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Movies / Upcoming / Serial Mom
Serial Mom

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Serial Mom (1994)

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63 %
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Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:27

Rotten:16

Average Rating:5.8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Happy homemaker Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) has a charmed life--a beautiful suburban home, a successful dentist husband (Sam Waterston), and two normal teenagers, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip... Happy homemaker Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) has a charmed life--a beautiful suburban home, a successful dentist husband (Sam Waterston), and two normal teenagers, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard). But she also has a good deal of underlying rage waiting to escape....Just be sure to follow her rules: Be polite to your neighbor, always recycle, rewind your videotapes, and never, ever wear white shoes after Labor Day. When one of her son's teachers speaks disparagingly of the boy at a parent-teacher conference, Bev runs the instructor over in the school parking lot. Suddenly she has an insatiable taste for murder. Six homicides later, the cops get wise to her crimes, which are committed with weapons ranging from a leg of lamb to a fireplace poker. A media frenzy ensues, turning an unrepentant Beverly into a media celebrity. A serial-killer comedy mixed with courtroom-drama social satire, the raunchy SERIAL MOM was John Waters's return to R-rated fare after the sweet-natured duo of HAIRSPRAY and CRY-BABY. Suburban life is duly skewered here as the serenity of Beverly's upper-middle-class surroundings are continually sullied by her comedically disturbing acts of violence. Turner appears to relish the opportunity to play such an over-the-top role, and the usual Baltimore-based supporting players make welcome appearances. [More]

Starring: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard

Starring: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Suzanne Somers, Scott Wesley, Mink Stole

Director: John Waters

Director: John Waters
Screenwriter: John Waters
Producer: John Fiedler, Mark Tarlov
Composer: Basil Poledouris

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Serial Mom

  • T-Meter Critics
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato
3/5

Well worth a look.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 08 2008 11:24 AM

Channel 4 Film

splat

Todd McCarthy

Rather mild and scattershot in its satiric marksmanship...

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 08 2008 11:20 AM

Variety

splat
2.5/4

Lacks the bite it would need to be subversive, despite a few moments of vintage Waters tastelessness.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 08 2008 11:16 AM

TV Guide's Movie Guide

tomato
3.5/4

Eric Henderson

A loose remake of Female Trouble with Polyester's subversively accessible polish, Serial Mom is the strongest film of the post-midnight-movie chapter of John Waters's career.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 06 2008 09:32 PM

Slant Magazine

tomato
4/5

Rob Gonsalves

The film may be a bad-boy satirist's mournful acceptance that America has finally become sicker than anything he could dream up.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 23 2007 07:01 PM

eFilmCritic.com

tomato
B

Emanuel Levy

This is one of Waters' tamest and most accessible pictures (even played at Cannes Fest!) and one of the few to feature a legit star, Katheleen Thurner, who gives a gusto performance as the middleclass houusewife committed to protect her family.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 01 2006 02:47 AM

EmanuelLevy.Com

tomato

Derek Adams

An uproariously funny, marvellously malicious performance from Turner.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2006 03:27 AM

Time Out

tomato
3.5/4

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Kathleen Turner should win an Oscar for her demented Mom role...

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 26 2006 03:16 AM

Combustible Celluloid

tomato
4/5

Cole Smithey

No review available.

comment Comment | Oct., 10 2005 09:57 PM

ColeSmithey.com

tomato
B-

Bill Clark

Not Waters' best by any means, but this irreverant black comedy entertains.

comment Comment | Aug., 18 2005 05:39 PM

FromTheBalcony

tomato
3/5

Michael Dequina

No review available.

comment Comment | Jul., 11 2005 10:06 PM

TheMovieReport.com

tomato
4/5

Michael E. Grost

Madness from John Waters

comment Comment | May., 28 2005 01:59 PM

Classic Film and Television

tomato
3/5

Rob Blackwelder

No review available.

comment Comment | Nov., 10 2004 04:13 AM

SPLICEDWire

tomato
3/5

Robin Clifford

No review available.

comment Comment | Oct., 08 2004 01:15 PM

Reeling Reviews

tomato
3/5

Nell Minow

No review available.

comment Comment | Sep., 16 2004 03:31 PM

Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

splat
1/5

Frank Swietek

No review available.

comment Comment | Feb., 25 2004 08:43 AM

One Guy's Opinion

tomato
4/5

Spence D.

No review available.

comment Comment | Jan., 29 2004 06:34 PM

IGN Movies

tomato
3/5

Michelle Alexandria

No review available.

comment Comment | Jan., 09 2004 11:42 AM

Eclipse Magazine

splat
3/10

Dragan Antulov

[Turner's] efforts fail to make Serial Mom into anything more than merely watchable.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 15 2003 12:00 PM

rec.arts.movies.reviews

tomato
4/5

Ken Hanke

Deliciously wicked and deliriously funny, Serial Mom is one of Waters' most accomplished works.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 24 2003 04:30 PM

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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