The Kerrigans live not only in the treasured house, but also in a state of profound denial. Darryl Kerrigan knows he is a lucky man. Every night at dinner, Darryl reminds the kids of how wonderful their mother is. Sal's home cooking would drive a lesser group to McDonalds, but Daryl and the kids think her meals are fit for royalty. In the eyes of her adoring family, even Sal's grotesque arts and crafts are things of beauty.
Denial is a wonderful state.
The children are perfect-including the one in jail for armed robbery. Each Kerrigan loves all the others without reservation, and wherever they go, they can't wait to get home. Dad looks up lovingly at the high tension wires above his house. For him, they are lofty reminders of the genius of man's invention of electricity. This is a family guided by some marvelous warped logic understandable only to themselves-and by the end of the movie, to us too.