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Serial Mom

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Serial Mom (1994)

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63 %
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Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:27

Rotten:16

Average Rating:5.8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Happy homemaker Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) has a charmed life--a beautiful suburban home, a successful dentist husband (Sam Waterston), and two normal teenagers, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip... Happy homemaker Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) has a charmed life--a beautiful suburban home, a successful dentist husband (Sam Waterston), and two normal teenagers, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard). But she also has a good deal of underlying rage waiting to escape....Just be sure to follow her rules: Be polite to your neighbor, always recycle, rewind your videotapes, and never, ever wear white shoes after Labor Day. When one of her son's teachers speaks disparagingly of the boy at a parent-teacher conference, Bev runs the instructor over in the school parking lot. Suddenly she has an insatiable taste for murder. Six homicides later, the cops get wise to her crimes, which are committed with weapons ranging from a leg of lamb to a fireplace poker. A media frenzy ensues, turning an unrepentant Beverly into a media celebrity. A serial-killer comedy mixed with courtroom-drama social satire, the raunchy SERIAL MOM was John Waters's return to R-rated fare after the sweet-natured duo of HAIRSPRAY and CRY-BABY. Suburban life is duly skewered here as the serenity of Beverly's upper-middle-class surroundings are continually sullied by her comedically disturbing acts of violence. Turner appears to relish the opportunity to play such an over-the-top role, and the usual Baltimore-based supporting players make welcome appearances. [More]

Starring: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard

Starring: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Suzanne Somers, Scott Wesley, Mink Stole

Director: John Waters

Director: John Waters
Screenwriter: John Waters
Producer: John Fiedler, Mark Tarlov
Composer: Basil Poledouris

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 13, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Serial Mom

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The film goes off in so many directions, and Waters is so self-satisfied with shock and gross-out elements, that it wears out its welcome before we even get to the courtroom.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Waters is holding back here, sticking to thematic ground that's been covered before and better.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Too realistically gory to really be funny.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lacks the bite it would need to be subversive, despite a few moments of vintage Waters tastelessness.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/08/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Well worth a look.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/08/08
Channel 4 Film

It's like I hate it, but I can't stop watching!

comment Comment
07/23/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

Not Waters' best by any means, but this irreverant black comedy entertains.

comment Comment
08/18/05
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Las Vegas Mercury

No review available.

comment Comment
10/04/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Caryn James
Caryn James
New York Times

No review available.

comment Comment
10/10/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
12/18/02
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

An uproariously funny, marvellously malicious performance from Turner.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

[Turner's] efforts fail to make Serial Mom into anything more than merely watchable.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
09/15/03
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

This is one of Waters' tamest and most accessible pictures (even played at Cannes Fest!) and one of the few to feature a legit star, Katheleen Thurner, who gives a gusto performance as the middleclass houusewife committed to protect her family.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/01/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A loose remake of Female Trouble with Polyester's subversively accessible polish, Serial Mom is the strongest film of the post-midnight-movie chapter of John Waters's career.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/06/08
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine

A delightfully shrewd and slaphappy satire that paints a demented portrait of a seemingly ideal suburbia. Waters and his frothy farce are both splendidly twisted

comment Comment
06/07/03
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
TheWorldJournal.com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/25/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

While the idea sounds fertile, the execution is uneven, and the comedy sporadic at best.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you're not weak of stomach, heart, or mind, go see Serial Mom.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Brundage
James Brundage
Filmcritic.com
 
 
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