I was absolutely blown away with the part where "Dad", who probably feels so emasculated, takes the frozen foods that "Mom" just won, from the freezer and flings them out the back door. Meanwhile, Mom is sitting calmly at the dinner table encouraging her kids to try out the new exotic foods. I wanted to jump thru the screen and beat the crap out of him!! But I was humbled by the way Mom took care of the situation.
Wonderful movie!!!
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LOL! Good one.
shareThe only way to live through that scene is to understand that Kelly did not have any help with his demons whatsoever. He really did love Evelyn but was powerless to stop spending his weekly paycheck on his daily six pack and fifth. Not everyone who drinks becomes an alcoholic. Where was the treatment? They should have shown what it was like for Kelly at his dirty, loud workplace, receiving jeers from his coworkers about the "little woman" earning piles of cash and prizes. Even if they knew he drank, his fellow men may not have seen it as a problem. The priest certainly didn't.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
The mother handled it very well. My father drank a lot too and my mom didn't ignore it at all. She just added fuel to the fire. This mother sat back and acted like nothing was wrong. Let him have his temper tantrum. That's just what he was doing. He acted like he was 2yrs old and she sat back letting him fuss it out. It just showed how pitiful he was acting.
But that said I have often thought the father had some mental illness. Back then there was no awareness. This man clearly treated his illness with alcohol.
I’m watching this scene now and think the mother handled it well. Would it have been better for her to fight him and risk him hurting her? All in front of the kids? It’s best to ignore the behavior. As the movie shows he eventually calmed down and joined the family in trying the exotic food.
I also don’t think there was much treatment for alcoholics back then. When she talks to the preacher he makes excuses even when she complains of him wasting away his paycheck. It’s sad and thankfully things have changed today. I find her to be a very strong woman and admire her. I don’t know how she put up with Kelly and the stress along with raising 10 kids. I am sure I’d lose my mind.
I also agree the father seems mentally ill maybe having depression or something. The way he acts when the mother falls and cuts herself on the broken bottles just shows him losing it. He stands back and cries. Then when she is taken to the hospital by a neighbor he sits and cries on the steps. He seems unable to handle his emotions in a healthy way.
That scene totally reminded me of the scene in Prince of Tides when the drunken father has a meltdown about the fancy schmancy shrimp dish the mother served for dinner. So she went to the kitchen, heated up a can of dog food with onions and shrimp and served it to the bastard.
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