Serial Mom [VHS]

The DVD contains a commentary with John Waters, and as usual his track is every bit as entertaining as the movie. There are featurettes with all the leads talking about making this farce! It's a great package. DVD presentation is striking - good picture and sound of one of John's highest budget features.


Life doesn't have to be so bad, but it's hilarious anyway!   October 18, 2005
MortensOrchid (Cleveland, OH)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

I thought this movie was a riot the first time I saw it. I was only vaguely aware of John Waters at the time, as he had hit it big with Hairspray a few years before. Watching this movie you can catch the little digs and subleties (the gal from L7 showing off her camel toe, that really filthy porn movie the friend Scottie is watching, etc.) here and there. Kathleen Turner plays the Divine role very well as the suburban housewife on the edge of exploding. Beverly is so obsessed with perfection and keeping her world in line that she snaps. The obscene calls to her neighbor Dottie (all because she cut her off in the parking lot at Joanne Fabrics) are hilarious. She kills the woman for not rewinding her video tapes before returning them, and even contemplates murder against her literbug neighbor for not recycling.

This was probably John Waters's salute to the courtroom groupie phenomena. We can turn mass murderers into celebrities, although I wish he had captured more of the party aspect of it rather than the sale of T shirts and merchandise. Patty Hurst is even in it, and if you didn't know otherwise John Waters was one of the Patty Hurst groupies back in the day. Suzanne Sommers even makes an appearance, in probably her most signifigant screen role to date, just being herself. It was a good time and captures one of John Waters's many obsessions.


A Classic   December 21, 2005
crafty in california
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is an amazing entertaining movie. There is violence but it is part of the hidden surprise inside of Serial Mom. There is some foul language but it fits in beautifully and is needed. The reaction of Serial Mom's family to her behavior is priceless. If you have a sense of humor, this is a great movie to add to your collection.


Great DVD of a great movie   February 22, 2000
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

First off, this is- in my opinion- John Waters' best film. No, it doesn't have the same extreme shock value of his early work but it is a very well-written film. And the cast is absolutely perfect. For the price, this DVD is a great value-- and never mind the description found here, the film IS presented in letterbox-format. The director's commentary track makes this a must-have for Waters' fans. Plus-- not listed on the package-- there are a number of bonus goodies including interview clips and behind-the-scenes footage. These extras are quite brief, but I love finding little added tidbits on DVDs. This is one of the funniest films released in the '90s. And as a darkly humorous look at America's obsession with making celebrities out of violent criminals, it is far more effective than more celebrated films like "Natural Born Killers."


JOHN WATERS STILL DOES IT THE BEST   September 22, 1999
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I hate it when people criticize Waters' films now for being "too soft", I swear a person can't win! This movie is brilliant and if it had come just months later would have been a mirror to the O.J. Simpson case. Kathleen Turner is one of our greatest actresses, what happened to her career?, and totally deserved an oscar nomination. Buy this DVD. Whenever you get a commentary by JW you get more than enough.