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Visitors Review

lughsaoirseeire 2012-05-24 17:00:25

Underrated gem...

I believe that this movie was panned when it first came out, and Idon't know why. It is truly an underrated comedic gem that deservesmore recognition. The performances are perfect (with the exception ofCampbell) and the dialogue is hysterical.William Fichtner steals the show as the sleazy "battered husband." Hisperformance is tops in a stellar cast. Marcus Thomas is excellent ashis son and lazy landscaping partner to Affleck, who is marvelous asthe nervous and long-suffering lead. Will Ferrell puts in a great cameoas a creepy mortician.Are there flaws? Of course. As another comment mentioned, TracyWalter's character, Clarence, could have been developed more. Also,some the other characters' run-ins with Mona probably could've beenbetter detailed as well, and the resolution isn't the most satisfying.But this movie is less about the plot and more great characterizationsand riotous dialogue.I own the DVD and I roll with laughter every time I see it, even thoughI practically have it memorized. This movie should be remembered as

2012-05-24 14:20:11

This movie sucks.

I figured that with all those big named stars, this movie couldn't be that bad. Boy was i wrong. This was by far one of the stupidest, most wasted space on the video store shelf movie. One or two parts were mildly entertaining but you'd get more laughs from an episode of Friends. Definately a dumb-waste-of-$4- if i ever saw one. Ugh,terrible movie.

2012-05-24 05:24:59

One word........FANTASTICK!

I saw this movie last week, I loved it. Bette Midler does a hilarious performance as the title character, Mona Dearly. The rest of the cast is pretty funny too.

Susan Wloszczyna 2012-05-23 09:43:54

Once you sit through the rest of this comedic approximation of a soak in pond scum, you may wish you had joined her in the Hudson River.

2012-05-23 10:06:07

Dipper's How To Survive This DVD Guide

Drink huge amounts of swill before (especially before), during and after this strong, strong candidate for worst movie of all time. My right thumb fingernail still hurts from trying to scratch all of the label paint off a Rolling Rock bottle while watching this horrific flick about Yugos. The only fleeting moment of joy in this dud was watching that harridan Bette Midler get bumped off literally. Oddly, I had a thought about my old girlfriend just then. Read the first sentence of this review again 24 times (that's one fine case) and your waiter The Dipper suggests a fine hefe-weizen for these hot days with a twist of lemon. 24 times. Get swigging, then get watching.

2012-05-22 20:21:54

Going Down For The Third Time

Read a sampling of reviews on this movie and you have to wonder: is it a black comedy or just a bad one. My own experience with DROWNING MONA was as mixed as the reviews below (and elsewhere). Call it "filmus interruptus," but I watched about half of the movie before I was sidetracked into doing something else. And for that first half, I found myself going along with the movie's black comedy and bleak vision of smalltown life. I understood, certainly, why so many people hated it, and I could sense that, yes, it was straining a bit too hard to be quirky. But I went with that and was able to enjoy it for what it was.But spreading my viewing over the course of two days wound up spoiling it for me. By the time I got back to it, I could no longer get into it. The cast gamely tries to pull it off (and it is an impressive line-up, to be sure--Midler, DeVito, and Curtis are all comic veterans, and the younger crew, including Neve Campbell, Casey Affleck and Marcus Thomas acquit themselves well. But smalltown quirkiness has been done much better. Not everyone can be the Coen Brothers, of course, or even the Farrellys. DROWNING MONA has a few good chuckles, some memorable performances and a promising premise. But like so many recent "off beat" comedies, it never quites gets on track. May be worth renting--or borrowing from the library. Not really a keeper though.

2012-05-22 16:48:18

Refund Action!

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!

jazzjunkie 2012-05-22 10:10:06

Ok the first time

With all this star power you would assume the movie would be better than itwas. I did not dislike it but sure did not like it all that much. I boughtit just for the fact that it had everyone in it. Guessed wrong didn't I.Kind of dumb plot what was there was decent just not that great.

Michael Dequina 2012-05-19 16:52:45

Supposed to be dark and mean-spirited, but it never goes beyond a somewhat dark shade of grey.

2012-05-19 05:54:42

Yugos?

This was a really funny black comedy with a stellar cast. Every person in town hates Mona Dearly, played by Bette Midler. One day her brakes fail and she ends up drowning in the river. The only question is, which of the citizens of Verplanck, NY killed her.

george.schmidt 2012-05-13 22:18:04

"Ruthless People" meets "Roshomon"

DROWNING MONA (2000) **1/2 Bette Midler, Danny De Vito, NeveCampbell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Affleck, Marcus Thomas,William Fichtner, Kathleen Wilhoite, Peter Dobson, Will Ferrell,Tracy Walter. (Dir: Nick Gomez)Midler and De Vito are reunited (more or less) in this `RuthlessPeople' meets `Roshomon' black comedy about a suspectedmurder and a town full of dumb and dumber denizens that hasone wonder what's in the drinking water.Set in the backwater town of Verplanck, NY - the unofficial testtown for the Yugo (which is one of the many running gags the filmparlays for laughs) - De Vito stars as the chief of police trying todetermine the untimely death of the most hated (and hateful)woman of his quiet little hamlet, Mona Dearly. With Dearlydeparted (had to get that one out of the way!), Chief Rash mustdetermine how (or more importantly why) she died after her lemonyellow Yugo (or rather her son's car) sailed off a cliff into the waterbelow. Rash soon discovers that practically every citizen had areason to off the dispicable Dearly including his daughter Ellen(Campbell) and her fiancee Bobby (Affleck) who runs alandscaping venture with Mona's dimwitted, and one-handeddoofus sun Jeff (Thomas).A chief suspect is her equally IQ challenged spouse Phil -(Fichtner in a very funny turn, and more known for menacingcreeps like in `Albino Alligator' ), whose hair seems inspired by aFarrelly Brothers film, who is Phil-andering (get it!) with the townfloozy, Rona (Curtis, in an entertaining gum-chewing,chain-smoking turn), a waitress at the local diner, who engages inkinky sex involving the home game of `Wheel of Fortune' (givingnew meaning to the term `I wanna buy a vowel').What makes the familiar premise a breath of fresh air is the finecomic ensemble lowering their collective intelligence to almost ashared wavelength of their fruitless attempts to avoid suspicionand finagling a reliable alibi for their whereabouts prior to thedastardly crime. Each character seems to be only one iotasmarter than the other and the whole premise of an entirepopulace out to ice the nastiest woman in town is ripe for humor.The film on the whole doesn't disappoint (especially the`Roshomon'-like accounts of how Jeff lost his hand - the onlylagreeable storytelling element was he was reaching for a beer)and Curtis, De Vito and Campbell come off as old pros whileAffleck, Thomas and especially Fichtner have laugh out loud funnymoments (the latter in his attempt to avoid a beaning from a fryingpan wielding p***ed off Milder) too. The screenplay by PeterSteinfeld only fails in the final too quick to tie up the loose endsconclusion but the biggest surprise is its director Nick Gomez,who has helmed grittier fare including `New Jersey Drive' andepisodes of the late and great tv cop series `Homicide'; he knowshow to let his actors get their ya-yas out.Divertingly hilarious and kookily conceived, Verplanck'sinhabitants are a cross between its ficititious sister cities Rome,Wisconsin and Cicely, Alaska in its eccentric glee.

Ken Varnum 2012-05-13 03:07:40

Everyone hated her, everyone's a suspect.

Mona, an awful woman with no redeeming characteristics, dies undermysterious circumstances. Everyone hated her, everyone's a suspect.Comedic possibilities are endless, but poorly exploited. A good cast(DannyDeVito, Casey Affleck, Jamie Lee Curtis), an enticing premise, but just asfunny as it should be.

Bil-3 2012-05-07 02:41:41

* One of the worst ever!

One of the very worst films of the year is this very unfunny comedy aboutthe murder of a woman whom everybody in the town has completely hated foryears. Bette Midler as the foul-mouthed victim of the crime is excellent.Nick Gomez' direction is really not! He actually thought to make NeveCampbell a quirky romantic heroine! Whatever!

Moviefreak4653 2012-05-06 12:14:08

Found it to be really better another time around

I gotta say from the start I was not really all into this film, and sawit as mostly a disappointment.Then one day I felt like seeing itagain(I guess because I felt I should give it better, seeing how I loveNeve Campbell), and I gotta say I found it to be a heck of a lotbetter.Unlike last time I realized what a funny and cool movie.Itssense of dark humor, and its sense of story telling is so clever.And Ilove how its not a huge cliché'e and how each person has a meaning andis not totally faceless.And the acting from especially that of NeveCampbell, Bette Midler, and Casey Afflek they were all so believableand were so good that you buy there performance.I will say at somepoints it felt plain, and it to be nothing great.Overall you should seethis its very well done and very good. 8.3 out of 10 stars

Paula Nechak 2012-05-04 00:57:47

Drowning Mona, scores high on nastiness, but it has as many surprisingly funny moments as offensive ones.

Frank Swietek 2012-05-03 10:06:31

A pretty ramshackle affair...still, it gets where it's going and delivers some dark humor in the process.

2012-04-29 00:26:01

So much Potential... wasted.

You know, this film has everything going for it. A great cast, a quirkyplot, and a really clever premise. The subtle "Yugo" jokes are great. Unfortunately the screenplay is cheap and cliche. The characters, who COULDbe so developed and rich, come off as flimsy and opaque because their linesare so stupid. Granted, these people are stereotypical "white trash," butthat doesn't mean they have to be one layered. Real white trash are VERYdimensional (eg: Jerry Springer). There were SO MANY opportunities tocapitalize on these character's goofy personalities, but the script justdidn't allow for it. Don't get me wrong. It's a semi-funny flick, withsome laugh-out-loud moments. I guess I just wanted more. I wanted to hearclever, witty jokes... real zingers. Instead we're left with a series ofin-your-face, lame-o "hand" jokes. I just think there could of been SO MUCHMORE. If only there'd been a couple more script re-writes... or something. It's just disappointing. So much potential... wasted. For me, it was a letdown.

Brad Kruse 2012-04-28 03:50:13

A 'Nuns on the Run' treatment of small town life.

I like this quirky little film. It is mild, the characters areexaggeratedso you don't have to take the dark story seriously, and it is fun towatchthe story unfold.'Drowning Mona' is comfortable to watch. It was kinda fun the first timeIsaw it. I have watched it many times since, and still find it ... mildlyfun.

Lisa Schwarzbaum 2012-04-26 00:26:09

Too pleased with its own outrageousness.

2012-04-25 18:13:53

Attention All Battered Husbands: You Snooze You Lose

What a bunch of freaks! This is a great quirky funny film with wonderfully developed oddball characters. Everyone involved gives a great performance, great chemistry between actors. There are some lines, esp the dumb son's & the "battered" husband's that left me crying. The DVD commentary lets you in on some secrets in how they filmed. The deleted scenes are a little freaky, glad they were left out. And since the Farrellys are trying too hard in Me Myself & Irene, this film seems almost restrained in its bad taste. Who gives a crap what the critics think? If you laugh, that's all that matters. So Yugo and enjoy this film. Highly Recommend!