MovieChat Forums > The Brothers McMullen (1995) Discussion > Is Henry Real?

Is Henry Real?

posted 16 years ago by Trambinator
6 replies | jump to latest

Since the moment I first watched this movie 13 years ago and to this day when I just watched it for the 60th time, I cannot for the life of me decide whether I think Henry is real. When I first saw the film, I thought Audrey was making him up to get Barry to do what she wants -- to force his hand. But as time went on -- in the movie and as I watched it over and over -- I'm not so sure. I wonder if anyone has ever asked Ed Burns about it and whether he intended for him to be real. I think there is a 99.9% chance that Burns decided to create the absentee character to allow the viewer to interpret his existence however s/he wishes. I don't think there is a yes/no answer. Up to the imagination.

[–] benjo18 16 years ago

Good question.

I think she may have had an ex-boyfriend that she left behind when she moved to NY to persue her acting career. But i do think the relationship was well and truly over and she just used him out of convenience.....hmmm...now you have me thinking....

Barry McMullen: "I like being a pessimist. It helps me deal with my inevitable failure."

[–] skiop 15 years ago

My opinion? He wasn't real.
1) First she said she was married, then she went to say she was just engaged.
2) Though she was engaged, she started going with this other guy.
3) At the end, she claimed that she was going to Virginia to Henry and then claimed that she was going to New Jersey.

Verdict: She's a liar!

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nutsberryfarm 12 years ago

no. the girl's crazy.

“Can't go wrong with taupe."- Wynn Duffy

[–] archer1267 12 years ago

Audrey kinda sucks either way. So she's either a) keeping Henry as a placeholder while she tries to better-deal him in NYC ("I don't want to sell myself short") or b) she made him up and is playing games with Barry.

Not that Barry was a prize himself, mind you. But if Ed Burns wanted to make Audrey a sympathetic character, the Henry thing really got in the way for these reasons.

[–] hacker7-503-679471 10 years ago

My initial feeling when I saw this film in 1995 and even now, 19 years later is that Henry did not exist, she just made him up out of convenience to get rid of Barry. Honesty did not seem to be this womans strong suit.

"Ass masters 3 was not the final chapter!!! They left too many loose Ends!!!!" - Charlie Harper