Video Review

Serial Mom (1994)

MPAA Rating: R
Reviewed by Glenn Kenny | Aug 26, 1994
EW's GRADE
B+

Details Movie Rated: R; Genre: Comedy; With: Ricki Lake and Kathleen Turner; Distributor: Savoy

John Waters' amusing melding of Douglas Sirk melodrama with America's Most Wanted documentary stylings resonates more on video than in theaters, and it's not just a case of diminished expectations being rewarded tenfold. This story of an ultra-efficient matriarch (Kathleen Turner) who kills off anyone who disturbs her family or aesthetic sense is quintessentially TV-friendly. And there's a martini dryness to Waters' sick sense of humor that's perfectly embodied in Turner's performance. B+

Originally posted Aug 26, 1994 Published in issue #237-238 Aug 26, 1994 Order article reprints