The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988)

There's nothing wrong with the Marshetta family that a little felony can't cure. Rupert doesn't want to follow in his father's blue-collar footsteps, so he and his quirky friend kidnap his ... See full summary »

Director:

Ron Nyswaner

Writer:

Ron Nyswaner

Stars:

Fred Ward, Keanu Reeves, Bonnie Bedelia

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fred Ward	...	Gary Marshetta
Keanu Reeves	...	Rupert Marshetta
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Pam Marshetta
Amy Madigan	...	Carla Headlee
Jay O. Sanders	...	Trooper Joe
Jeff Hayenga	...	Jack Sike
Tracey Ellis	...	Lois Sike
Joseph De Lisi	...	Roger Marshetta
Lauren Camp	...	Baby Sike
Demetria Mellot	...	Minister
Pam Call	...	Lucky Bell White
Kari Keegan	...	Biker Girl
Jeff Forman	...	Biker Boyfriend
Paul Palmer	...	Ed McLaglen
G. Ross Berger	...	Chester

Storyline

There's nothing wrong with the Marshetta family that a little felony can't cure. Rupert doesn't want to follow in his father's blue-collar footsteps, so he and his quirky friend kidnap his father for ransom, only nobody wants him back.

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Plot Keywords:

title in title | prom | homecoming dance | older woman younger man relationship | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

He's The King Of The Badlands... The Rebel Of The Road...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Príncipe da Pensilvânia

Filming Locations:

Harmar Mine, Harmarville, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Earlier in the movie, Rupert puts a lighted electric ice cream cone on the roof of the Twin Twisters diner, and as he and Carla step back and admire it, we see that the sign on the rooftop of the diner reads "Carla's Twin Twisters" - with the name "Carla's" appearing in twinkling lights. Yet a few scenes later when Rupert drives up on his motorbike, the "Carla's" portion of the sign is no longer there, and the sign reads only "Twin Twisters."

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Quotes

Rupert Marshetta: "You hid the money in the Port-a-Johnny!"

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Connections

References A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Happy Reindeer"
Performed by Dancer, Prancer and Nervous
Written by Bobby Please, Russ Regan
Courtesy of Original Sound Entertainment

User Reviews

family ties

This unlikely sleeper poses an essential question for disenchanted teenagers: is quality time with your family better than being chained to the door of a refrigerator? For coal-miner's son Keanu Reeves the answer is a no-brainer: his father is a Vietnam War veteran turned ultra-conservative; his feisty mother is having an affair with dad's best buddy; and his only friend is a socially marginalized, die-hard hippie. Meanwhile everyone thinks Reeves has problems, but he's only trying to avoid conforming to Middle America's messy ideas about normality. And since a rebel in the 1980s needs some sort of cause, he invents one: kidnapping his own father and holding him hostage. There's more than one contrivance in the otherwise original and unpredictable screenplay: the young protagonist's mechanical aptitude and closet intellect (he likens himself to Socrates, who was killed for daring to tell the truth) don't fit his delinquent image, and the kidnapping scheme carries the plot too far into fantasy. But if nothing else the film is an offbeat satire of modern domestic friction, and a refreshing change of pace from the usual condescending screen treatments of adolescent angst.