Serial Mom (Film Review)

1998 Savoy Pictures
Written and Directed by: John Waters
Starring: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, and Suzanne Somers
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 93 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10

Beverly Sutphin is an idyllic suburban housewife. As birds sing outside her window, she brings freshly baked meals to her smiling family at the dinner table. Her children, Misty and Chip, along with her husband, are more much more likely to spout a hundred "golly gees" before a single negative word flutters between their lips. Behind closed doors, though, Sutphin is dialing up her neighbors to give them vulgar crank calls for small social or societal slights...or just cutting to the chase and murdering them. Yes, Beverly is secretly a serial killer. But at least she recycles!
1994's Serial Mom is one of the finest black comedies of the 90's. Writer/director, John Waters, is firing on all cylinders, successfully executing so many layers of hilarious satire and social commentary, the film reveals a new one with every viewing. Many of the themes and facets of human nature explored here are timeless, and this 28-year-old film doesn't feel like it's aged a second. Kathleen Turner puts on the role of Beverly like a glove, terrifying, horrible, and immensely lovable, an iconic figure who's easy to root for, even and especially when she's behaving very badly. The supporting cast is also pitch perfect, as is the score by Basil Poledouris, which evokes a perfect cinematic suburbia that's just a smidge off.
Serial Mom's greatest asset, though, is its remarkably consistent tone, which never wavers, even when the film is bouncing between scenes of domestic bliss, Beverly beating someone to death with a leg of lamb, or brief moments where Waters allows the horror at the onscreen violence to be genuine rather than humorous. Serial Mom is a rare gem of a film, and the brightest feather in Waters' cap. It's somehow even more enjoyable now than it was when it was released.