By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

In theaters:

"Introducing the Dwights" (Warner Independent)—When she's not earning her performance moniker as "clubland's raunchiest homemaker," standup comedian and single mom Jeannie Dwight (Brenda Blethyn) works in a canteen by day, gives music lessons and tries to maintain some semblance of control over the lives of her two young adult sons Tim (Khan Chittenden) and Mark (Richard Wilson). As Tim asserts his independence, it has an increasingly negative effect on his relationship with his mother. When he begins to get serious about Jill (Emma Booth), Jean is vicious, unpredictable and more manipulative than ever. Mark, meanwhile, is much more under Jean's jurisdiction, as he has cerebral palsy, and she is his primary caregiver. Jean's gay manager Shane (Russell Dykstra), who she says wants to make her a gay icon, is doing his best to get her booked into better gigs, which only increases her dependency on Tim, as he is the one she counts on to get her to auditions and jobs. Thus the groundwork is laid for a family feud of the highest order, especially when John (Frankie J. Holden), Jean's ex-husband, also her ex-performance partner and frustrated performer-turned-security guard, and the father of their two sons, enters the picture to lend a hand. While the Dwights might not be the kind of people to whom you'd want to be introduced in your daily life, at least viewers get to leave them behind after the last frame, which is a good thing because they eventually become some of the most unpleasant film characters in quite some time.

limited runs:

Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th, presents a screening of "The Flying Scotsman" July 11 at 7:30 p.m. Call (773) 445-3838.

The Oscar-winning animated film "Happy Feet" is being shown at 9 p.m. July 11 on the east lawn of Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive on Northwestern's Evanston campus.

The Michelangelo Antonioni film festival continues at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, with "The Mystery of Oberwald" (from 1980) July 13 and 15, "The Girlfriends" (from 1955) July 14 and 17 and "Red Desert" (from 1964) July 14 and 19.

Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, presents a David Lynch film festival with "Wild At Heart," starring Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern, July 13 at 8:30 p.m. and July 16 at 6 p.m.; "Inland Empire," with Laura Dern and Justin Theroux, July 14 at 7:30 p.m.; and "The Straight Story," with Richard Farnsworth and Sissy Spacek, July 15 at 3 p.m. and July 17 at 8 p.m.