4/5/2023 0 Comments Serial mom![]() It was deemed the “trial of the century” for the shocking brutality at the hands of an American football hero (and B-film actor) alleged by the prosecutors, its twists and turns in court, and its tragically unsatisfying verdict. What evolved throughout those years, and years subsequent, was an unprecedented media frenzy. The murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in June of that year ( Serial Mom was released in April) made headlines around the world, as did OJ Simpson’s subsequent attempted Ford Bronco escape, trial and eventual acquittal. If Beverly starred in her own mid-century sitcom, it would be “Leave it to Cleaver.”ġ994 was a memorable year in the annals of American true crime. Subsequent murders ensue involving scissors, air conditioners, and butcher’s knives, meanwhile the town and the Sutphin family realize the truth behind the grizzly crimes. When Misty is stood up by her boyfriend, her mother murders him with a fire poker in a public restroom. When a math teacher questions the mental stability of Chip – a result of his obsession with slasher films – Beverly runs him over with her car. With a rigid moral code, Beverly anonymously dispenses justice for seemingly minor faux pas (wearing white after Labour Day, snatching parking spaces at the grocery store, improper recycling habits), but as the perceived indignities are aimed at her family, the violence escalates and Beverly turns Lizzie Borden in defense of her family. When her neighbourhood is scandalized by a rash of dirty prank calls, Beverly pretends to be shocked only to reveal to the audience (but not yet her family), that she is the telephone bandit. Her dentist husband (Law & Order’s Sam Waterston) is doting, and her children, Misty (played by Ricki Lake of Waters’s 1984 Hairspray) and Chip (Matthew Lillard in his first credited screen role), represent the average American teenager. And if Serial Mom, starring Hollywood A-lister Kathleen Turner, was a more PG family-friendly entry for Waters (comparatively, remember that his first bonafide hit, 1972’s Pink Flamingoes notoriously concluded with its star Divine ingesting dog feces), it nevertheless exudes its director’s patented trashiness.Īs was commonplace with all Waters’s films, Serial Mom is set just outside Baltimore, in the middle-class suburb of Towson, where family matriarch Beverly Sutphin (Turner) cares for her family with domestic prowess. He positions the entire film, with its disingenuous opening text, as a true crime tale, despite clearly being a work of fiction. Coronated with various loving monikers, such as “The Duke of Dirt,” “The Pope of Trash,” “The Prince of Puke,” and the “Ayatollah of Assholes,” Waters’s unique brand of distaste applied throughout his life and filmography to an obsession with serial killers. ![]() He also satirized the obsession with true crime that is currently at its zenith. When shooting Serial Mom in Baltimore’s suburbs early in 1994, director John Waters – the celebrated, if not worshiped King of Filth – acted as a soothsayer of sorts, predicting the media frenzy that would envelope North Americans later that year. Stevens M: Basil Poledouris V: John Waters.Serial Mom: How John Waters Predicted True Crime’s Morbid Appeal By Wendl, Mary Vivian Pearce D: John Waters W: John Waters C: Robert M. Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Mink Stole, Traci Lords, Suzanne Somers, Joan Rivers, Patty (Patricia Campbell) Hearst, Mary Jo Catlett, Justin Whalin, Susan Lowe, Alan J. ![]() Turner's chameleonic performance as the perfect mom/crazed killer is right on target, recalling “The War of the Roses.” Waterston, Lake, and Lillard are terrific as her generic suburban family. Darkly funny Waters satire tends toward the mainstream and isn't as perverse as earlier efforts, but still maintains a shocking edge (vital organs are good for an appearance or two). Stardom reigns after she's caught and the murderer-as-celebrity phenomenon is exploited to the fullest. Didn't rewind your videotape? Chose the white shoes after Labor Day? Uh oh. June Cleaverlike housewife Turner is nearly perfect, except when someone disrupts her orderly life.
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