Home Fries

Short on food and long on absurdist comedy, Home Fries is really the story of how Sally (Barrymore), jilted by the man with whom she is pregnant, finds her true love. Suffice to say that she is allowed to continue working at the Burger-Matic as the drive-through cashier because the counter will hide her increasing bulk from customers. Into her life walks Dorian (Wilson), a handsome if too easily manipulated helicopter pilot, who needs to determine if the staff of the restaurant had overheard what he and his brother did to their step-father. Taking a job at the Burger-Matic, Dorian learns how to make double-cheeseburgers with special sauce, onions, and three pickle slices—and quickly falls for Sally. Unbelievable complications arise, but incredible as it might seem to her, Dorian is able to show Sally that he’s the sane one in his family, even if he can’t remember how to make a hamburger.

Fun Fact:
Angus (Busey) tells his brother about a woman who kills her husband by bashing his head in with a leg of lamb, then cooks and feeds the lamb to the detectives investigating the murder, in the process destroying any evidence that might connect her to the crime. Actually, the story is Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter” from his book Tales of the Unexpected, and some viewers might recall its appearance in a classic episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Released 1998
Directed by Dean Parisot
Written by Vince Gilligan

Starring Drew Barrymore as Sally Jackson, Luke Wilson as Dorian Montier, Catherine O’Hara as Beatrice Lever, Jake Busey as Angus Montier, Shelley Duvall as Mrs. Jackson, Kim Robillard as Billy, Daryl Mitchell as Roy, Lanny Flaherty as Red Jackson, and Chris Ellis as Henry Lever