Serial Mom
Director: John Waters
Starring: Kathleen Turner, Ricki Lake, Sam Waterston, Matthew Lillard
Year: 1994
Country: United States
Weird Score: 6.5/10
It gets weird when: Ricki Lake appears on screen and you remember how much you miss her trashy daytime talk show. And if you say you don’t miss it you are merely lying to yourself. Just embrace it.
As a teenager, my friends and I would spend our time park drinking, attending the occasional house party and renting movies from a seedy video rental store called Riverside Video. It was your classic neighbourhood video rental complete with the smell of stale popcorn, and a back room blocked off with a poorly hung red curtain and an “18 years or older” sign that everyone just conveniently disregarded. It was at this video store that I rented some of the most memorable movies I have ever seen. I look back on it fondly. Sadly, Riverside Video is no more and has since turned into a real estate office, but back in the ‘90s it was solid gold. It was here that I came across what would soon become one of my favourite dark comedies of all time, Serial Mom, directed by the one and only John Waters.
Kathleen Turner plays Beverly Sutphin, a seemingly normal suburban housewife who just wants to raise her children to be model citizens. She despises gum chewing, foul language and inconsiderate neighbours who don’t recycle. All seems well until we are introduced to the dark side of Beverly through her harassing phone calls to unsuspecting neighbour Dottie Hinkle. And well….it just gets worse from there. Beverly has a very unique way of dealing with people she deems menaces to society, she murders them in cold blood. She is far from discrete when it comes to said killings, choosing to do so out in the open and with no regard for possible witnesses. With murder weapons that range from a fire poker to a giant leg of lamb, Beverly proves she has a flair for creative problem solving.
Serial Mom is an entertaining and over the top dark comedy that pokes fun at America’s adoration and commercialization of serial killers. The film wasn’t well received by critics, but what can you expect from a movie whose biggest cameos are Suzanne Somers, porn star Traci Lords and the classic ‘90s riot girl band L7. I truly have no idea how I was able to rent this movie at such a young age without parental supervision. It’s gory, lewd and violent, and the only thing that gives it a touch of class is the casting of Sam Waterston as Mr. Sutphin, however, it will always be adored by the kid who got away with renting it. And to Beverly Sutphin, a special thanks for teaching me to always be kind and rewind.
It will get weird if you talk about this movie: to someone who worked at Riverside video in the mid to late ’90s and they realize they let me rent a ton of messed up shit. You made me who I am muahahahah.
