Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 23, 1994 TAG: 9404230028
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's dark comedy, with a violent streak that may bother some viewers, but that's appropriate. After all, the subject is multiple murder, and this one comes from John Waters, known best for such cult hits as "Pink Flamingos" and "Polyester." "Serial Mom" continues his recent shift toward the mainstream. Like "Hairspray" and "Cry-Baby," it's meant for a large audience.
Once again, Waters uses his native Baltimore as a setting for a story that mixes cultural archetypes and kitsch with several bizarre twists.
Outwardly, Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) is the perfect middle-class housewife who keeps a lovely home for her husband, Eugene (Sam Waterston), a dentist, and teen-age children Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard). But Beverly has a secret side. Anything that disrupts her perfect world _ a fly buzzing around the breakfast table, a rude driver in the supermarket parking lot - can send her into a blind rage. And Beverly doesn't get mad; she gets even.
Beneath her June Cleaver facade, there's a Charles Manson ready to leap into action at the slightest provocation. Beverly fits so snugly into her suburban world that no one can believe she'd have anything to do with obscene phone calls, much less murder. But that is the case, and Beverly is losing what little control she has.
This sort of satiric comedy calls for a light touch, and Waters' is almost perfect. His script balances humor and horror without going too far in either direction. Given this material, many directors might have turned the film into a real stomach-turning wallow in graphic effects. Waters does indulge his taste for the unsettling in some scenes - the one in the men's room may be too much for some - but overall, he's not trying to overwhelm his audience with the grotesque.
He wants viewers to see what motivates Beverly - even if they don't sympathize with her - and to understand their own fascination with this raw subject matter. That's the point in the last third where the popularity of the criminal as media star is given the Waters treatment. That's also where the presence of Ricki Lake, the host of her own TV talk show, and Patricia Hearst in a small role add a jolt of reality to Waters' bizarre fiction.
Kathleen Turner gives one of her best performances, poking sly fun at some of the overheated roles she has played in the past. She seems to have been completely in tune with what Waters had in mind for Beverly, playing the part with a equal parts camp humor and dead-pan restraint. She even manages to acquit herself well in one long nightclub scene where the action becomes truly strange.
Given the subject matter, it's impossible to recommend "Serial Mom" to everyone, but the film is entertaining. It's well-made, funny and it has something to say about the way we live.
SERIAL MOM ***
A Savoy release playing at the Grandin Theatre. 90 min. Rated R for subject matter, strong language, violence, sexual content.
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by CNB