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Movies / On DVD / Serial Mom
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]

Reviews for Serial Mom

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Well worth a look.

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

An uproariously funny, marvellously malicious performance from Turner.

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

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

No review available.

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

[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

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

Offensively tame and almost (gasp) tasteful.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Brown
Joe Brown
Washington Post

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

No better than cable fare.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Neither satirically relevant nor shocking enough.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Neil Martin
Neil Martin
Palo Alto Weekly

The murders are multiple but the joke is strictly one-note.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

Too realistically gory to really be funny.

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

I am not sure why this isn't very funny, but it's not.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/19/03
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Rather mild and scattershot in its satiric marksmanship...

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/08/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

comment Comment
07/23/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
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