Serial Mom

Plot synopsis:
Beverly Sutphin appears to be a typical suburban housewife living with her dentist husband, Eugene, and their teenage children, Misty and Chip, in the suburbs of Baltimore. However, she is secretly a serial killer, murdering people over the most trivial of perceived slights, including mere faux pas.
During breakfast, Detectives Pike and Gracey arrive to question the family about the vulgar harassment of their neighbor, Dottie Hinkle. After the police and her family leave, Beverly disguises her voice to make obscene phone calls to Dottie, because Dottie stole a parking space from Beverly. Later that day, Mr. Stubbins, Chip's math teacher, becomes Beverly's first known murder victim after he criticizes Chip's interests and questions the boy's mental health and family life, as well as berating her parenting; Beverly runs him over with her car, and is witnessed by Luann Hodges, a young woman smoking marijuana nearby. The next day, Misty is upset when Carl Pageant stands her up for a date. Beverly spots Carl with another girl at a swap meet and murders him in the bathroom with a fireplace poker.
Eugene discovers that Beverly has hidden a collection of serial killer memorabilia beneath their mattress. That evening at dinner, Chip comments that his friend Scotty thinks that she is the killer. Beverly immediately leaves in her car, prompting the family to rush to Scotty's house for fear that Beverly plans to kill him; however, Beverly has actually gone to kill Eugene's patient Ralph Sterner and his wife, Betty, for calling Eugene away to treat her husband's chronic toothache on a Saturday they were supposed to spend birdwatching and for eating chicken that reminds her of the starlings. She stabs Betty with scissors borrowed from Rosemary, and causes an air conditioner to fall on Ralph, who caught her killing his wife. Meanwhile, the rest of the family arrive at Scotty's house only to find him in his room masturbating to an old porn video.
That Sunday, police follow the Sutphins to church and a news report names Beverly as the suspect in the murders of the Sterners. The church service ends in pandemonium when a suspicious sound causes everyone to panic and flee the church. Police detectives confirm that Beverly's fingerprints match those at the Sterner crime scene and attempt to arrest her, but she escapes. She hides at the video rental store where Chip works, but a customer, Mrs. Jensen, argues with Chip over paying a fee for failing to rewind a videotape and calls him a "son of a psycho". Beverly follows Mrs. Jensen home and bludgeons her to death with a leg of lamb while she sings along to "Tomorrow" on her rented copy of Annie. Scotty witnesses the attack through a window, Beverly sees him, and a car chase ensues. Catching him at a local club, Hammerjack's, Beverly sets Scotty aflame onstage in front of a deranged crowd during the set of an all-girl band called Camel Lips. The Sutphin family arrive, as do the police, and Beverly is arrested.
Beverly's trial becomes a national sensation. The media dub her "Serial Mom", Chip hires an agent to manage the family's media appearances, and Misty sells merchandise outside the courthouse. During opening arguments, Beverly's lawyer claims that she is not guilty by reason of insanity, but she fires him and proposes to represent herself, citing various law books she has read to her prosecutor's dismay. The judge reluctantly agrees and the trial begins. Beverly proves to be extremely skilled and formidable in defending herself, systematically discrediting nearly every witness against her by; using trick questioning to incite Dottie to contempt of court by repeated obscenities, finding a transsexual-themed magazine in Detective Gracey's trash, invoking judging a person by what they choose to read proves nothing, badgering Rosemary into admitting she doesn't recycle, and fanning her legs repeatedly at pervert Marvin Pickles, whose over-arousal causes him to commit perjury. The only witness she does not discredit is Luann Hodges, who cannot provide a credible testimony due to being under the influence of marijuana. During a second detective's crucial testimony, the entire courtroom is distracted by the arrival of Suzanne Somers, who plans to portray Beverly as the heroine of a television film.
Beverly is acquitted of all charges, stunning her family, who vow to "never get on her nerves". Throughout the trial, Beverly has been displeased that a juror (Patty Hearst) is wearing white shoes after Labor Day. Beverly follows her to a payphone and fatally strikes her in the head with the receiver. Suzanne Somers then angers Beverly into an outburst by trying to pose for a picture that will show Beverly's "bad side", just as the juror's body is discovered.
The film ends with a close-up of Beverly's wicked smile and a caption stating that Beverly "refused to cooperate" with the making of the film.

Tags: comedy, psychological, murder, violence, cult, satire, revenge

Review:
An uproariously witty satire on "petty" bourgeois American values, John Waters brings his own distinctive madness to the screen by focussing on cardboard cut-out caricatures of pop culture Americana.Turning his outrageous gaze on an archetypally perfect housewife and mother from the Baltimore suburbs in Maryland, supportive to her loving husband and teenage kids and possessing a real tlent for cooking, it appears that she is everything a stable, hard-working business man could want.
She is also a serial killer.Mom's tendency to take bloody revenge on any poor neighbouring housewife who fails to observe her rigid socially acceptable guidelines, like not recycling rubbish or driving too fast, is so barmy you are sure to find it absurdly and darkly funny.
Kathleen Turner, alternating between dizzy, unquestioning devotion to her family and clinically cool, yet psychotic anger to offending neighbours, either appears to possess a martyr's yellow halo above her head, denoting divine lightness and freshness, or a focussed smile as she carefully contemplates her next victim.If you are on the lookout for some perfectly vibrant, yet malicious black comedy, subscribe to "Serial Mom", one of the most ruthless, patronising skits on good manners and nosey, voyeuristic neighbours ever to hit the screen.
Only a film like this can combine so many great elements into one entertaining movie.Kathleen Turner is just purely brilliant as sweet mother Beverly Sutphin, who would look more at home in a show like Bewitched.
I love any movie that takes a classic element (in this case the innocent housewife) and completely turns it on its head.And so the film leads us on a journey through Beverly Sutphin's life and motivations.
Her kids think it's cool, and her husband is duly worried...Kathleen Turner takes the lead role, and does an excellent job of performing in a serious, yet jokey way; which does the film no end of favours on the parody front.
John Waters has made a name for himself by creating odd and twisted films, and although I haven't seen a great deal of them; Serial Mom is his best as far as I'm concerned.
Maybe, a little too respectable so that when someone speaks ill of one member of her family, Beverly is ready to kill to defend her family!Only one filmmaker seemed designated to shot this highly entertaining black comedy: John Waters, the king of bad taste and extravagance.
Ever have that day when someone gets on your nerves and you feel like pulling the axe on them?That's exactly what John Waters demonstates in his dark comedy Serial Mom.After starring in the cheesy family movie "House of Cards", Kathleen Turner has created one of the best performances in her life as the beautiful, heroic, misunderstood, law-obeying serial killer Beverly Sutphin.Eversince six murders, she has been placed with some "terribly untrue charges" and the only 'serial' she knows "anything about is Rice Krispies!".But she has good reason for butchering six people: they all commited a crime that no one understands, like dumping her daughter, eating poultry (because Beverly loves birds),smart-alacing about her dentist husband, refusing to rewind a rental tape, critisizing about her family skills, and witnessing one of the other five crimes.You may think she's insane, but really, she's just expressing things we'd rather hide inside of us.Like, say you work in a store and someone wants to return something but they don't have the recipt.It can't be returned without the recipt, so you tell them "No can do".Then they start cursing you out like you're worthless.Wouldn't you get the urge to shove a bullet in their brain?Well then, you now know how Beverly Sutphin feels when someone decides to be a wise guy.This movie is perfect for anyone who loves to laugh.Plus, the DVD contains the theatrical trailer, a behind-the-scenes featurette, several TV spots, four interview clips, and extra behind the scenes footage.I give this one a 10/10!.
I really enjoyed this movie because Kathleen Turner and John Waters just let loose with the demented psychotic energy of a parent who takes many legitimate parental urges to the next level - or maybe the next 5 levels.
It's like when you've just watched a gag in extremely poor taste done pleasantly with such giddy amusement that you just shake your head and say, "That is just wrong!"Kathleen Turner plays the mother who, underneath her thin veil of perfect mother normalcy, has a latent desire to murder those who offend her sensibilities.
Lake, the daughter in search of a boyfriend, is the first to suspect her mother's dark side and Lillard, the son with a love for classic gore horror movies, is interested when he's told his mother may be a killer.It's sort of like a David Lynch movie, if you were to focus only on the "gee whiz" part of America and replace all of Lynch's darkness with campy situations, like a punk rock band called Camel Lips.A lot of the dialogue and the satirical jabs were pretty obvious, but I wasn't quite sure whether this was just unsubtle comedy or if the joke was in how obvious some of the stuff was ("I made a killing!).The acting by Turner reminded me of Annette Bening's in "American Beauty," but demented instead of one-note.
It's not so much that there's no satisfying resolution, it's that some of the more shocking moments come in the beginning and middle of the film.The best way I can think to describe the movie is that it exists in a realistic place populated by unrealistic characters.
Kathleen Turner is perfectly cast as Beverly (Serial Mom) and this is the definite must-see for all interested in superbly written comedies!.
Kathleen Turner plays a sweet and perfect suburbia mom who suddenly decides to kill the people who don't do the right thing (just like bother her kids, not rewinding the rented videos or wearing white shoes after Labour Day).
Kathleen Turner does a great job portraying Beverly Sutphin, a June Cleaver-esque, devoted happy homemaker who doesn't even allow gum in her house, but has a short fuse and keeps a secret scrapbook (I wonder if it was from Waters personal collection) of clippings about serial killers.
We don't act on it (well, *I* don't anyway, maybe some of you have and I just don't know about it) but Serial Mom sure does.Again, only Waters could have pulled this movie and subject matter off.
Many probably would have been extremely offended by a movie about a lovable serial killer played for laughs (especially those who knew the victim of a violent crime) but the tone of the movie is so light and over-the-top that only people with no sense of humor could think it might condone murder.
The above is just one of MANY great lines offered up by the cast of 'Serial Mom'.....The Sutphins seem to be the picture of a normal 50's-esque family - dad (Sam Waterston) is a dentist; mom (a FANTASTIC Kathleen Turner) is a grand house wife homage to Donna Reed, June Cleaver and such; daughter (Rikki Lake) and son (Matthey Lillard) seem to be your average teens with a perfect family life....
Or is it?Based upon actual real life events, John Waters manages to bring us another great film - and this time - he takes dead aim on the 'celebrity' we make of murderers and criminals....I'm sure that many of us have gone through our lives, being annoyed by this person or that object and we've never done anything about it....
From minor annoyances (white shoes after labor day!) to major anger management issues, Betty takes matters into her own hands - by going on a killing spree - taking 6 victims to an early grave....Sure, in typical Waters way, it's a bit over the top and corny, but the film is great!
It's shocking to hear the language on "mom" (Kathleen Turner) but that's the idea here: shock.The film is a spoof on serial killers, horror movies and wholesome family values.
I wasn't familiar with director John Waters or dark/black humor-except the Addams Family movies.
Demented-talk about bizarre) Cry-baby-some good musical numbers, both versions of Hairspray-both fairly enjoyable to me, and lastly, Pecker is probably my least favorite, Serial Mom remains my all-time favorite John Waters movie, to this day..
And if you ever-ever do anything to make anyone in her perfect, little family feel even slightly bad, then you're dead meat on a stick, baby - Sure enough.Serial Mom (in its warped and twisted, little way) is a demented, over-the-top social satire that skewers the media for turning killers into celebrities and turns a one-note joke into a savage romp down good, ol' "Slasher Lane" that is definitely not suited for everyone's tastes..
Watching this film was a complete waste of my time, except for the fact that it will keep me away from any other Waters movies..
Plus, this is one of the few Waters films you can watch with your kids--provided they are older and not terribly impressionable!Kathleen Turner turns in her best performance as a combination between June Cleaver and Ted Bundy--complete with the pearl necklace.
DEMENTED, it's an interesting satire that is a way over the top look at America's fascination with celebrity and how we admire and are fascinated with anyone if they are famous--even the vile and horrific.NOTE--Like many of John Waters' later films, this one features a cameo by Patty Hearst..
Wow she was right, I see where I get my sense of humor from that's for sure.I went into this one with only knowing the name of this movie, within the first few minutes you get a vibe of this one and its so enjoyable.If you like dark comedies this one is a staple point..
It's been years since I had seen this movie so I remembered a little bit but I guess I didn't fully appreciate the genius of Jon Waters at that tender age of whatever the hell age I was in 94 (I don't feel like doin' math and I'm too busy doin' this bad ass review for all of u to be destracted by time consuming stuff like addition and numbers and all that jazz.
The use of satire and the way Water pisses all over the "perfect nuclear American family" is just plain fun for anyone who doesn't have a stick up their ass and enjoys a dark comedy and a savagely original film.
If you like anti heroes, dark comedy and you have a bit of a twisted sense of humor then watch this movie...after all it's based on a true story and Serial Mom is due for parole anytime..
Kathleen Turner shines in one of her best roles as Beverly Sutphin, a beaming suburban mom with a loyal dentist husband (Sam Waterston), a lonely daughter (Ricki Lake), and a horror genre obsessed son (Matthew Lillard, warming up for his not dissimilar role in "Scream").
SERIAL MOM is one of my all-time favourite black comedies, a genre that's notoriously difficult to get right (I mean, seriously, how many good ones can you think of?).
I'm no fan of John Waters - in fact, this is the only film of his I've ever seen - but in this he has created pretty much the perfect antidote to the psycho-thriller genre.Kathleen Turner bags the role of a lifetime as Beverly R.
The murder scene set to ANNIE is by far my favourite moment and one of the funniest things I've ever seen.What I like most about SERIAL MOM is the plot.
Still, the plot does have its moments, like when Beverly dutifully puts on her seat belt as she gets into a stolen van to chase down a guy for not wearing his seat belt.The film's plot takes place over a two to three day period, during which the weekday and time are displayed on the screen, to give the plot a diary feel.
I did not care for all the gore; but I guess it is to be expected, given that this is a John Waters film."Serial Mom" is worth a one-time viewing, mostly for the terrific story concept.
"Serial Mom" is a wonderful black comedy about perfect housewife turned serial killer.The mom is played perfectly by Kathleen Turner in one of the best performances of her career.Matthew Lillard is very memorable as a young horror freak.There is a bit of gore and some scenes are rather tasteless,so some people may be offended.The short clips from "Blood Feast","Strait-Jacket" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" are also a nice touch.Highly recommended,especially if you like John Waters movies..
However, maybe the one thing they do have in common (besides sharing space in my DVD collection) is that they basically tell you all you need to know about the film in the title, therefore you should know what you're in for before you sit down to watch.Kathleen Turner plays the titular 'Serial Mom' - a wife and mother to a typical American suburban family who, on the outside, are perfect in every way.
Not only it brings back memories, but makes me laugh, like I did (a few) many years ago.Kathleen Turner's work in here is unique, and very impressive, The score is also very very good and Poledouris manages to keep you watching it with plenty of engagement.I was introduced to the fine music of Barry Manilow with this movie, and I'm very thankful for that..
Soccer mom by day, and serial killer by night.Only the mind of John Waters can come up with a perfect combination of gross and funny.The Sutphin family also includes Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, and Shaggy (Matthew Lillard).
This was my first John Waters movie, but after having seen POLYESTER, what i say is one of the MOST useless films in history that i've seen, I think SERIAL MOM is not as gross as i had first perceived it.
"Serial Mom" was directed by John Waters, who is known for his seriously disturbed comedies, which I am pretty sure I wouldn't be a fan of.
(That's not to say that this film is completely void of shocks.) Kathleen Turner's performance as the perfect mother with homicidal tendencies is a comedy classic.Rent now for some twisted fun."The only serial I know anything about is Rice Krispies!".
Kathleen Turner plays Beverly, the seemingly perfect, cheerful housewife and Mom (who also happens to be a foul-mouthed serial killer on the side), in John Waters's consistently sharp, amusing satire "Serial Mom." As far as plot structure goes, "Serial Mom" isn't all that impressive, but Turner's sheer comic energy as she kills typical suburban people for stealing parking spaces and not rewinding their rented videos carries this one quite a ways.
The Cosby connection is even more unusual in light of all his terrible behavior.Roger Ebert awarded it an average two stars (out of a possible four) finding some of Waters' satire effective but feeling that Kathleen Turner's decision to portray her character's mental illness with realism instead of in a campy fashion, while brave, made the character difficult to laugh at, writing, "Watch Serial Mom closely and you'll realize that something is miscalculated at a fundamental level.
If it hadn't combined Kathleen Turner's amazingly over-the-top acting skills and John Waters' genius writing, Serial Mom would've been lost cause and a complete missed opportunity.
Whether it be her kids' (Lake and Lillard) teachers, a short fused customer, or Mink Stole playing the perfect nervous neighbor, Beverly will find a way to get even with them.Serial Mom doesn't take itself seriously, and knows exactly what it is; a silly satire built on top of cutesy characters who couldn't possibly do anything wrong.
Serial Mom (1994)** 1/2 (out of 4) Kathleen Turner plays a sweet and loving mother from Baltimore who takes care of her husband (Sam Waterston) and children (Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard).
What no one realizes is that she's also a psychopath who goes on a murder spree to destroy anyone who doesn't fit into her idea of a good person.John Waters' SERIAL MOM certainly isn't a classic movie and it's not even a good one.
Serial Mom (1994) is a black comedy starring Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterson, Matthew Lillard and Ricki Lake.
You get the same reaction from "Serial Mom", where Beverly Sutphin's murders come across as being somewhat on the level of laugh-inducing college pranks.The cinematography is superb, the co-stars (Sam Waterston, Mink Stole, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Patricia Hearst, Traci Lords, et al) are spot-on well cast, the pacing is excellent, and the film wraps with a very satisfying denouement.
like this movie or serial mom might kill ya.
Kathleen Turner plays serial murderess Beverly Sutphin who on the outside is a loving mother but upset her family in any way and she will kill you.
There's also that dark side of the norm that the Cleavers and Ozzie and Harriet didn't show, and its depicted in this 1994 John Waters film.Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) is your typical suburban housewife and mother--she keeps the perfect home, recycles, cooks "the perfect meatloaf,"loves her dentist husband Eugene(Sam Waterston), loves birds, and keeps tabs on her two teenage kids, daughter Misty (Waters mainstay/veteran Ricki Lake) and son Chip (Matthew Lillard, in his breakthrough role).
Serial Mom is a dark and funny satirical comedy from director John Waters.
Kathleen Turner's performance as the wholesome, some times deadly, but always shaggable Serial Mom is perfect.
Serial Mom is a good satire of suburban Americana and a great film that is very funny and holds up well..
Kathleen Turner is hilarious as a mass murderess in director John Water's "Serial Mom" about a housewife who embarks on a homicidal rampage in Baltimore, Maryland.
Serial Mom starts like any other day in the Sutphin house, Beverly (Kathleen Turner) cooks breakfast while her husband Eugene (Sam Waterston) get ready to go to work while their children Chip (Matthew Lillard) & Misty (Ricki Lake) prepare to go to school.