It sounds like a funny idea. It's filled with
people expert at being funny. It really wants to
be funny. It tries hard to be funny. It isn't very
funny. The black comedy concept and the
stellar cast of "Drowning Mona" raises
expectations for a rich fount of laughter but,
though some of the more off-beat dialogue
might raise a titter and some of the crasser
moments a faint guffaw, basically this
film--like its title character--is dead in the
water. Bette Midler, despite a proliferation of
flashbacks, doesn't really have enough screen
time to round out the awfulness of Mona, a
woman so lacking in human kindness it's a
wonder someone hadn't done away with her
even earlier. Meeting her demise in the
opening moments of the movie, we are left to
speculate on the killer as we re-visit the
transgressions of the victim, who was the
focus of the frustrations and fears of a bunch
of small-town characters. Unfortunately those
characters also seem pretty one-dimensional
and the uneven tone of the movie fails to find
enough high style to elevate them beyond
cliché, though several of the actors give it their
best. Danny DeVito, Neve Campbell and
Jamie Lee Curtis all have the surety of star
power and the confidence to seem truthful
even amid awkward
artifice.
Some of the better moments of the movie are the simple, more realistic ones, such as DeVito, the police chief, dining at the cafe with Campbell, his beloved daughter who might know more than is good for her about the murder, while Curtis, the usually edgy waitress, makes nice for her own personal reasons. Curtis, in particular, has a real ability to find honesty within exaggeration, but the limitations of the crudely wrought script truncate her talent. Also this very New Jersey story is not helped by the location where the film was shot, which, despite all the best efforts of cast and crew, looks like California because it was. However, the film contains a lot of lively '70s pop music, which does contribute more successfully towards the sense of a time-warped town with outdated values, a theme which, more insightfully developed, might have raised that anticipated laughter. Starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Neve Campbell and Jamie Lee Curtis. Directed by Nick Gomez. Written by Peter Steinfeld. Produced by Al Corley, Bart Rosenblatt, Eugene Musso. A Destination release. Comedy. Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, language and brief sexuality. Running time: 91 min
Some of the better moments of the movie are the simple, more realistic ones, such as DeVito, the police chief, dining at the cafe with Campbell, his beloved daughter who might know more than is good for her about the murder, while Curtis, the usually edgy waitress, makes nice for her own personal reasons. Curtis, in particular, has a real ability to find honesty within exaggeration, but the limitations of the crudely wrought script truncate her talent. Also this very New Jersey story is not helped by the location where the film was shot, which, despite all the best efforts of cast and crew, looks like California because it was. However, the film contains a lot of lively '70s pop music, which does contribute more successfully towards the sense of a time-warped town with outdated values, a theme which, more insightfully developed, might have raised that anticipated laughter. Starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Neve Campbell and Jamie Lee Curtis. Directed by Nick Gomez. Written by Peter Steinfeld. Produced by Al Corley, Bart Rosenblatt, Eugene Musso. A Destination release. Comedy. Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, language and brief sexuality. Running time: 91 min
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