Mom And Dad Save The World

When folks think about Jerry Goldsmith’s film scoring career, the music to Mom and Dad Save the World is not one that immediately comes to mind. It’s one of those films that arrived in a very strange period where studios returned to the idea of having A and B list movies released during the year. This occurred at a time before the rise of independent film and almost any half-baked idea could get green-lighted without much thought. Having a B-list comedy like this allowed steady work for a number of character actors like Jeffery Jones, Terry Garr, Jon Lovitz and Wallace Shawn as well as an opportunity for a work-a- holic like Goldsmith to test his chops on comedic sci-fi. In an era before big budgeted computer generated sci-fi epics, this over-the-top cheesy film allowed for a number of belly laughs and just plain campy fun.

This same campiness translated well for Goldsmith in his approach to scoring the film that Bruce Broughton in The Ice Pirates and John Morris did in Spaceballs, and actually helped make the film worth watching. The movie, as well as the CD, starts out with a strong archetypal theme that meshes the symphonic with synthesized elements that Goldsmith is so well known for. Jerry’s style for meshing these two elements in his music appeared in the same fashion in many other score of his around the same time like The & #145;Burbs and Total Recall.. This was also a time when Mr. Goldsmith also took on scoring comedies, a rare 4-year period break from his usual dramas and action film scores of which he never returned to. He has a tendency in these pieces to overscore the gags and pratfalls in the films, a step away from many of the subtleties that he& #146;s used in previous film works. However, in a film like this, it works, almost too well. The key to enjoying this score is the orchestration and instrumentation used to take a single theme but apply it to the actions and personalities of the different characters. Some of the more poignant moments in the film are still classic Jerry with subtle strings and woodwinds, but those are far and few between.

For a story about a planet populated by idiots and morons bent on destroying the Earth, you really couldn’t expect much from anything born from it& #146;s loins. As a memorable theme from Jerry Goldsmith, it’s a reasonable addition to a collection of a fan, and really nothing more. It& #146;s a fun romp both on screen and on the CD. If you can believe that this is also from the same folks that brought you Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, you can almost imagine the common sense you have to put by the wayside to get anything from the film. But, it’s a reminder of a time when studios could get away with releasing such films and audience would go and see these films during the summer just to have something to do on a weekend.