ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A FAMILY

Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »

But all is not as it seems. The father is carrying on an affair with his secretary, who’s called Like because of her habit of beginning every sentence with that word. The mother is a nymphomaniac/prostitute (the parish priest is one of her most, uh, faithful customers). The teenage son stuffs his teddy bears with cocaine, generously supplied by the chief of police. And his sister wears a Freddy Krueger glove, eats with a knife, and acts out violent fantasy games with her two dolls, “Claw Barbie” and “Flamethrower Barbie.”

None of the family members in Once Upon a Time There Was a Family is aware of the others’ covert activities. But when the priest (who is not above a bit of camera-happy blackmail) is found murdered, suspicion falls on the father, who is not above a bit of blackmail himself if it will get the police detective off his tail.

While no replacement for substance, a little style can sometimes go a long way.