Morgan Stewart's Coming Home

Morgan Stewart's Coming Home

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Alan Smithee
Paul Aaron
Terry Winsor
Produced by Stephen J. Friedman
Written by Ken Hixon
David N. Titcher
Story by David N. Titcher
Starring
Music by Peter Bernstein
Cinematography Richard E. Brooks
Edited by Robert Lederman
Production
company
Distributed by New Century Vista Film Company
Release dates
  • February 20, 1987 (1987-02-20)
Running time
 95 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $6 million
Box office $2,136,381

Morgan Stewart's Coming Home is a 1987 American comedy film starring Jon Cryer, Viveka Davis, Paul Gleason, Nicholas Pryor and Lynn Redgrave. The screenplay was written by Ken Hixon and David N. Titcher. The film was also released as Home Front and Homefront Riviera in some countries. The film was directed by Paul Aaron/Terry Winsor, but upon release the director was listed as "Alan Smithee", a name often used when directors ask to remove their names from a picture.

Plot

The film stars Cryer as the son of a Republican senator from Virginia who has spent most of his life away at boarding school. An eccentric boy who is a fan of horror films, his personality does not fit in with the carefully calculated conservative image his mother (Redgrave) has designed for their family. He is brought home to help with his father's campaign for re-election as Senator, and unwittingly discovers that others are setting the family up for the fall. With the help of a zany new girlfriend (Davis) he manages to save the day, and loosen up his family in the process.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack included the opening track 'Painted Moon' by The Silencers and music by Peter Bernstein, Timothy Duckworth, Bernard Herrmann, Chris Isaak, John Manikoff, and The Surfaris.

Production Company: Kings Road Entertainment

Film locations

Critical reception

Critics generally felt the movie to be poor, although the cast, especially Cryer, was usually praised. The New York Times noted that "It's hard to imagine any adult sitting through this movie without dozing off or cracking up, but it's a harmless enough fantasy, and if Jon Cryer's career takes off -- he's due in at least two more films, Dudes and Superman IV -- Morgan Stewart may find a place in the archives as an early little movie in which the star wasn't nearly matched by the material."

Rob Lowing of the Sydney Morning Herald wrote of the film "there are three good reasons to see it. However, these don't include the direction, storyline or soundtrack." He was particularly critical of the direction: "Director Smithee should cop most of the blame...a camera which wanders all over the place, a totally bland soundtrack, and fussy repetition of ideas..." Conversely, Lowing singled out actors Paul Gleason, Lynn Redgrave and John Cryer as the three central attractions of the film, noting that "there are flashes of brilliance, though, particularly when Cryer and Redgrave are left alone to strut their stuff."[1]

References

  1. ↑ Lowing, Rob, "Top actors but no plot to speak of", The Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday, July 5, 1987, p. 114.
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