tmpj
Drowning or some other form of violent death appeared to be the inevitable fate of the far less than beloved Mona. This is a film that cannot pretend to take itself seriously. You almost don't care who killed Mona...it could even have been someone in the theater audience who broke the fourth wall and killed her. Miss M is anything but Divine in the time she spends on-screen. It is hard for me to believe that the diminutive DeVito was chief of police in this one...in real life I don't think any police department would accept someone his size...though I could be wrong. And then...Yugos...Yugos...everywhere !! I thought I was turning into a Yugo at one point. And to think this car is now defunct...oh well it was a nice try. The location felt a lot more like way down south, rather than way down east, as in upstate New York. And what there is of a plot gets confused and distorted by flashbacks. I am surprised this one made it to the theaters...and it won't be counted as one of the better efforts of Mr DeVito. I recommend it to folks who cannot sleep. This will have you snoring in no time.
Syl
Mona Dearly of upstate New York was a housewife and mother of a son played by none other than Bette Midler. She was married to Phil (played by the wonderful William Fichtner) Mona was abusive, mean, and probably the most disliked person in the small town. Her husband claimed to have been battered man. Watching Mona in action, you can understand his claims. Her husband Phil is having an affair with a diner waitress Rona, played by the wonderful Jamie Lee Curtis, who is also having an affair with Phil and Mona's son at the same time It's like a Jerry Springer episode at times. Neve Campbell plays Ellen who is engaged to Calzone, Casey Affleck's character, and is pregnant. Her father is played by the wonderfully talented Danny DeVito as the town Sheriff. There are other characters like lesbian Lucina who comforts Ellen with a kiss. The writing is fair to say the least. The cast look like they are having the time of their lives on screen and it comes across off screen as well.
jill arms
This movie is exceptional! I have seen it more than a hundred times, maybe 2... I own it. As a matter of fact..... I JUST WATCHED IT. Everyday I look at my DVD's and say...."what do I wanna watch?" Then I say, Jill... just put in Drowning Mona, then I say, well, it is a good movie. It's the scenery and the whole ambiance of the place they taped the movie in that rocks. If you watch it with the commentary on you'll see that even though the movie's supposed to be in New York state, its filmed in Cali. Also, it has very lush scenery and lots of greens. I like that. It's one of those films you can put on for a specific feeling... I also like how They give different references to how Jeff lost his hand. That's a highlight for me. Go watch this f-ing movie, now!
Jeffry Hundlow
Substitute just about any of the negative reviewers of this movie with the name Phil. Come on depressor's, open your brains. This movie is filled with dark humor. Also, regular humor is continuous. Every line or other line is loaded. If you want a movie that tells you how and when to laugh, go see some more simply structured movies; School of Rock, Scary Movie 1 2 3, Orange County, Teaching Mrs Tingle, Toy Story 2, The Nun, Die Hard (anything), Terminator (anything), any movie with Lindsey Lohan, Arnold Schwartsnegger, blah blah.....etc. Now, it's true that a lot of "Indie" movies that are supposed to be funny, really do suck. But Drowning Mona is hilarious from start to finish. DeVito is a straight man, and he's great at it. Midler, Affleck, Campbell, Ferrel, Curtis, Fichtner, Wilhoilt, etc. are throwing out lines throughout the movie that gets me hyperventilating. This movie can make you laugh if you have a sense of humor. You do have to THINK as you're watching it though.
AD
