Sitcom is an utterly
bizarre recent (1998)
French movie, written and directed by
François Ozon. It has been described to me as a movie conceived by a
sanity-lacking
Frenchman who took
hallucinogens and started channeling
Kafka. I highly recommend.
Plot summary: (spoiler!)
A quasi-happy rich family in suburban France: Disinterested Father, sweet worrywart Mother, shy studious Son, energetic lusty Daughter, newly hired Maid. Father buys rat as pet. Rat hypnotizes Son. Son becomes homosexual, Mother is distraught. Rat hypnotizes Maid's Husband, Maid's Husband becomes Son's lover. Rat hypnotizes Daughter, Daughter becomes suicidal. Daughter jumps out of window, is now paraplegic. Daughter's Lover can't please Daughter, he is seduced by Maid, discovered by Daughter, he is chased away.
Meanwhile, Son holds weekly orgies in his room. Mother is distraught. Mother is hypnotized by rat, seduces Son. Son remains homosexual. Son and Daughter take bath together, discuss sleeping with Mother, Daughter decides to seduce Father. She is unsuccessful.
Son, Daughter, and Mother go to group therapy. While they are gone, rat hypnotizes Father. Father dreams about killing family. Mother calls Father, tells him to get rid of the rat, as it is giving "bad vibes". Father microwaves rat, eats it. Family returns home to find Father morphed into giant rat. Rat attacks Mother and Son. Paraplegic Daughter slowly climbs stairs. Assisted by recent arrival of Daughter's Lover, Daughter kills rat.
Daughter gets back to gether with her Lover, Son is with Maid's Husband, Mother is with Maid. Father is dead, but that's okay. Rat, however, is still alive, lurking at the grave. . . .