by Miriam Margoyles of Black Adder and Ed and His Dead Mother.

This film is heart-warming with a happy ending.

Definitely a family fun film for the right family.

review

[bbbabbett · 9/10 · 26 December 2005]

At first I thought, poor guy, what else can possibly go wrong in your life, then it got worse. And they did it in a style that made me laugh. But, the more times I watched it, the more I saw the true meaning of a loving relationship, and the child's responsibility to take care of the parents. This movie is timeless and should be a classic, mostly for the children that find themselves faced with a parent that loses touch, but can still play and laugh and be loved. When your the child in this position, anything to make you look at the situation in a smiling light is very important. It needs to be shown again and again and again. I always need a good laugh.

I just love this movie!

[htakarra · 10/10 · 20 July 2021]

I was going through had had time and my mom pop this movie in on VHS and we laughed we would watch it every year till it didn't play anymore.

Problems With Family, Friends, Work? Want a Solution?

[tfrizzell · 28 June 2004]

Very strange and somewhat demented black comedy that really plays more like a Road-Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon than a live action motion picture. Tom Selleck takes in his elderly parents (Don Ameche and Anne Jackson) after his father accidentally burns down their home. Immediately everything comes apart for Selleck as he and his sexy wife (Wendy Crewson) start to have marital problems, then he is investigated for possible insider trading by FBI man Michael Murphy, then his crazed sister (Christine Ebersole) and her unruly kids move in after they are evicted and the hits keep coming when Ebersole starts to fool around with Selleck's door man (Robert Pastorelli). Things are going from bad to worse fast and then Jackson pleads with Selleck to kill her and Ameche (no kidding). Selleck's financial woes and the fact that Ameche is suffering the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease are the reasons for Jackson's request. Selleck naturally is torn with what to do, while Ebersole thinks it is a great idea (she obviously has a heart of gold, haha). Soon Selleck tries and tries to have his parents knocked off so he can collect their insurance, but their safety is never really in danger. Instead he is the one who might end up dead trying to come through. I must admit that I like this film a little more than I dislike it. It is a bargain-basement effort and the ideas are no better than those that a junior high student would come up with. With that said, the cast is first-rate and actually make the story come to life with quirky situations and surprisingly hilarious dialogue. There is a darkness to this picture though as there are questions raised about Alzheimer's Disease (a disease that is so tough on everyone who has seen it firsthand) and the rights of elderly people who do not want to lose one another to death. I guess the main problem with me here is tone as I laughed, but did not always feel good laughing at these characters. Ameche is a revelation (as he always seemed to be) and the other primary players are talented performers. Overall I got stuck in the middle with "Folks!", but this is still a picture that deserves a little more credit than it has received. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Stop with the Sensitivity !

[thefitz4 · 8/10 · 25 October 2021]

It turns out to be a black comedy but audiences watch child abuse, shootings, murders, rapes and all kinds of killing Carnage in films and end up loving it. Sure Alzheimer's is a serious disease but stop with the oh I'm offended by the writers and producers for their lack of sensitivity for Alzheimer's. Take the film for what it's worth and have a laugh or two and get over it.

It turns out to be a black comedy but audiences watch shootings,murders, rapes and all kinds of killing Carnage in films and end up loving it. Sure Alzheimer's is a serious disease but stop with the oh I'm offended by the writers and producers for their lack of sensitivity for Alzheimer's. Take the film for what it's worth and have a laugh or two and get over it.

It turns out to be a black comedy but audiences watch shootings,murders, rapes and all kinds of killing Carnage in films and end up loving it. Sure Alzheimer's is a serious disease but stop with the oh I'm offended by the writers and producers for their lack of sensitivity for Alzheimer's. Take the film for what it's worth and have a laugh or two and get over it.

Absolutely Hilarious!

[kenroush-93791 · 10/10 · 27 May 2022]

I have watched this movie at least a dozen times and it always makes me laugh. My young grandsons asked to watch the plane scene repeatedly and were cracking up the whole time. His mom's "I'll just wash it out in the sink" line is genius. Not to be taken seriously, except for Tom's love of his parents, it is a perfect comedy of errors that never lets up. It is by far one the funniest movies I have ever seen, and I've seen many in my years. Those who don't appreciate it and want to constantly look for flaws and faults, are idiots and would not be welcome at my house, or in my life. Pour yourself a nice glass of wine and enjoy the ride!

the eye of the storm caressed tom selleck's mind, and he chose folks...

[brother ian · 4 July 1999]

when i want to have a good time, i go out and bowl, when i want to rest, i'll sleep in my bed, when i need to taste something good, i'll eat a steak. folks cannot fit into this. i love it.

Humor in poor taste can take you only so far

[lor_ · 13 July 2023]

My review was written in May 1992 after a screening in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

Tom Selleck flinders in the ill-fitting comedy vehicle "Folks!". Made by the team behind the low-brow hit "Weekend at Bernie's", feature proves bad taste isn't enough.

"Folks!" marks an inauspicious first release (via Fox) of the Italian-backed production outfit Penta Pictures. Two more star vehicles, toplining Jack Nicholson and Katheleen Turner, are due out soon.

Scripter Robert Klane, having scored with the stiff comedy of "Bernie's", attempts to mine black humor from other taboo areas here. The embarrassment of watching Don Ameche grotesquely essay a senile old man is exceeded only by Klane's idiotic spoofing of euthanasia.

Rickety plot devices begin with Chicago mercantile exchange trader Selleck called to Florida to sign consent forms for his mom Anne Jackson's operation. While he's gone, co-worker Michael Murphy proves to be an FBI man pulling a sting operation at Selleck's firm. Under suspicion for traveling so abruptly, Selleck's funds are frozen.

Jackson recovers, but Selleck's senile old man (Ameche) burns down his Florida home and wreaks havoc with reckless driving in his vintage Cadillac. (Why all the problems only start when Selleck arrives is unexplained.) When his hard-boiled Floridian sister Chrisitne Ebersole won't take the old folks in, Selleck drives them back to Chicago to live with his wife and kids.

The main running gags involve Ameche's senility (every reel he has the same revelation that Selleck is his long-gone son) and Selleck's accident-prone behavior. The virile star is put through the ringer doing unfunny pratfalls resulting in endless injuries and supposed laff riot involving testicle amputation.

Second half of the film makes no sense at all, as the FBI suddenly decides Selleck is clean, but he's served a 30-day eviction notice, just enough time for his wife to leave him and Ebersole move in with her two brats. In despair Ma Jackson asks Selleck and Ebersole to kill her and Ameche for the insurance money, setting into motion ridiculous murder attempts.

One of many low points is a brief scene where Ameche gains full lucidity merely to deliver necessary exposition. To take the edge off the euthanasia subplot, battered Selleck becomes senile himself for a reel or two, and doesn't seem much brighter during a telegraphed, convenient happy ending.

Marking severe career setbacks for Ameche and Selleck, "Folks!" obviously miscalculates the low intelligence of the mass audience. Though the picture is technically well put together, especially the frequent stunt work directed by Conrad Palmisano, its gags don't work.

Best characterization is the hateful sister portrayed with consistency by Ebersole. Selleck's mom Jackson and wife Wendy Crewson are just along for the ride.

What worked once before doesn't work again this time

[Wizard-8 · 12 July 2012]

Twenty-two years before screenwriter Robert Klane wrote "Folks!", he wrote the screenplay for "Where's Poppa?", another movie that dealt with a grown man dealing with a senile parent. Since "Where's Poppa?" was successful at the box office and became a cult classic, maybe Klane thought the same basic idea would work again. Maybe it could have, but it didn't. While there are a small number of moments that will make you smirk a little, otherwise the movie is desperately unfunny. What made "Where's Poppa?" work was that *all* the characters were insane, so it was easy to laugh at their troubles. But in "Folks!", Tom Selleck is normal-minded, so when we get to see him abused in various ways, we feel sorry for him instead of laughing at his troubles. Also, a lot of the attempts at humor are quite mean-spirited and harsh, enough that even insane characters would have a tough time making them work. A critical and financial bomb, you'll wonder how this movie wrangled a DVD release years later.

Really, Tom? Really?

[The_Film_Cricket · 18 October 2014]

I would really like to have seen how the people who made 'Folks!' managed to convince each other that this was a good idea. I looked for one of those 'Making Of' specials to hear the cast and crew try to explain themselves but suspiciously there wasn't one. How did they sit through screen writing sessions without somebody speaking up and questioning the morality of jokes about a man with Alzheimer's Disease? How did they convince Tom Selleck to play a role that requires his character to lose a toe, an ear, an eye and a testicle? How did they sit through the cast and crew screening without somebody speaking up about what a wretched idea this was? Maybe no one wanted to lose his or her job but it was no consequence to anyone that the studio would lose money.

I'm a defender of the idea that nearly anything can be made funny with the tenderest of care, however Alzheimer's Disease is a subject that would probably need more caution then most. Ted Kotcheff directs 'Folks!' with wild abandon and that's his first mistake.

Tom Selleck is woefully miscast as a New York stockbroker with a lovely wife and wonderful kids and a mother and father who are getting along in years. He goes to Florida when his mother needs surgery because she's worried about leaving Dad all alone. Dad (Don Ameche) has contracted Alzheimer's disease and wanders around like Mr. Magoo ambling around with a goofy smile and completely impervious to the chaos around him.

Selleck belatedly figures out that there is something wrong and lets him drive the Cadillac which promptly gets backed into the lake. After that Dad burns down their trailer home naturally Selleck has to give them a place to live. This is an excuse for a long series of cruel jokes in which Dad gets son into one accident after another each more painful then the last.

The most inexplicable scene comes when the parents offer to commit suicide by filling their car with gasoline so he can set them on fire so that he can collect the insurance money. That scene even in the hands of the best screenwriter would be impossible to make funny.

There are three dozen different wrong decisions that went into the making of 'folks!' not the least of which is the miscasting of Tom Selleck. Selleck is such a down-to-earth actor, such nice guy on 'Magnum P.I.' and in films like 'Three Men and a Baby' and 'Quigley Down Under' that it makes me cringes to watch him playing a creep getting knocked around like a pinball. Ditto Don Ameche whom I've admired as a smart actor in his early films and in his later career in films like 'Cocoon'. I would really like to know how they talked him into playing this role.

What on earth made anyone think that this was a good idea? I could probably argue that this might have worked as an extremely black comedy. Just to add another point, this movie was released just after the terrible accident in New York in which an elderly man was killed in a car accident so you can see that even the time for release was bad.