Serial Mom-Review 1

by Ayesha Haqqiqa

Synopsis: A typical housewife becomes a serial killer in this satire of the American justice system.

Sam�s performance: Sam plays the clueless husband of the serial killer. He tries to reckon with what she has done, and finds it beyond his ken. He goes from being pro-death penalty to wearing a no gas chamber button during his wife's trial. At the end, he is shocked and a bit afraid of the verdict.

Must-see scene: The whole sequence of the family going to church with massive numbers of police following them is quite good, especially as Sam is trying to figure out what has caused his wife to turn killer--his only idea is that she must be going through menapause!

Rating:

>1 Sam means you'll not be able to sit through the whole movie; 5 Sams means you�ll want to buy it and watch it again and again.

2 Sams

The problem with Serial Mom is that the violence got a bit too graphic and the satire wore thin. Sam supposedly had to be reassured during the filming that the movie wouldn't encourage serial killers. He's also said to have apologized to an elderly lady extra for the foul language that was used in one scene!

Serial Mom-Review 2

By WeezlLady

This a "dark comedy" with Kathleen Turner in the title role. Sam plays her husband, Eugene Sutphin, a straight-arrow dentist who hasn't got a clue what his wife's up to.

It starts out showing the average middle-America family. Mom is so perfect she'd put June Cleaver to shame. Then,  the police question the family about some threats and crank calls that a neighbor has been getting. The parents are shocked and horrified. Such language! Later we see Mom making an obscene phone call. She's harassing this woman because she stole her parking space. Soon, we see her start a killing spree over things like not rewinding rental tapes, insulting her family, standing up her daughter, and,  finally---the most unforgivable offense of all--- wearing white after Labor Day.

I think the comedy wears a little thin, and it's simply not done well enough. I know it's supposed to be a spoof, but I think it misses the mark. Turner is believable as the outrageous psycho; one moment lecturing teenagers about seatbelt safety, the next making a harassing call.

Sam's role is very secondary. He's good, as always, but he doesn't get enough screen time. There's a particularly goofy "sex" scene. His best moment was after the verdict is read---he's surprised, happy and scared all at once.

Not a movie I'd recommend---the humor falls a bit flat. And it's not much of a Sam-flick, except for the rarity of seeing him do comedy.