A movie title like “Mother Father Sister Brother Frank” (2024) screams absurdity. However, this attention-grabbing title cleverly paints a picture of a perfect family, and how this ‘Frank’ sticks out in conjunction with them. Staying true to the spirit of its title, the film, written and directed by Caden Douglas, is a cleverly crafted dark comedy that ticks all the right boxes. Despite not being entirely unique, the film is a glowing example of blending genres in a zany, absurd, and sharp way.
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank (2024) Movie Synopsis and Plot Summary:
The story starts with a Sunday night dinner at the Jennings household. Jerry (Enrico Colantoni), the father, and Joy (Mindy Cohn), the mother seem to have something important to tell their children. The son, or the titular brother, is Jim (Iain Stewart). He is a gay man struggling with his marriage. Then we have the daughter, or the sister, Jolene (Melanie Leishman). She is divorced and is pregnant. All this information is hidden from the parents as the dinner starts. However, these secrets pale in comparison to the ones the parents have in store for them.
The parents’ secret bubbles to the surface when the titular Frank (Juan Chioran) appears. Frank is Jerry’s elder brother, an uncouth, foul-mouthed vagabond. He joins the family of four for dinner and immediately starts to irk them all with his obnoxiousness. Jerry and Joy, in particular, seem terrified and livid with him. After dilly-dallying for a bit, the old couple sees no other option but to reveal the secret to their children. To their shock. Jim and Jolene learn that Joy and Jerry have been laundering money for a smuggler with the help of their travel agency credentials. The old couple has managed to make around five million dollars via this criminal path.
However, like the dark omen he is, Frank has ruined everything. It appears Frank has learned about the couple’s illegal operation. From that moment onward, he has been blackmailing Joy and Jerry. In fact, Joy and Jerry have forfeited their grand house and the entirety of their five million to Frank. The children are aghast by this twofold blow. Both Jim and Jolene require money. Jolene, in particular, was counting on the house. Jerry and Joy are also distraught as Franks asks all of them to leave the house immediately.
Pushed to the extreme, Jerry and Joy plan to kill Frank as the same thought crosses Jolene’s mind as well. Jolene mixes a handful of her anti-anxiety pills in Frank’s piece of pie. Frank gets drowsy but the pie does not kill him. Joy enters the fray then. The dazed Frank is then hit on the head by a table lamp and Jerry tries to strangle him by his belt. Frank still does not get killed.
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank (2024) Ending Explained:
Who Kills Frank?
The family’s separate plans to murder Frank don’t involve Jim. Jim is the only one who, despite ill feelings, doesn’t decide to off Frank. However, as fate would have him, he becomes Frank’s killer. The seemingly indestructible Frank takes Jolene’s pills, Joy’s table lamps, and Jerry’s strangulation attempt and still stands tall, albeit injured and dazed. Joy pushes him down the stairs then. Even that does not do the trick.
While his parents and sister are trying to kill Frank, Jim is slicing the banana pie with the knife. When Frank crashes down the stairs, he sees Jim with that knife. He attacks Jim and gets jammed by the same knife. A horrified Jim wrenches the knife out, effectively stabbing him. The banana pie drops on Frank’s face, as he bleeds to death.
Does the Jennings Family Escape?
After the shock of becoming murderers wears off, the Jennings family realizes they have to get rid of the body to escape jail time. The first hindrance comes in the form of their neighbor, Ronda. Ronda is looking for her dog and wonders if Jennings has seen it. Joy manages to divert Ronda away, while Jim tries to chop Frank into pieces in the basement. No sooner Jim manages to chop Frank’s arm away than the family is interrupted for the second time.
It is Pete, Jim’s husband. He comes to the house drunk and yelling to speak to Jim. The family gets out of their blood-stained clothes and wears the first clean clothes they can find. So, dressed in Halloween costumes, the family tries to lock Pete in the bathroom while they plaster plastic tarps on the doorways of the dining room, the crime scene. Jim lets Pete out once the coast appears clear. Jim admits his faults, including his lying and cheating, and asks for forgiveness from Pete.
Then comes the third and most dangerous interruption. A police officer, no doubt due to a neighbor’s complaint about the racket Pete made, arrives at their house to investigate. In a hilarious and yet tense situation, Ronda’s dog also appears carrying Frank’s arm. The family tries their best to divert the police officer’s attention from that. As Jolene tries to keep the officer engaged with stalling conversations, the family manages to wrangle the hand out of the dog’s mouth. Eventually, the police officer leaves with Pete, intending to drop him at home.
What Did Ronda’s Dog Throw Up?
Once alone, the Jennings decide not to waste any more time and get into work. They meticulously chop Frank’s body into small pieces and store them in many plastic containers (“Costco had a sale,” explained Jerry). They clean the dining room and burn all of Frank’s attachments. While getting rid of the body, the family bonds like they have never bonded before.
Joy tells Jolene that they are going to support whatever decision she takes regarding the baby. Joy will never be alone as long as her family lives. Jerry, on the other hand, tells Jim that he has always been proud of him. He has always thought Jim to be an immensely courageous man, as only a bold man could have come out as homosexual in that locality. Ties reattached and love strengthened, the family dines happily as they will be keeping the money and the house. Jolene reminds everyone that they should burn batches of Frank’s body parts every time they are together. That is how they get rid of him, slowly and calculatively.
In a mid-credit scene, we see Ronda’s dog vomit a finger. The dog has tried to eat Frank’s arm on that fateful night. As Ronda screams at the appearance of the vomited finger, the film ends. So, the Jennings are perhaps not completely out of the hook. But, if their experience taught them anything, they should be able to circumvent this unforeseen obstacle as well.
