John Waters has made some fantastic cult films over the years, but for my money, it just doesn't get any better than the dark comedy that is Serial Mom. With David Lynch having plumbed this territory in more insidious and disturbing ways in “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks,” it’s tough to shake audiences up with any new revelations about nice families of four in homes with two-car garages.Serial Mom is one of those movies that immediately brings me back to a the glory days of video rental stores, and man did I ever rent the hell out of this one when it finally came out on VHS. Waters’ recent, bigger-budget films don’t seem subversive in the way that his bargain-basement indies did, because the object of their loving derision is a 1950s white-bread America, derived mostly from television, that has already been parodied to death and seems at too much of a remove from anything vital or on-the-line. After an excursion into more benign, PG and PG-13 territory for his last two efforts, “Hairspray” and “Cry-Baby,” it’s good to see him back where his sick humor and taste for raunch have more room to roam.īut the problem is not only the wispy, clothesline plot that has no more complexity than a series of blackout sketches. Waters’ trademark social mockery, campy humor and celebration of the tawdry are all in ample evidence. Firing her attorney for entering an insanity plea, media favorite Beverly argues her case herself and emerges as a feminist heroine who will be played in the TV movie by Suzanne Somers. Once started, there’s no stopping Beverly, and by the time she’s arrested and charged with murder, she has killed six people. Without hesitation, Beverly runs the man over with her car for his impudence and heads home, where she can admire her signed photograph of Richard Speck and tune in Joan Rivers hosting her new TV show, “Serial Hags,” devoted to women who love mass murderers. Her chain is pulled, however, by Chip’s teacher, who dares to suggest that some therapy would help the youngster curb his addiction to horror pix. An endlessly supportive wife to dentist Eugene (Sam Waterston), she runs the ideal household, keeping the home spotless and serving up a delicious dinner every night to her family, which includes college student daughter Misty (Lake), who has extensive boy problems, and high-schooler son Chip (Matthew Lillard), a gore-film junkie.Īs soon as they all leave for the day, however, Beverly jumps into action, making obscene phone calls to a silly neighborhood woman. To all outward appearances, Baltimore hausfrau Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) is June Cleaver incarnate.
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December 2022
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