Meet the Applegates (1990) Triton Pictures/Comedy-Horror-Sci-Fi RT: 90 minutes Rated R (language, violence, some sexuality, drug use, icky special effects) Director: Michael Lehmann Screenplay: Michael Lehmann and Redbeard Simmons Music: David Newman Cinematography: Mitch Dubin Release date: February 1, 1991 (US, limited) Cast: Ed Begley Jr., Stockard Channing, Dabney Coleman, Bobby Jayne, Cami Cooper, Glenn Shadix, Susan Barnes, Adam Biesk, Savannah Smith Boucher, Roger Aaron Brown, Lee Garlington, Philip Arthur Ross, Steven Robert Ross, Mark Bringelson, Chuck Lafont. Box Office: $485,772 (US)
Rating: ***
Once again, I find myself faced with the task of reviewing a movie from back in the day that I didn’t see even though I had ample opportunity. I don’t think I ever mentioned it before, but I briefly worked at a West Coast Video in summer ’91. What should have been a dream job wasn’t, but that’s a story for a time that will never come.
ANYWAY, one of the perks of the job was taking home whatever you wanted to watch for free. I saw a couple of good ones, like the rock documentary Gimme Shelter, but most of them were utterly and literally forgettable. I can’t even remember the titles. What I do remember is this one movie I didn’t bother with even though it was right up my alley. It was Meet the Applegates, a bizarre comedy-sci-fi-horror from director Michael Lehmann of Heathers fame. It was a new release during my short stint at WCV. It looked interesting, but I always passed it up for something less interesting. I would hear of it now and again over the years and always said to myself that I should watch it one of these days. That day finally came this past weekend.
What I didn’t know about Meet the Applegates was something that would have made me want to watch it much sooner. I learned it right after I watched it on YouTube. It was one of the movies orphaned by the demise of New World Pictures circa 1989 (along with Warlock and The Punisher). It was eventually picked up by the long-defunct Triton Pictures whose short slate of titles includes Mindwalk, The Return of Superfly and Scanners II: The New Order. They gave Meet the Applegates a brief limited theatrical release in February 1991 (it never played in Philadelphia) before releasing it to video a few months later. It wasn’t a success at the time, but it has since gained a cult following. It’s easy to see why. This strange little movie is tailor-made for midnight showings!
On the surface, the Applegates are a normal American family. That’s what they want everybody to think. The father Dick (Begley, This Is Spinal Tap) is the breadwinner while his wife Jane (Channing, Grease) plays the part of dutiful homemaker. They have two children, Sally (Cooper, Shocker) and Johnny (Jacoby, Tremors), and a dog named Spot. Sounds pretty typical, right? WRONG! The Applegates are anything but typical. They’re really giant shapeshifting bugs disguised as humans. Yes, you read that right.
The “Applegates” were displaced from their natural habitat in the Brazilian rainforest by loggers clearing the way for office buildings and fast food joints. Taking a cue from a discarded old “Dick and Jane” children’s book, they decided to take revenge against humanity by infiltrating their species and destroying them by way of nuclear explosion. They move into a typical suburban neighborhood where they try to fit in as best they can without calling attention to themselves. Dick takes a job at the local nuclear power plant where he begins to set his nefarious plan in motion. Unfortunately, 20th century American life gets in the way. Dick starts having an affair with his secretary (Barnes, Bad Dreams). Jane, bored out of her skull, becomes a shopping addict and burns through her family’s finances. Sally goes from nice girl to tramp while clean cut, straight-A student Johnny turns into a metal head stoner. All of these unexpected developments threaten to derail the bugs’ mission.
Making matters worse are the bodies stashed in the basement. Oh, they’re not dead; they’re all in cocoons. It’s okay though, they all had it coming, especially the school superjock/lothario (Biesk, Leprechaun 2) who forces himself on Sally. He also happens to be the son of their increasingly suspicious neighbor Greg (Shadix, Beetlejuice). He’s the kind of guy who would have led an angry mob against suspected Communists in the McCarthy-era 50s. He’s also an exterminator. How crazy is that?
If you ever wanted to see Dabney Coleman (Nine to Five) in drag, this is your chance. He plays “Aunt Bea”, the leader of the mutant bugs and an all-around meanie. How else would you describe someone who pushes one of his own guys/bugs into piranha-infested waters to catch the attention of a passing banana boat? He’s the one sent to get the family back on track when their plans start to go awry. He’s determined to see the mission succeed at any cost. AT ANY COST!
Meet the Applegates is a fun and clever take on 50s-era sci-fi-horror movies that peppers the scary stuff with social commentary much like the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Many see the 1956 classic as an allegory for McCarthyism and the destruction of the individual in post-WWII America. Lehmann’s movie has something to say about how modern life (circa 1990) is bringing about the disintegration of the nu-cu-ler family. The Applegates start off as one those perfect family units from a 50s sitcom (Father Knows Best comes to mind first), but fall apart when exposed to drugs, alcohol, sex, credit cards and home shopping channels. They become what they hate the most, human. It also pokes fun at suburban life and the weird secrets that hide behind closed doors and drawn shades. How well do we really know our neighbors, it asks. The satire isn’t as sharp as it should be, but Lehmann gets the point across nonetheless.
I LOVE the icky practical effects in Meet the Applegates. The man responsible is FX artist Kevin Yagher, best known for his work on the first four Chucky movies. Strictly low budget, they’re wonderfully cheesy and gooey. The bug costumes are really cool. When the Applegates sprout antennae and bug legs, it looks more real than anything attempted by CGI. The cast is great too. Begley is funny as the harried dad trying to hold his family together and failing spectacularly. Channing has her moments as the wife and mother not making much of an effort to hide her addiction to consumerism. Cooper is HOT! Jayne is good as the nightmare teen son who takes to smoking weed like a fly to feces. Coleman always adds something extra, especially when he plays rotten characters like Aunt Bea.
If you’re looking for a good late night movie, I recommend Meet the Applegates. It’s funny, weird, smart, silly, icky and totally bizarre. It runs out of steam a bit near the end, but it’s still great fun for anybody with a taste for unusual cinema.
