Serial Mom (1994)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.3/10   

Director:

John Waters

Guionista (WGA):

John Waters (written by)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

13 abril 1994 (USA)

Género:

Comedia | Crimen | Suspenso

Frase comercial:

She's a fabulous, loving, caring mother, who er... ...happens to be a serial killer!

Plot:

A sweet mother takes a little too much at heart for the defence of her family.

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Female Killer | Van | Loosely Based On Real Events | Dead Boy

Premios:

1 nomination

Comentarios de los usuarios:

We all have our bad days...

Reparto

Kathleen Turner	...	Beverly R. Sutphin
Sam Waterston	...	Eugene Sutphin, D.D.S.
Ricki Lake	...	Misty Sutphin
Matthew Lillard	...	Chip Sutphin
Scott Morgan	...	Detective Pike (as Scott Wesley Morgan)
Walt MacPherson	...	Detective Gracey
Justin Whalin	...	Scotty Barnhill
Patricia Dunnock	...	Birdie
Lonnie Horsey	...	Carl Pageant
Mink Stole	...	Dottie Hinkle
Mary Jo Catlett	...	Rosemary Ackerman
John Badila	...	Paul Stubbins
Kathy Fannon	...	Betty Sterner
Doug Roberts	...	Ralph Sterner
Traci Lords	...	Carl's Date

También conocida como:

Los asesinatos de mamá (Spain) [es]
Mamá, asesina serial (Argentina) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for satirical presentation of strong violence, vulgar language, and sexual episodes.

Duración:

95 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Relación de Aspecto:

1.66 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby

Clasificación:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | France:-12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Israel:18 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Locaciones de Filmación:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Compañía:

Polar Entertainment Corporation

Trivialidades:

Opening credits say "This film is a true story. The screenplay is based on court testimony. Sworn Declarations. And hundreds of interviews conducted by the film-makers. / Some of the innocent characters' names have been changed in the interest of a larger truth. / No one involved in the crimes received any form of financial compensation."

Errores:

Errores cometidos por los personajes (posiblemente errores deliberados por los cineastas): When Beverly goes in for a PTA meeting at Chip's school, Mr. Stubbins says that Chip is "off to a fine start this year". However in the opening scene, it says that the story takes place in May 1993, not September.

Citas:

[first lines]
Eugene Sutphin: That's a nice dress you're wearing this morning, Misty.
Misty Sutphin: Thanks.

Conexiones de Película:

References The Wolf Man (1941)

Banda de Sonido:

GAS CHAMBER

We all have our bad days...

I am a hardcore John Waters fan, but this is not my favorite film of his. I can't really think of anything I would want to change about it, however, other than maybe setting it in the 50's or 60's so Van Smith could have worked his costume magic. I personally consider this film and Pecker to be his weakest. However, even my least favorite Waters film beats most movies. If another director, say Robert Zemeckis or someone had directed this, then based on the subject matter, I probably wouldn't have had any interest in seeing it. But hey, any movie containing the credits "Written and Directed by John Waters" (in this case, the credit is superimposed over an image of a pulverized fly who has just been swatted by the title character...he always picks the best shots for his credit, doesn't he?) well, I'm there, no matter what the premise is. Waters' films often center on 'troubled' but lovable female characters, and this one is no exception. Kathleen Turner does a great job portraying Beverly Sutphin, a June Cleaver-esque, devoted happy homemaker who doesn't even allow gum in her house, but has a short fuse and keeps a secret scrapbook (I wonder if it was from Waters personal collection) of clippings about serial killers. We don't know how long she's been killing, but the first half of the film follows a week in her life and the various neighbors and acquaintances she dispatches simply because they pi$$ her off. Ever momentarily had an urge to kill someone when they stole a parking spot from you, badmouthed a member of your family, or committed an obvious fashion violation? We don't act on it (well, *I* don't anyway, maybe some of you have and I just don't know about it) but Serial Mom sure does.

Again, only Waters could have pulled this movie and subject matter off. If you're a Waters devotee, then you are well aware that criminal behavior, trials, and serial killers are subjects near and dear to his heart-this is a man who is a self-confessed "trial groupie". With any other filmmaker, it could have been boring. Many probably would have been extremely offended by a movie about a lovable serial killer played for laughs (especially those who knew the victim of a violent crime) but the tone of the movie is so light and over-the-top that only people with no sense of humor could think it might condone murder. Who else but Waters could think of a victim being bludgeoned to death with a slab of pork chop (because she made the mistake of not rewinding a movie before she returns it to the video store) while watching a videotape of "Annie"? This is not the funniest Waters movie I've seen, but it has its moments. Among the funniest are the scenes where Beverly torments her neighbor Mink Stole with hilariously obscene phone calls to drive her over the edge. Also very amusing are scenes where Beverly's whitebread manner ("oh honey, the only "serial" I know anything about is Rice Krispies!") contrasts with the horrified stares of her family and neighbors. Turner is best in the moments when she goes from a harmless Donna Reed to Charles Manson within seconds when someone makes the mistake of annoying her- just watch her face. Waters fans should also watch for cameos /small roles by Alan Wendel, Traci Lords, Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce (I only recognized her from her distinctive voice) and though he doesn't appear in the credits, Waters manages to work in Don Knotts.

This is one of the few Waters films that I rent from time to time rather than own, but it's still lots of fun. I'll take one of Waters less memorable films over a teen slasher flick or anything starring Jean-Claude Van Damme any day of the week.