Serial Mom (1994) Reviews

• Sick and subversive treat from John Waters

  ThrownMuse2005-01-20

  Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) seems to be a typical Betty Crocker suburban housewife. Unfortunately, people are dropping like flies around her! Could this perfect mom be a serial killer? "Serial Mom" is a ridiculously charming and clever film that never really received the credit it deserved. It is John Waters' best mainstream film, and its tongue-in-cheek portrayal of suburbia, domesticity, the media, and conventional gender roles is delightfully subversive. Kathleen Turner was criminally underrated--this was her best performance to date. The dialogue is hilarious, the murders are wickedly funny, and the overall atmosphere of the film is disturbingly bright and shiny. Co-stars Waters regulars Mink Stole, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, and features a dynamite cameo by grunge goddesses L7. My Rating: 9/10

• A kitschy classic

  nmoc2000-10-19

  An uproariously witty satire on "petty" bourgeois American values, John Waters brings his own distinctive madness to the screen by focussing on cardboard cut-out caricatures of pop culture Americana. Turning his outrageous gaze on an archetypally perfect housewife and mother from the Baltimore suburbs in Maryland, supportive to her loving husband and teenage kids and possessing a real tlent for cooking, it appears that she is everything a stable, hard-working business man could want. However, there is a slight catch. She is also a serial killer. Mom's tendency to take bloody revenge on any poor neighbouring housewife who fails to observe her rigid socially acceptable guidelines, like not recycling rubbish or driving too fast, is so barmy you are sure to find it absurdly and darkly funny. Kathleen Turner, alternating between dizzy, unquestioning devotion to her family and clinically cool, yet psychotic anger to offending neighbours, either appears to possess a martyr's yellow halo above her head, denoting divine lightness and freshness, or a focussed smile as she carefully contemplates her next victim. If you are on the lookout for some perfectly vibrant, yet malicious black comedy, subscribe to "Serial Mom", one of the most ruthless, patronising skits on good manners and nosey, voyeuristic neighbours ever to hit the screen. If you like Waters' latest irreverent venture into visceral, cutting black humour, then get all his other movies, because they are all even more extreme and grotesque - "Pink Flamingos", "Hairspray", "Cry Baby" - all kitschy, underrated classics in their own right.

• Surreal Mom

  Eric-12262003-03-02

  Truly a dark comedy if there ever was one, this film won't be to everyone's taste. I first saw it several years ago on network TV, immediately liked it, but also realized that a fair amount of critical "flavor" had been bleeped out of the movie due to editing it for television. So just recently I purchased the DVD version, which gave me the opportunity to watch it in all its unedited glory. Kathleen Turner is awesome as mad housewife Beverly Sutphin (where DO they get these names?). I can't think of a modern actress who has such a commanding presence on the screen as Kathleen Turner, and here she uses it to full advantage. I don't know if it's her supreme confidence in the delivery of her lines, or her captivating facial expressions, or just the way she carries herself as a woman not to be trifled with, but somehow she grabs you by the ears and doesn't let go. There is a goodly dose of carnage in the film, including a particularly gory scene where a guy gets skewered in the men's room with a fireplace poker, resulting in his liver being torn out. But in the capable hands of John Waters, plus the presence of Kathleen Turner in the scene, it all just seems so natural, and perfectly hilarious. Here I couldn't help thinking about the great film "Harold and Maude" (1971), where Bud Cort's character fakes his own suicide various times throughout the film, and by golly, he made suicide actually seem FUNNY! You get the same reaction from "Serial Mom", where Beverly Sutphin's murders come across as being somewhat on the level of laugh-inducing college pranks. The cinematography is superb, the co-stars (Sam Waterston, Mink Stole, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Patricia Hearst, Traci Lords, et al) are spot-on well cast, the pacing is excellent, and the film wraps with a very satisfying denouement. Granted, the film is not for the squeamish, nor for those who are averse to John Waters. But for those who can deal with a whimsical horror film, I would recommend seeing this – and get the DVD version if possible, as the director's commentary by John Waters is worth the rental price. I actually purchased the DVD, as I want this one in my permanent video library. I only wish they would make a sequel. Perhaps, "Serial Mom joins the PTA".

• Sick, twisted, bizarre, depraved...and a damn good time!

  The_Void2006-01-17

  I saw Serial Mom for the first time as a fairly young kid, and thought it was pretty good. I've just seen it for the first time as an adult, and it turns out that I'd forgotten just how good this film really is! It's certainly not to everyone's taste, and if you can't handle high camp, you definitely don't want to see this; but if you like your films wild and wicked, Serial Mom is a treat indeed! The film follows a slasher plot line, but it's clear that director John Waters didn't want to merely make a slash flick. The film is a parody of life as a housewife, the media and modern society in general; with a heavy dosage of sick humour and a very unique mean streak running throughout. Serial Mom is the sort of film that puts a smile on your face, and it follows the story of a not quite so normal American mother. While her fellow housewives are cooking dinner and cleaning the house, Beverly R. Sutphin is out dispatching people that have got on hers and her family's nerves in a variety of nasty, yet hilarious, ways. Her kids think it's cool, and her husband is duly worried... Kathleen Turner takes the lead role, and does an excellent job of performing in a serious, yet jokey way; which does the film no end of favours on the parody front. She looks the part, acts the part...and really, I cant think of a better middle-aged actress to take the lead in this film. The support cast, which includes Matthew Lillard and Ricki Lake, is good; but it's the director that's the real star of the show. John Waters has made a name for himself by creating odd and twisted films, and although I haven't seen a great deal of them; Serial Mom is his best as far as I'm concerned. It's one of those films that constantly make you laugh (providing you've got a sick sense of humour), while poking fun at society and offending all the right people all at once! I love originality in movies, and this really is one unique film. The nineties saw the release of lots of obscure social commentaries that were lost under films like Schindler's List and Fight Club, and Serial Mom, along with Francois Ozon's 'Sitcom', is one of the best 'under the radar' films of the decade. It's not a film that everyone will like, but everyone should see it just in case!

• A delightful, dark comedy

  antony-102001-04-16

  This film won't be to everyone's liking, but is certainly an all-time favorite of mine. Only a film like this can combine so many great elements into one entertaining movie. Kathleen Turner is just purely brilliant as sweet mother Beverly Sutphin, who would look more at home in a show like Bewitched. However, we soon learn that she's not all that she seems. I love any movie that takes a classic element (in this case the innocent housewife) and completely turns it on its head. And so the film leads us on a journey through Beverly Sutphin's life and motivations. The film grabs on, and doesn't let go, keeping the pace until the very last scene. In bad taste? Well, yes. Sick humor? Quite often. Good? Oh yes. If you have a dark sense of humor, don't miss it for the world.