| The Good Son | 
 enlarge | Director: Joseph Ruben
Actors: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse, Daniel Hugh Kelly
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $4.13
You Save: $5.85 (59%)
New (44) Used (40) Collectible (1) from $3.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  91 reviews
Sales Rank: 9344
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 87
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: FOXD2221033D
UPC: 024543110323
EAN: 0024543110323
ASIN: B00013RC7K
Theatrical Release Date: September 24, 1993
Release Date: February 3, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 09/09/2008 Run time: 87 minutes Rating: R
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| Customer Reviews: Read 86 more reviews...
Macaulay Culkin first non kiddie starring role September 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Good Son when released in 1993 was a film starring it child actor Macaulay Culkin. Culkin played the bad boy role very effectively and had good chemistry with Eiljah Wood. Joe Rebuen's direction was tense but the film was a little short in it's running time for my tastes. I wished they would have gone into a back story with Henry's reasons for being evil. One question remains though, why did Wood become a bigger star?
 The Good Son July 25, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I always loved this movie. I would have liked a commentary for the disc though.
 "The Bad Seed" Gone Wrong July 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is ironic that the film that could have elevated the extremely popular, Macaulay Culkin from cliche to substantive actor instead served to showcase his flaws as an actor. In the "Home Alone" movies Culkin was a pretty face that Chris Columbus molded into an engaging child hero in his sadistic series of movies. Never had two lackluster villains been so violently abused. For Culkin that was as good as it was going to get.
In "The Good Son," Culkin lacks the backbone to bring the evil Henry to life. Henry is every bit as evil as the monster in "The Bad Seed," but his portrayal lacks the conviction that is necessary to bring off a psychopath. Conversely, Elijah Wood, who turns out to be the good son, brings a considerable verisimilitude to his role and in so doing further highlights the need for a stronger antagonist.
Perhaps the explanation for Culkin's poor performance was that he burned out at a tender age, or that he was reared in a dysfunctional family. I remember him most as the smart allecky five year old in "Uncle Buck." Here he peppers his hapless uncle (John Candy) with a string of questions that only a child can carry off. Elijah Wood went on to become a fine actor who is perhaps best known for his role in "The Lord of the Rings." Macaulay was to fall further in the coming years, and this is disappointing for those who saw such early promise.
The Good Son
Evil is as evil does. July 8, 2008
The Good Son starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood may seem like a silly film but I actually enjoyed this dark story. Culkin is anything but likable in this thriller, Wood always gives a good peformance. The two stars have great chemistry and many people see this film as a guilty pleasure, I guess you can say that so with that in mind give this sleeper film a try, enjoy!
No Country for Little Boys March 15, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
"The Good Son" was the edgy '90s "thriller" in which Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin channeled his demon seed equivalent. It has an oddly good pedigree, with Ian McEwan (who atoned for this with "Atonement",another story about a malicious child) as its screenwriter and Elmer Bernstein,a mainstay of '50s/'60s classics, composing the score. It's a B movie that has a soundtrack and a screenplay too good for it.
"Good Son" has grieving little Mark (Elijah Wood) sent from the beautiful land of New Mexico to the Maine wilderness to live with his mischievous cousin Henry (Macaulay Culkin),Henry's sister Connie (Quinn Culkin) and his uncle Wallace (the actor is currently starring as the homophobic,homicidal Col. Mayer on "As the World Turns",soap fans!) Mark learns that Henry is a creepy fellow with a morbid fascination with death. Culkin is quite amazing as the charismatic,manipulative Henry. He&his real-life sister have a realistic dynamic. There are many suspenseful moments, and the soundtrack is excellent!
On the other hand,"Good Son" has some weak spots. Most significantly,its lead. When Wood tells his shrink about evil's existence, he says it so blandly he's outdoing then-90s blandfest Keanu Reeves. His stock response to Culkin's evil acts is a blank look. He's got the requisite B-movie Prince Valiant 'do. He spends the movie being wide-eyed,hiding,and running (there,I have "Fellowship" summed up if you don't have three hours) Usually child stars aren't catatonic; on the whole,they're hammy or sappy. It's quite astounding that once Wood came of age and starred in a certain 9 hour epic involving orcs&evil bling,he'd inspire tons of racy fanfiction,because he's homely in "Good Son." It's a "thank God for puberty and Peter Jackson!" film.
"Good Son" is riveting in its badness. The "Mr. Highway" scene-in which Henry causes a massive accident-is so ludicrous it's laughable. Henry's snarkiness keeps the movie going. This film deserves a MST3K treatment,as another reviewer noted. "The Good Son" gets three stars for Culkin's standout performance,the few moments of suspense,it's a movie so bad,it's good.
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