The universe is riddled with many unanswered questions. Most pressing is what if Frankenstein’s monster was a young man raised in a nice Jewish home? The answer you seek comes in the form of Aaron Rudelson’s short film, Norman Pinski Come Home.
The film centers on Howard and Louise Pinski (Ray Iannicelli and Elaine Bromka) during a somber family gathering after their son, Norman, was killed by lightning. Talk quickly moves from the death of Normal to the mysterious Dr. Vanderwal (Lee Tergesen) and his cure for baldness. It appears have Dr. Vanderwall has been conducting other experiments in secret.
“What if Frankenstein’s monster was a young man raised in a nice Jewish home?”
Later that night, Norman (Mark Gessner) appears in his bedroom. With pale skin and steel bolts driven into his neck, Normal speaks only in grunts and has lost all fine motor skills. Let the hilarity ensue.
Nice setup, but Norman Pinski Come Home falls short of the comedic mark. The endearing part of the film is Howard and Louise. Louise sees the return of Norman in his child-like state as a chance to start over as a mother and fix the parental mistakes made by Howard. Howard sees the reality of the situation—son or no; there’s a monster in the house. Can Howard see his son inside the monster?
“Louise sees the return of Norman in his child-like state as a chance to start over as a mother and fix the parental mistakes…”
Aside from a few honest moments, Norman Pinski Come Home is really a mediocre comedy sketch. At times, the Jewish parenting jokes are funny, but not original. Any good movie monster has rules to follow. For Norman, the rule is to behave in a way that serves the scene’s punchline. As Dr. Vanderwal, Lee Tergesen brings much needed over-the-top comedic energy to bring the film to a nice end.
Norman Pinski Come Home lacks any new comedic insight on the Jewish family to set it above the hundreds of other comedies about the same subject.
Norman Pinski Come Home (2017) Written and Directed by Aaron Rudelson. Starring Mark Gessner, Elaine Bromka, Ray Iannicelli, and Lee Tergesen.
2 out of 5
