The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988)
The comedy drama film The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988) is the brainchild of writer and director Ron Nyswaner. Rupert Marshetta, the son of a miner, is a precocious and misunderstood character. He has dropped out of high school and feels out of place in his small town. Rupert’s frustration with his parents, Gary and Pam, stems from their rocky relationship. He also harbors strong feelings for Carla, an older woman who runs an old-fashioned ice cream stand along the roadside. Carla shares a daughter with her ex-boyfriend Joe, a state trooper. When Gary reveals to Rupert that he views himself as the king of Pennsylvania and his wife as the queen, with Rupert as their eventual successor, it only adds to the tension between father and son. Unbeknownst to Gary and Rupert, Pam has been having an affair with Jack Sike – a young miner who recently had a baby with his wife.
Gary inherited land from his father, but has no plans to sell it. This causes frustration for Rupert, who is not interested in following his father’s footsteps in mining. He teams up with Carla to kidnap his father and demand a ransom of $200,000, which is the estimated value of the land. Their plan is to use the money to escape their small town and start a new life together. The kidnapping is successful and Gary is kept captive in a trailer. Rupert eventually informs his mother about their scheme, promising her half of the ransom money so she can leave her family and run off with Jack. However, they soon find out that Gary had already sold the land for cash a week prior and there is no way of knowing where he stashed the money.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Fred WardGary Marshetta  Keanu ReevesRupert Marshetta  Bonnie BedeliaPam Marshetta  Amy MadiganCarla Headlee  Jay O. SandersTrooper Joe |
The comedy drama film The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988) is the brainchild of writer and director Ron Nyswaner. Rupert Marshetta, the son of a miner, is a precocious and misunderstood character. He has dropped out of high school and feels out of place in his small town. Rupert’s frustration with his parents, Gary and Pam, stems from their rocky relationship. He also harbors strong feelings for Carla, an older woman who runs an old-fashioned ice cream stand along the roadside. Carla shares a daughter with her ex-boyfriend Joe, a state trooper. When Gary reveals to Rupert that he views himself as the king of Pennsylvania and his wife as the queen, with Rupert as their eventual successor, it only adds to the tension between father and son. Unbeknownst to Gary and Rupert, Pam has been having an affair with Jack Sike – a young miner who recently had a baby with his wife.
Gary inherited land from his father, but has no plans to sell it. This causes frustration for Rupert, who is not interested in following his father’s footsteps in mining. He teams up with Carla to kidnap his father and demand a ransom of $200,000, which is the estimated value of the land. Their plan is to use the money to escape their small town and start a new life together. The kidnapping is successful and Gary is kept captive in a trailer. Rupert eventually informs his mother about their scheme, promising her half of the ransom money so she can leave her family and run off with Jack. However, they soon find out that Gary had already sold the land for cash a week prior and there is no way of knowing where he stashed the money.
