BAD RONALD

What’s not to like about BAD RONALD? Taken as a straight drama, it's quite enjoyable; but if one looks at it as a dead-pan comedy, it’s a Made-For-TV CLASSIC.

Ronald Wilby (Scott Jaoby) lives alone with his mother (Kim Hunter); she needs an operation, but won’t get one till Ronald becomes a doctor and can perform it (eyyywww!). Aside from being an aspiring doctor, Ronald is also an artist/writer, working on his "History Of Atranta" (uh, oh – "artist" -- that’s gotta be trouble)

After getting rebuffed by the cool kids (and the gal he’s sweet on, Laurie Matthews) at a pool party, Ronald accidently kills Laurie’s little sister during an argument about the apparent weirdness of Ronald and his mother. Oooops! Well Ronald worried that it won’t be considered an accident buries the body in the woods.

Mom decides that Ronald wouldn’t be able to escape the cops, so figures that they can fix up the doorway to the first floor powder room with drywall and wall paper to make it look there is no room there. Ronald will hide in the room (with a little access door in the kitchen pantry), till the heat dies down. In the room, Ma says, he’ll be able to live in "…cleanliness & decency". He is also told that he must learn to live quietly.

Mom supplies Ron with food etc. and Ron keeps up studies, stays clean and exercises. He also continues his work on The History of Atranta, putting up poster-size drawings of Prince Norbert (with his face drawn in) Princess Fancetta (his mom’s face) and "the Evil Duke".

Eventually his mother ends up in the hospital and dies. Ronald, of course remains in the little room, venturing out only to grab food. The "cleanliness" thing kind of goes out the window, though, and the grunginess of Ronald’s t-shirt is one of the joys of this movie. He’s also taken to scribbling depressing messages and artwork on the walls of his little domain (Atranta, I guess).
The house now apparently empty, it is sold to a family with three daughters. Ronald spies (through some peepholes he has made) the youngest daughter, Babs, and decides that she is "the princess" and replaces his mom’s face on the drawing of princess Fansetta with the young girl (hey, that’s creepy!). One of the older daughters starts dating Dwayne Matthews, the brother of the girl Ronald "murdered", so now Ron puts Dwayne's face on the poster of "The Evil Duke". From there, we have various amusing incidents before the bizarre situation comes to it’s strange end.

Some tantalizing highlights, in screen caps: