YMMV / I Accuse My Parents

• Alternate Character Interpretation: While the film seems to lay the responsibility for Jimmy's troubles at the hand of parental neglect, many viewers (Joel and the Bots included) consider that the real crux of his problem is Jimmy's seemingly pathological lying.
  • "Let's not forget stupid!"
  • Possibly Jimmy developed his lying habits as a result of his crappy upbringing, but that's never properly addressed.
  • The chain of causality is supposed to be Jimmy's crummy home life —> lying about it —> Hand Wave —> falling in with unsavory characters —> getting involved with organized crime.
• Don't Shoot the Message: A parable about how parents shouldn't get drunk and fight in front of their kids lest they get driven off and seek parental figures elsewhere is not a bad message per se, it's just undercut by Jimmy's idiocy and the general melodrama of the rest of the movie.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Al Frasier, the diner cook, is the sole character who isn't an idiot, whiny, irresponsible, or a criminal.
• Glurge: Everything wrong with anyone is all their parents' fault! Everything!
• Narm: Jimmy's Title Drop during the opening trial sequence is followed by a dramatic music sting, loud gasps from the members of the public gallery, and rapid cuts between the main characters, as though Jimmy had just made some incredibly dramatic statement that turned the whole trial on its head. Instead, it comes across as him making a lame attempt at a Never My Fault, which in turn makes the courtroom's reaction seem like a self-parody.
• So Bad, It's Good: Let's not sugarcoat this: This movie is stupid, but even when riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000, the cast admits there is a kind of charm to it. Even though the characters are silly they are still charming and likable, and there's a kind of earnestness about it they seemed to respect. It's notable that this is the first and rare film riffed where every single host segment centers on the film itself. Overall Joel, the Bots, and the crew seemed to love rather than hate this movie due to the ludicrousness. It was written by an Oscar winner, after all.
• The Woobie: Jimmy may be a huge dumbass, but it's still pretty depressing that he has to deal with his parents fighting whenever they're together, his mother's alcoholism, his parents openly cheating on each other, and then ditching him on his birthday to go party. It's no wonder he's so screwed up.

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