Worst Movie Parents

[Spartan Girl]

Elton John's parents in Rocketman were terrible, cold hearted, self-absorbed, negligent garbage people.

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Elton John's parents in Rocketman were terrible, cold hearted, self-absorbed, negligent garbage people.

When Elton said the line about breaking his mother's heart, I thought, "What heart?"

[Spartan Girl]

Alfred P Doolittle in My Fair Lady should definitely be on this list. He was a drunk deadbeat who didn't give a damn about Eliza. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Alfred P Doolittle in My Fair Lady should definitely be on this list. He was a drunk deadbeat who didn't give a damn about Eliza. 

But he had no morals because he couldn't afford 'em!

But, yeah, Eliza's dad sucked. Poor Eliza wasn't exactly spoiled for strong, positive male figures in her life, was she?

[Spartan Girl]

On 6/16/2019 at 3:57 AM, methodwriter85 said:

When Elton said the line about breaking his mother's heart, I thought, "What heart?"

The worst part of that whole scene of him coming out to his mother is that when she says she knew all along, he was so shocked and hopeful because "I know and I don't care" is usually the response that most people are hoping for from their parents.  But then that hope is shattered when it becomes clear that she not only doesn't care that he's gay, she doesn't care about him, period.  And to twist the knife even further, she coldly tells him "I hope you know that you're choosing to be alone for the rest of your life because no one will ever love you."

She was garbage.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Allie Fox in The Mosquito Coast is one of the most appallingly horrid fathers I've ever seen in a movie. A pompous, short-sighted, narcissistic blowhard who uproots his family from the U.S. (where their situation was already pretty tenuous) to the wilds of Central America and puts them through untold dangers just so he can live out his psychotic, White Savior fantasies. We're all used to Harrison Ford being one of the last great Movie Stars, with charisma and swagger to burn... well, that ain't him in this flick, because he left his charisma at home and thoroughly embraces every last one of Allie's awful qualities. Nothing, not even third world conditions, storms, bandits, more storms, and near starvation is enough to deter this monster.

Watching the movie, I also hated Allie's wife Mother (her first name is never revealed). It's one thing to stand by your man, it's another thing to blandly, blithely accept every unhinged suggestion, no matter how dangerous it is to you or your four children. I don't expect every female character to be a pillar of strength, but I don't think Mother ever once demonstrated any real maternal instinct. Otherwise, she'd have tried to protect her kids much, much sooner. 

[Blergh]

9 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Allie Fox in The Mosquito Coast is one of the most appallingly horrid fathers I've ever seen in a movie. A pompous, short-sighted, narcissistic blowhard who uproots his family from the U.S. (where their situation was already pretty tenuous) to the wilds of Central America and puts them through untold dangers just so he can live out his psychotic, White Savior fantasies. We're all used to Harrison Ford being one of the last great Movie Stars, with charisma and swagger to burn... well, that ain't him in this flick, because he left his charisma at home and thoroughly embraces every last one of Allie's awful qualities. Nothing, not even third world conditions, storms, bandits, more storms, and near starvation is enough to deter this monster.

Watching the movie, I also hated Allie's wife Mother (her first name is never revealed). It's one thing to stand by your man, it's another thing to blandly, blithely accept every unhinged suggestion, no matter how dangerous it is to you or your four children. I don't expect every female character to be a pillar of strength, but I don't think Mother ever once demonstrated any real maternal instinct. Otherwise, she'd have tried to protect her kids much, much sooner. 

Very good, Wiendish! I co-sign every word you've said here. I ALSO think it needs to be mentioned that he openly bullied his younger son Jerry and encouraged his other children to JOIN his dumping on the boy. Evidently, because Jerry had the temerity to actually question whether things were safe. At least Charlie managed to somehow stay fair to Jerry despite Allie's badgering him do otherwise!  

[Spartan Girl]

Beverly in Riding with Cars With Boys was a selfish bitch who barely tolerated her child and never let him forget that her life was "ruined" because she got pregnant as a teenager. Even when they met with his father/her ex-husband after so many years she couldn't be bothered about how emotional it was for him, she was just mad because his new wife wouldn't let him sign the permission form so she could publish her stupid book. 

Proof that not even Drew Barrymore can make everyone likable.

[Luckylyn]

There was a movie whose name I can’t remember.  The plot involves various family members reuniting for the wedding of the lead’s oldest son.  The lead character divorced her oldest son’s dad because he was abusive.  Her parents refused to believe her about the abuse and favored her ex over their daughter.  Their attitude was she was stupid to leave her super rich husband.  There’s a scene where the ex- husband finally admits to her family that he did hit her and threatened her.   Instead of apologizing or simply comforting the daughter they treated like crap for leaving her rich abusive husband, her father turns to his daughter’s abuser, commends his bravery for telling the truth, and starts comforting him. Her father says nothing at all to her. The daughter is just speechless after that and wonders in a daze in the yard until her son from her second marriage goes to see what’s wrong. I turned the movie off at that point and never saw the conclusion.  

[HunterHunted]

On 1/26/2019 at 3:21 PM, Spartan Girl said:

And Black Manta's dad in Aquaman raised his son to be a terrorist/pirate/murder. Arthur summed it up beautifully: "That's your son?! Shame on you."

I just watched this movie and Black Manta's vendetta against Aquaman was hilariously unearned. Your father's lifetime of being a pirate, murderer, criminal, and terrorist has resulted in his death. This should not be a surprise to any of you. Manta Sr. spent 3 decades raising his Black Manta to be a pirate, murderer, criminal, and terrorist. Way to dream bigger for your child. Furthermore, Aquaman is about to leave them in the sub mostly unharmed until Manta Sr. fires at Aquaman, misses, and depressurized the ship and gets trapped. How is this Aquaman's fault? It's as much Aquaman's fault as it is the tornado's fault that Jonathan Kent is dead, which is why Clark spends the rest of Man of Steel trying to stop every tornado. Oh wait, he doesn't do that. 

Also how colossally stupid are Manta Sr. and Black Manta? They find out about a technologically advanced race of mer-people and their dumbasses decided to work for the Atlanteans. This all takes place after Justice League. They literally know that there are multiple aliens from space who want to take over the world. Frankly, the Atlanteans were shit at stopping either effort too. One of the things I have liked about recent animated adaptations of Black Manta is that he's a deeply cynical and opportunistic person. He'll seemingly side with multiple parties, but is only looking out for himself. That version of Black Manta would have sold Atlantean bodies to Lex Corp, Star Labs, or the US government. He would have scavenged and reverse-engineered Atlantean, Kryptonian, and Apokoliptan technologies he could find. If it's not obvious, l thought this movie was really dumb.

[Spartan Girl]

Heather Locklear in The Perfect Man moves her kids to a new town every single time she breaks up with a guy. Every. Single. Time. And yet the movie frames it so that her daughter (Hilary Duff) needs to stop being whiny and ungrateful that her life gets repeatedly uprooted because single parents "have it so hard"?! Screw that.

[Spartan Girl]

Two words: Jack Torrence.

To be clear, I'm referring to the movie version of The Shining. Book Jack was definitely flawed but he ultimately did love Wendy and Danny. But Movie Jack? Even before he goes crazy, he's a nasty asshole that doesn't care much for either his wife or son. The only time it seemed otherwise -- and this is only if I squint a little - was the scene where he has Danny on his lap and is telling him that he loves him, etc. But even that scene has that sinister feeling, or perhaps it only comes off that way because Nicholson always has a hard time displaying any warmth or sincerity.

[Wiendish Fitch]

On 11/4/2019 at 4:57 PM, Spartan Girl said:

The only time it seemed otherwise -- and this is only if I squint a little - was the scene where he has Danny on his lap and is telling him that he loves him, etc. But even that scene has that sinister feeling, or perhaps it only comes off that way because Nicholson always has a hard time displaying any warmth or sincerity.

Exactly. I mean, I defy anyone to picture Jack Nicholson convincingly play someone like Mr. Rogers, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Santa Claus. Go ahead, try. I dare you.

[Spartan Girl]

11 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Exactly. I mean, I defy anyone to picture Jack Nicholson convincingly play someone like Mr. Rogers, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Santa Claus. Go ahead, try. I dare you.

LOL.

I really love (sarcasm)  that even thoughJack acts like an asshole, it's Wendy people hate and make digs about how anyone would have gone nuts stuck in a cabin with her. She got the Skyler White treatment decades before Breaking Bad.

[Wiendish Fitch]

3 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

LOL.

I really love (sarcasm)  that even thoughJack acts like an asshole, it's Wendy people hate and make digs about how anyone would have gone nuts stuck in a cabin with her. She got the Skyler White treatment decades before Breaking Bad.

I'm sick of everyone crapping not only on Wendy, but Shelley Duvall's acting. First off, I will gladly take over-emotional acting over the numbing, "dull surprise" acting that's so damn prevalent nowadays, and second? Ladies, imagine that you're all but sequestered in this cold, secluded, horrifically decorated hotel, and your husband slowly (okay, in Jack Nicholson's case, immediately) goes batshit insane and is soon trying to hack you and your son to death with an ax... do you honestly mean to tell me that you wouldn't be screaming like a banshee that stepped on a Lego brick?!

Moving along, Danny Saunders's father in The Chosen is one fucked up individual. Early on, he suspected that Danny was too smart and precocious for his own good and was on his way to becoming an arrogant jerk. Does Reb Saunders do what a normal father would do and simply say, "Hey, son, get over yourself"? 

NO! He withholds his affection, emotionally shuts out his son, rarely talks to him, and never tells him why until Danny is an adult, and then he cheerfully tells him it was for his own good, because since Danny has suffered his father's emotional neglect, he now knows how to empathize with others.

What the living hell, old man?! Look, I'm completely, thoroughly, 100% in favor of teaching kids compassion and empathy, and people can learn kindness from their own suffering... but not everyone can. What if Danny became bitter and cruel as a result of your brilliant little scheme?! 

I know, I know, you can't predict how your kid will turn out, it's all a crapshoot, but some things you should never chance! 

[Annber03]

12 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I'm sick of everyone crapping not only on Wendy, but Shelley Duvall's acting. First off, I will gladly take over-emotional acting over the numbing, "dull surprise" acting that's so damn prevalent nowadays, and second? Ladies, imagine that you're all but sequestered in this cold, secluded, horrifically decorated hotel, and your husband slowly (okay, in Jack Nicholson's case, immediately) goes batshit insane and is soon trying to hack you and your son to death with an ax... do you honestly mean to tell me that you wouldn't be screaming like a banshee that stepped on a Lego brick?!

All of this. I know full well I'd be panicking all over the place if that were me. 

Also, given what I've heard about how Kubrick treated Duvall on the set of that film, I feel like some, if not all, of her reactions throughout the movie were her way, intentionally or not, of releasing all the stress she'd been dealing with. In which case, I wouldn't blame her one bit. It was probably pretty cathartic for her in some ways. 

[Spartan Girl]

I feel a little bad about this one, but screw it: King Triton from The Little Mermaid. Yes, he loved his daughters and he wasn't all bad, but it doesn't change the fact that he was controlling and prone to anger issues and tried to inflict his prejudice about humans onto his daughters. No he wasn't exactly abusice to Ariel, but she was afraid of him, a little. Just look at when he confronts her in the grotto..and he winds up destroying her entire collection just to keep her line, which was cruel and unforgivable. It doesn't matter if he did think he was doing it for her own good. That's the same excuse parents who send their children to coversion therapy camps use, it doesn't make it any less wrong. And his anger and controlling ways drive her away and right into Ursula's trap.

Granted, he realizes he's messed up. He does redeem himself in the end not only by letting Ariel go, but also in his willingness to sacrifice himself to Ursula to free her from the contract. That's a lot more than we got from many of the terrible parents in this thread.

[anna0852]

Yeah I'm on Triton's side in this one. His 16 year old keeps running off, is fascinated with a world that can harm their people and decides she in love with a guy at least 10 years older, a different species and whom she's never even spoken to before. As an adult Ariel is working my last nerve 15 minutes into the movie. I can't imagine having to parent her.

[Spartan Girl]

So getting back to Jack Torrance for a sec, Doctor Sleep really brought home the damage Jack left on Wendy and Danny.  Dan winds up an alcoholic to block out the shining and all the other emotional scars, but he does get himself together.  But it was really sad in how his AA speech, he says the only way he really got to know his father was by experiencing the same addictions.

And then there was THAT scene towards the end:

when Dan returns to the Overlook for the final battle and encounters Ghost Jack (not Nicholson), who is now "Lloyd the bartender."  As the ending of the first movie implied, Jack is pretty much part of the hotel.  It's a heartbreaking scene because Dan is clearly trying to find some closure with his father, or at least reach through whatever good he had in him, but no.  There's no remorse, no interest in finding out what happened to Wendy and Dan after they escaped, not even a measly "Sorry I tried to kill you".  Instead, when he finally drops "Lloyd" act, he basically blames Wendy and Danny for being burdens on him, and justifies alcohol as "medicine" he took to cope with them.  Ugh.  Poor poor Dan and Wendy deserved so much better.

[Spartan Girl]

After Frozen 2, I hate Anna and Elsa's parents more than ever.

Iduna aka the mom came from a group of people, some of whom had magical powers, meaning that she and the dad knew more about Elsa than they let on. And even though Iduna knew people with the powers and knew that they could handle them, they STILL thought it would be a better option to isolate Elsa from everyone, alienate her from Anna, and basically tell her suppress her powers?! And it was only after the girls were in their teens and the psychological damage was done that they apparently realized "oh hey this isn't working" and went off to find more information (and wound up dying)???

Like @Wiendish Fitch said in another thread, there's a right way and a wrong way to love your children, and those morons definitely picked the wrong way.

[Morrigan2575]

On 11/25/2019 at 6:23 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Like @Wiendish Fitch said in another thread, there's a right way and a wrong way to love your children, and those morons definitely picked the wrong way.

Every time people start complaining about Elsa's parents in Frozen I'm reminded of HISHE, which captured it perfectly

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 7:47 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

We're all used to Harrison Ford being one of the last great Movie Stars, with charisma and swagger to burn... well, that ain't him in this flick, because he left his charisma at home and thoroughly embraces every last one of Allie's awful qualities.

I agree that Allie was a terrible father, husband and person, but that was a really good job by Harrison Ford.

 

[Wiendish Fitch]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I agree that Allie was a terrible father, husband and person, but that was a really good job by Harrison Ford.

 

Oh, agreed, please don't think it was a criticism; Allie was supposed to hateful, Harrison Ford understood that, and played him accordingly. Many stars won't do that. Ford has even said The Mosquito Coast is his favorite of his films.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I know I stated this up thread, but after watching it again night before last, I must reiterate my absolute LOATHING and CONTEMPT for Kevin's parents in Home Alone. They are the WORST. Kevin is the baby of the family. He's supposed to be 8, I think. It's CLEAR and OBVIOUS that Buzz is some kind of dumb ass changeling and HE was at fault for causing the mess with the spilt milk and soda. But who gets the blame? Kevin does

The fact that the parents don't even bother to listen to him, or even consider that Buzz, as the oldest (forget that he's an idiotic maroon of a moron), should be held responsible, because he was taunting and provoking Kevin.

And do NOT get me started on UNCLE Frank, who smooshed his own son with the back of his chair. Or that NEITHER of Kevin's parents called him out for his calling Kevin a "stupid jerk."

The way Peter and Kate, especially Kate, just banished Kevin to the attic...I just have no words.

And I was expected to feel sorry and empathetic for the twat? Poor Poor Kate, running across the airports, desperately trying to get back to her son. Whatever.

[Blergh]

Interesting points, GH Scorpios Rule and I don't disagree with your spot on analysis re how neglectful to Kevin they had been AND blatantly favorited Buzz  -which likely had contributed to Buzz's bullying because via them treating Buzz as though he could do no wrong, Buzz had used that as a license to DO wrong to Kevin.

I will say that I DID believe  that Kate frantically making connecting international flights over the holiday and running through airports not only may have been out of some longstanding guilt re her previous neglect but maybe she was realizing that she had spent so much of her energies spoiling Buzz that she had never truly gotten to know or appreciate Kevin for the person he was becoming- instead of just dissing him for being the less favored offspring. Oh, and I liked their momentary solo reunion of the two of FINALLY getting to start learning to like and love each other as they were- but thought that was somewhat soured via Buzz( and to lesser extents Peter, and the other sibs Linnie & Jeff)  popping in just seconds later. It wouldn't have killed the movie (or comedy ) to let Kate and Kevin have their solo holiday time appreciating each other on their own terms and acknowledging how each had grown during their separation  WITHOUT the literal buzzkill of Buzz etc. showing up like annoying gnats (or  proto-Progressive Flos)  at the end. 

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I know I stated this up thread, but after watching it again night before last, I must reiterate my absolute LOATHING and CONTEMPT for Kevin's parents in Home Alone. They are the WORST. Kevin is the baby of the family. He's supposed to be 8, I think. It's CLEAR and OBVIOUS that Buzz is some kind of dumb ass changeling and HE was at fault for causing the mess with the spilt milk and soda. But who gets the blame? Kevin does

The fact that the parents don't even bother to listen to him, or even consider that Buzz, as the oldest (forget that he's an idiotic maroon of a moron), should be held responsible, because he was taunting and provoking Kevin.

And do NOT get me started on UNCLE Frank, who smooshed his own son with the back of his chair. Or that NEITHER of Kevin's parents called him out for his calling Kevin a "stupid jerk."

The way Peter and Kate, especially Kate, just banished Kevin to the attic...I just have no words.

And I was expected to feel sorry and empathetic for the twat? Poor Poor Kate, running across the airports, desperately trying to get back to her son. Whatever.

It's even worse because they let it happen AGAIN in the sequel.  And before that happens, Kate puts the blame for the previous incident on Kevin, saying that it wouldn't have happened if Kevin hadn't made a scene and "forced" them to put him in the attic.  Okay, fine, Kevin made a scene at the pageant, but don't tell/threaten him with the "you were home alone because you were misbehaving and we don't want that to happen again" shit. 

Bitch, you left your child in the attic and forgot about him because everything got all hectic, just accept that responsibility and be a better mother.

That Funny or Die video with a bitter grown-up Kevin calling his mom a you-know-what wasn't harsh at all.

Edited December 26, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Blergh]

Spartan Girl,

 

 I didn't know  that that had happened but then ONE viewing of the very first Home Alone was quite enough for me so I didn't bother with any sequels, etc. (and especially considering his so-called parents having learned nothing, it's just as well).  Is this year's Boxing Day going to be my Emily Litella Day? Oh well. 

[Spartan Girl]

Watching Home Alone for the billionth time on TV and once again the McAllisters are the worst. Pretty sure Kate didn't have to be so harsh as to snap, "Maybe you should ask Santa for a new family...say it again maybe it'll come true." There's a fine line between good old fashioned discipline and being a bitch.

Also if those morons were so paranoid about the same thing happening again in the sequel, then why didn't they get BATTERY OPERATED ALARM CLOCKS in case of another freak power outage?! Pretty sure they had those in the 90s!  But rich people, amirite?

Edited January 1, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

Just now, Spartan Girl said:

Watching Home Alone for the billionth time on TV and once again the McAllisters are the worst. Pretty sure Kate didn't have to be so harsh as to snap, "Maybe you should ask Santa for a new family...say it again maybe it'll come true." There's a fine line between good old fashioned discipline and bring a bitch.

Also if those morons were so paranoid about the same thing happening again in the sequel, then why didn't they get BATTERY OPERATED ALARM CLOCKS in case of another freak power outage?! Pretty sure they had those in the 90s!  But rich people, amirite?

As much as I adore Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (yeah, I'm a weirdo, leave me alone), it rankles me to no end that they didn't ground Buzz for a year for ruining Kevin's solo. I could be over-empathizing (I myself would be very easy to upstage), but not only was Buzz's apology obviously bogus, it wasn't even enough! For God's sake, Buzz's little stunt caused collateral damage and for that poor old pianist to no doubt sustain a concussion! It boggles the mind that Kevin is the one in trouble!

[Spartan Girl]

32 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

As much as I adore Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (yeah, I'm a weirdo, leave me alone), it rankles me to no end that they didn't ground Buzz for a year for ruining Kevin's solo. I could be over-empathizing (I myself would be very easy to upstage), but not only was Buzz's apology obviously bogus, it wasn't even enough! For God's sake, Buzz's little stunt caused collateral damage and for that poor old pianist to no doubt sustain a concussion! It boggles the mind that Kevin is the one in trouble!

I also think Kevin shouldn't have gotten in that much trouble for racking up that high bill at the Plaza. Like would you rather have had him starving and living in a box lost a city where he knew NOBODY?! And the dad was the one that left his credit card in the bag, which he gave to Kevin. It's pretty naive to assume that he didn't know how to use it-- this is the same kid who went grocery shopping for himself when he was left home alone FOR A WEEK. 

As far as I'm concerned, that pricy hotel bill was their karma for their parental carelessness and neglect.

[Spartan Girl]

I think Tracy Flick's mom in Election was kind of terrible.  You could see that she was pushing her to be an overachiever just to compensate for the lack of success in her own life.  And when she "lost" the election, she didn't give the speech you're supposed to give your children: "Sweetheart, you lost, and that's okay.  You can't win them all, losing is just a part of life.  But you did the best you could and nobody can take that away from you."

No, her idea of "comforting" her after she "lost" the election was, "I don't know, maybe you didn't put up enough posters.  We'll figure it out."  Geez.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[Blergh]

14 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I think Tracy Flick's mom in Election was kind of terrible.  You could see that she was pushing her to be an overachiever just to compensate for the lack of success in her own life.  And when she "lost" the election, she didn't give the speech you're supposed to give your children: "Sweetheart, you lost, and that's okay.  You can't win them all, losing is just a part of life.  But you did the best you could and nobody can take that away from you."

No, her idea of "comforting" her after she "lost" the election was, "I don't know, maybe you didn't put up enough posters.  We'll figure it out."  Geez.

I can't believe I'm even remotely defending Mrs. Flick but. . perhaps she might have equated the election with taking a test. IOW, I don't think a parent is a bad parent if they say to a child who took and failed a test 'Don't worry. You can work out what you did wrong, study more then take it again so you can pass it with flying colors!' instead of ' You BLEW it and don't bother taking the test again because you're doomed to be a loser!'

[Spartan Girl]

9 hours ago, Blergh said:

I can't believe I'm even remotely defending Mrs. Flick but. . perhaps she might have equated the election with taking a test. IOW, I don't think a parent is a bad parent if they say to a child who took and failed a test 'Don't worry. You can work out what you did wrong, study more then take it again so you can pass it with flying colors!' instead of ' You BLEW it and don't bother taking the test again because you're doomed to be a loser!'

Not the same thing.

My point is that whether it's a test or an election, you can't win them all.  Mrs. Flick never should have made Tracy feel like she should have to.  

[DollEyes]

On 6/15/2019 at 7:56 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Elton John's parents in Rocketman were terrible, cold hearted, self-absorbed, negligent garbage people.

Not only were they the worst, if it wasn't for Elton's grandma, he wouldn't have gotten any love from his family at all.

Edited February 28, 2020 by DollEyes

[Spartan Girl]

I feel like I'm going to hell for this one, but the mom in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? I get it, she was depressed because her husband killed himself and let herself go so badly that she didn't want to leave the house and be the town laughingstock. But she pretty much just checked out and expected Gilbert to take care of everything.

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I feel like I'm going to hell for this one, but the mom in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? I get it, she was depressed because her husband killed himself and let herself go so badly that she didn't want to leave the house and be the town laughingstock. But she pretty much just checked out and expected Gilbert to take care of everything.

Darlene Cates did an excellent, heart rending job playing Mrs. Grape and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her being trapped in the prison of her own body. Yet, I have to agree that it would have better for ALL concerned if Mrs. Grape had swallowed her pride and tried to see if her children could have even a little normalcy in their lives despite her morbid obesity and her younger son's mental challenges. 

Spoiler

Oh, and I wished she had urged Gilbert on her deathbed to just bite the bullet and call the police/funeral home regardless of the neighbors' gawking to see her remains. With him burning the family home down with her  remains inside, instead of nobody noticing her extreme weight- this not only guaranteed that the cursed neighbors would turn out in droves to see what happened (with many hanging out just to see how big a body bag would be needed to retrieve her) but also the Grape children would now be homeless and virtually guaranteed to be split up into foster homes (and possible juvenile hall for Gilbert). 

 

[Spartan Girl]

The sperm doner in Everyone’s Talking About Jamie. No, he does not deserve the term “father” after he tells Jamie to his face that he’s glad his girlfriend is pregnant because he’s always wanted a “real” son and instead he got stuck with Jamie. Fuck him, and fuck all the YouTube comments on the trailer that actually sided with the asshole.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Nashville (1975)

Delbert Reese (Ned Beatty) is such a worthless father. He has not one, but two deaf children, ages 11 and 12... and he makes no effort to learn to communicate with them. He doesn't use ASL at all, has obviously never learned it, and when his son  tries to talk to him, he can only grumpily ask his way-too-good-for-him wife Linnea (Lily Tomlin) what he's saying!

On top of that, he's a brainless, badly dressed slimebag and a barely attentive husband. Why Linnea ever married him I'll never know.

[katha]

I don't think they were the worst parents ever or anything, but the movie tried to depict them as trying their best during the divorce and IMO they really didn't, so: Nicole and Charlie in "Marriage Story". They are so wrapped up in their own egos and trying to tear each other down, they don't put the kid's best interest first at all while at the same time being super performative about how much they supposedly love him. 

Charlie can be controlling and has trouble putting his son before his career, Nicole weaponizes the kid in the divorce to the point of flirting with parental alienation. Yet the movie tries to downplay that and portray them as super dedicated parents. They clearly love Henry, but he's a victim of the divorce and they both are bad parents in different ways during the divorce. It would have been a better movie had the script acknowledged that IMO.

[Luckylyn]

Aunt Martha in the slasher Sleep Away Camp 

Spoiler

At the beginning the father and  one child died in an accident.  Aunt Martha gets custody of the child “Angela” who survived.  At the end it’s revealed that Angela was the child who died and that Peter was forced by Aunt Martha to take on his sister Angela’s identity because she already had a son and wanted a little girl.  Losing your father and brother is bad enough but having your identity stripped from you as well and lie to everyone around you about who you are while grieving had to be traumatic as well.

The movie is campy as hell and a fun ridiculous watch.  

[andromeda331]

Neal and Laura from the Santa Clause. While not as horrible as other parents in this thread. Their reaction to Charlie believing in Santa and that his dad is Santa is horrible and way over the top. Charlie is a just a little kid. Eight according to some sources. Neal is the worse acting like Charlie believing in Santa is the worse thing. Starting in the beginning of the movie Laura tells Scott that they want Charlie firmly in reality. Seriously? He's eight! The poor kid even says he's too old to believe in things even though he came home upset when a kid told him Santa wasn't real. He clearly wants to believe. Even if it wasn't true an eight year old thinking his dad is Santa isn't that unusual. You'd think Neal, who's a psychiatist would know and understand. Anytime Laura waivers he's right there to tell her its wrong and thinks Scott is a danger to Charlie and he shouldn't be around him and she goes along with it. To the point of going to a judge and making him lose rights to Charlie. It doesn't matter that Charlie clearly loves his dad and is devastated at that or that Scott really hasn't done anything wrong. Given how poor Scott and Charlie's relationship was in the beginning of the movie you'd think it was a good thing how close they got. If it was because of Santa. Is it just Santa or is Charlie not allowed to believe in superheros or anything else? Given what we see of Neal, probably not. Even when Laura finally believes that Scott is Santa, Neal can't believe she's being pulled into Scott's delusion. His apology at the end isn't enough for the crappy way he treated Charlie the whole movie. I hate to see how he deals with his patients. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I rewatched "The Fan" (1996), a movie I have probably seen half a dozen times.  Robert De Niro is one of the movies' worst fathers in this!!!!

He's a knife salesman who is obsessed with baseball.  He has a really bad temper and no way to control himself. 

Spoiler

He takes his son to Opening Day for baseball and pushes the kid out of the way to try and catch a fly ball.  Then he leaves the kid at the game to try and make a sale.  

There's a whole lot of other stuff, but it's very clear why his wife left him (before the movie starts.)

Edited January 2, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Spartan Girl]

The parents in CODA were pretty self-absorbed for most of the movie. I get that they were broke and all, but the way they kept expecting Ruby to just drop everything at a moment’s notice whenever they needed a free translator was pretty bad. One person pointed out that they easily could have used a notepad to communicate with their doctor, bosses, etc. And they didn’t seem to care how getting up before the crack of dawn to go on the fishing boat every day would affect her schoolwork, let alone her health on account of hardly getting much sleep. Her mom even laughs dismissively when Ruby tells her she’s gotten into singing, and even has the gall to automatically assume that she was joining choir just to spite them all because they were Deaf! What the actual fuck?!

They did at least finally wake up in the end and start supporting her going to music school, but it took them long enough to do it.

[andromeda331]

17 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

The parents in CODA were pretty self-absorbed for most of the movie. I get that they were broke and all, but the way they kept expecting Ruby to just drop everything at a moment’s notice whenever they needed a free translator was pretty bad. One person pointed out that they easily could have used a notepad to communicate with their doctor, bosses, etc. And they didn’t seem to care how getting up before the crack of dawn to go on the fishing boat every day would affect her schoolwork, let alone her health on account of hardly getting much sleep. Her mom even laughs dismissively when Ruby tells her she’s gotten into singing, and even has the gall to automatically assume that she was joining choir just to spite them all because they were Deaf! What the actual fuck?!

They did at least finally wake up in the end and start supporting her going to music school, but it took them long enough to do it.

I haven't seen the movie. But seriously, they don't keep a notepad with them to communicate with people? My cousin who was deaf always carried one and pen in his pocket or backpack.

[Spartan Girl]

Pearl in A Walk on the Moon is pretty terrible, and not just because she cheats. It’s because she told her own daughter to her face that she was an accident while she was trying to justify having sex with Walker with her “I never got to be a real teenager” pity party speech. The fact that it just slipped out is no excuse.

Not to mention that she actually considered just taking the kids and going off with Walker—uprooting them from a father that loved them just do that she can follow a guy she’s only known for a couple of days. No, she doesn’t get brownie points for not going through with it when she sure took her sweet time to tell him no.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Spartan Girl]

Tommy: Your boyfriend kills your husband in front of your child, and you cover for him by gaslighting your child, basically psychologically damaging him into being blind, deaf, and mute for real. Then you put him through more abuse to cure him until you stop caring, exploit his pinball skills to get rich, then when he regains his senses, exploit him again by profiting off the cult he starts. And I’m supposed to feel sorry that these assholes were killed by his cult in the end?!

[Blergh]

On 9/3/2022 at 7:44 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Tommy: Your boyfriend kills your husband in front of your child, and you cover for him by gaslighting your child, basically psychologically damaging him into being blind, deaf, and mute for real. Then you put him through more abuse to cure him until you stop caring, exploit his pinball skills to get rich, then when he regains his senses, exploit him again by profiting off the cult he starts. And I’m supposed to feel sorry that these assholes were killed by his cult in the end?!

Yeah, if anyone should have sung 'We're Not Gonna to Take It Anymore!', it should have been Tommy!

BTW, the movie drastically changed the psychological MO of the impact of the murder via changing the murder victim from Tommy's long lost airman father to the gregarious, fun boyfriend as had been the case in the original rock opera. Note how Oliver Reed's character seemed perfectly fun for Tommy and loving to Mrs. Walker until Capt. Walker returned from the 'dead' then did an entire 180!

I kept watching it waiting for Tommy to FINALLY call the cops on the murderers and exploiters yet, even though he'd had his senses return, had earned zillions AND even his own cult, he never considered nailing them for the murder!

[Spartan Girl]

@Blergh I know it was reversed in the original rock opera and the stage adaptation. Making Tommy’s father the killer instead of the victim makes his mother’s motivations slightly less contemptible and slightly more understandable in covering it up, but not by much because like you said, the boyfriend wasn’t the garbage person he became in the movie. 

[Spartan Girl]

Jeremy Irons in Damage. He slept with his son’s fiancée, which was bad enough, but the son walking in on them resulted in his accidental death. I mean…Jesus, there are no words for this one.

And yes, Anna was an equal and willing partner in the whole affair, and she struck me as a bit of a sociopath. It takes two to tango, and she didn’t seem to feel any lasting remorse in what she had done, given how she moved on with her life.

[Ms Blue Jay]

My list has:

The Family Stone (There's a whole thread on this forum where this is dissected to shreds)

Tea Leoni and William H. Macy in Jurassic Park 3 (They're just annoying lol)

I have some examples from Hallmark/Lifetime movies but I assume they're lesser known.  

I saw Haul out the Holly last Christmas:

Quote

Emily comes home to visit her parents, only to discover they're leaving for a trip of their own. While staying at their house for the holidays, Emily meets members of the community who want her to join in the neighbourhood's Christmas festivities.

Also I really like this movie called "Timeless Love".  The main character was in a coma (I forget how - car accident I assume) and after she came out of it she was staying at her parents' house and her mother was like "When are you going to get a job"?  LOL!

Edited April 11, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay