''The Prince of Pennsylvania'' is a 1988

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

film written and directed by

Ron Nyswaner Ronald L. Nyswaner (born October 5, 1956) is an American screenwriter and film director. He has been nominated for numerous awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He is known for his screenplays '' Smitheree ...

. It stars

Fred Ward Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ''Southern Comfort'', '' The R ...

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

Bonnie Bedelia Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born ) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera ''Love of Life'' and made her film debut in ''The Gypsy Moths''. Bedelia subsequently appeare ...

and

Amy Madigan Amy Marie Madigan (born September 11, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film '' Twice in a Lifetime''. Her other film credits include '' Love Child'' (1982), ''Places ...

. It premiered at the 1988 Toronto International Film Festival (then the Toronto Festival of Festivals) on September 11, 1988, and received a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

beginning September 16.

Plot

Rupert Marshetta is the black sheep son of a miner, precocious and misunderstood. He is frustrated with his parents, Gary and Pam, has dropped out of high school and doesn't fit in with the other teens in his town. Rupert is also in love with an older woman, the free-spirited Carla, who operates a run-down roadside ice cream kiosk. Carla also has a young daughter with her ex-boyfriend Joe, a state trooper. One day Gary tells Rupert he sees himself as the king of Pennsylvania, his wife as the queen, and Rupert as the prince who will inherit his kingdom. Both father and son know that Pam has been sleeping with young miner Jack Sike, who has a newborn baby with his wife. Gary owns land left by his father, but has no intention of selling it. An increasingly frustrated Rupert, who has no plans to follow his father into mining, schemes with Carla to kidnap his father for $200,000 (the amount the land is worth) and use the ransom money to escape the town and live together. The duo successfully kidnap Gary and he is held in a trailer. He soon tells his mother, who agrees to go along, as Rupert says she can have half to money so she and Jack can abandon their families and run off together. However, Rupert and Pam learn that Gary sold the land for cash a week earlier, with no information as to where he put the money. Rupert and Carla take Gary to the mine and held him near a

portable toilet A portable or mobile toilet (colloquial terms: thunderbox, portaloo, porta-john or porta-potty) is any type of toilet that can be moved around, some by one person, some by mechanical equipment such as a truck and crane. Most types do not require ...

. Rupert eventually thinks the money has been hidden in the toilet, which is chained closed. He prepares dynamite to blow open the toilet, but mine rescue workers and police arrive on the scene warning that the mine’s high levels of methane gas will trigger a massive explosion once the dynamite goes off. Although Gary is able to pull his son to safety, Carla is presumed dead in the blast. The next day, Gary and Pam have reconciled. Rupert runs away, and is surprised to find that Carla is still alive, but only Joe knows; they, too, have reconciled, and are leaving for Sacramento to be closer to her daughter. A heartbroken Rupert hugs Carla goodbye and says he looks forward to meeting her daughter someday. After Carla and Joe drive away, Rupert walks along the road and encounters a lone female biker chick he befriended earlier; he accepts her offer of a ride to Pittsburgh.

Cast

as Gary Marshetta *

as Rupert Marshetta *

as Pam Marshetta *

Jay O. Sanders Jay Olcutt Sanders (born April 16, 1953) is an American film, theatre and television actor and playwright. He frequently appears in plays off-Broadway at The Public Theatre. Early life and education Sanders was born on April 16, 1953 in Austin, ...

as Trooper Joe *

Jeff Hayenga Jeffrey "Jeff" Hayenga (born 1950) is an American actor, writer, and producer known for his role in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Early life and education Hayenga was born in Sibley, Iowa. He received his training at the University of Mi ...

as Jack Sike *

as Carla Headlee In addition, Joseph de Lisi plays Rupert's younger brother, while Kari Keegan plays the biker girl.

Production

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The Sh ...

wrote the music for the film. It was filmed in the coal mine suburbs surrounding

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The scenes for the high school dance were filmed at Chartiers Houston High School in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Reception

Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave it 1.5 stars out of 4. Ebert liked the characters and thought them believable, but excoriated the plot as nonsensical and absurd, particularly the kidnapping scheme. His review concluded, "I had grown intrigued by the characters - especially Madigan's unreconstructed hippie, a woman with a lot of specific and believable details about her. A movie about her would have been interesting. A movie about any of these people might have had a chance, if the filmmakers had retained a shred of sanity."

Reference list

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince of Pennsylvania, The 1988 comedy-drama films 1988 films 1988 independent films Films set in Pennsylvania Films shot in Pittsburgh Films set in Pittsburgh Films about kidnapping Films scored by Thomas Newman 1988 directorial debut films 1988 comedy films 1988 drama films American comedy-drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films