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Drowning Mona

Drowning Mona

List Price: $9.95
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Lightweight slapstick comedy
Review: "Drowning Mona" is a peculiar little comedy whodunit that delivers an occasional belly laugh, but suffers from a general lack of funniness. Mona (Bette Midler) is about as abrasive and disgusting a human being as one could imagine. When Mona drives her son's car off a cliff into the river, no one (including her family) is at all distressed; no one, that is, except Chief Rash (Danny DeVito) who suspects foul play. As he goes about his investigation, we are treated to a slice of life in a weird town where everyone drives Yugos, and inhabited by bizarre people most of whom hate each other.

This is basically a dark slapstick sitcom that falls flat all too often. DeVito plays the straight man in a comedy without a real comedian. Marcus Thomas, who plays Jeff, is probably the funniest character in the film due to his sheer stupidity. Jamie Lee Curtis is also amusing as an oversexed waitress who is sleeping with two men and suspects that either one of them might have murdered Mona. Neve Campbell plays the ditzy but lovable daughter of Chief Rash in a delightful departure from her recent roles. After playing a dour and paranoid Sidney in Scream 3, this was a welcome change. She clearly had a lot more fun with this role. Bette Midler was deliciously evil as the witch. Casey Affleck (brother of Ben Affleck) proves with his lifeless performance that acting ability is not necessarily genetic.

This film had a number of good elements that it couldn't manage to pull together. I rated it a 6/10. For those in the mood for a little light slapstick, this might be worth a try.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Great DVD!
Review: "Drowning Mona" is a great DVD. The special features are good, and it's a very funny movie. If you like special features and you love great comedies this is a must-buy!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: ALL THAT STAR POWER COMES TO THIS...WHAT A SHAME
Review: I LOOKED forward to this movie from the first time I heard about it and saw trailers and read plotlines. I didn't expect a movie this bad. It's amazing that with such gifted actors and actresses (Midler, DeVito, Campbell, Curtis, etc.) you could have a movie this disappointing.
How exactly does "Drowning Mona" disappoint?
I love the stars.
I love the plot.
I love everything about this movie except, well, this movie. A basically good script idea and all these big named people somehow fizzled into a blandly acted, and worse, only mildly funny "comedy."
There are a good number of better comedies than this out, many of which didn't receive as much attention. It's not really THAT bad, but it's definitely much worse than what you would expect. At least if it's going to have a go-nowhere plot, you can have a few big laughs to make up, and "Mona" doesn't offer this.
2/5.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Quirky and discreetly funny
Review: I bought this movie without having seen it or anything, but, based on the exceptional cast, I figured, "How far wrong can you go?" However, the movie was very different to what I expected but enjoyable at the same time. It had some hysterical, yet dark, moments, like a guy with a stump for a hand playing a guitar, but the main humour is hidden in the dialogue, and the good acting. Basically, it is a very amusing representation of American trailer park life. Highly reccommended for fans of black comedy!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The only bright spot in this train wreck was Neve Campbell.
Review: I rented it the first day it came out, and i could not wait to take it back. It was just not funny. Bette Midler was just flat annoying as Mona, and Danny DeVito, who did a much better job was a little too subdue. The only bright spot in this train wreck was Neve Campbell who at least gave a funny performance. Still, even with her performance; this movie is still a total piece of garbage.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Drown the Movie.
Review: 1 star for the actors. See the movie only if you are such a big fan that you will see your fave in anything. When I was making a living doing phone surveys I did a Yugo survey. Nobody seemed to like their car. I can't think of any reason to like this script or to have an interest in any of the characters and I didn't finish watching it. Try Get Shorty or A Fish Called Wanda for real laughs.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Refund Action!
Review: I hate to say it but, this is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my whole life. One of the biggest flaws of the film was the lack of character development for Mona. She only appeared on screen for a couple of minutes at the beggining , and we the viewer are forced to despise her, even though we know nothing about this seemingly terrible woman. They should have devoted the first 30 minutes of the film exploring Mona's life, giving her a personality. Make us hate her! To me, Mona really wasn't that honry of a person. She just seemed to be on the rag.

Bette Midler underacted, the actor playing her son way overacted, Neve Campbell curses every movie she appears in, Danny Devito looked paralized and embarassed to reel of his dialogue, with nothing to work off with the other actors. Which leaves me with Jamie Lee Curtis, who actually tried to give this movie some depth, and Casey Affleck, the only believable character in the entire film. He added some much needed life to this comotose comedy. All of the jokes in Drowning Mona were so tired and played out, it was ridiculous to watch. The Yugo thing got really old, real quick. What this movie needs is a re-write, a total make-over. What were the writers so afraid of? Here they have an intriguing premise that reaks with potential, but instead we get Bette Midler running around in circles with a frying pan screaming "you're playin' wheel of fortune with somebody else!!!!!!" How original. I think the white trash pyscho mama has already been done enough, remember Kathy Bates in Misery?

I thought Bette Midler could pull it off, but she failed miserably this time. The actor who played her son should seek a new career, his acting was horrendous. Whenever it was his turn to "act" I had to look away from the screen , it was that embarassing to watch. I wish I had something positive to say about Drowning Mona, but it ain't gonna happen. Sorry Mona!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: drown this movie!
Review: This is one of the worst films of this year. Thank god I at least waited til it was on video. This was a huge waste of talent and film. I don't know what some of these actors where thinking when they decided to be in this movie. Also, it wasn't even funny. I can't believe someone actually read this script and thought it would be a good film.

Take my advice, and leave this one on the shelf.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: No doubt about it... this movie is awful.
Review: As soon as this movie arrived at my local video store I rushed to rent a copy. As soon as I finished watching it I rushed it back to the store before it started stinking up my house. "Drowning Mona" is a really bad film that went wrong well before filming ever began. The premise is a good one, but the script is awful. Bette Midler plays an evil woman hated by everyone in the small town she lives in, including her own family. After she meets an untimely demise, the good-hearted sheriff, played by Danny Devito, must try and figure out who had the best motive to kill her. This film is supposed to be a dark comedy, and never delivers on either point. The bit about everyone in town driving a Yugo gets old about 30 minutes in, and from there you will find very little to laugh at. Every character in the film, with the exception of Devito is an absolute idiot, and some of the jokes about Midlers one armed son are down right offensive. I was surprised by lack of any real intellect from a cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell, and Will Farrell. If I were you I would avoid this movie at any and all cost. Trust me on this one, it is truly bad film.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: please stop!
Review: Relentlessly horrible! Do not waste your time with this one...I like most of the actors in this movie....I do not know what went wrong...Stay away! You've been warned!


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