Serial Mom(1994)- User Reviews

What makes John Waters so much better than most of the comedy writers of today is his unique vision, attention to detail, and willingness to go his own way. Whereas most comedy writers nowadays are basically sell-outs doing market research to see what film will be the most commercial and make the most money and trying to copy each others' ideas (for example Zohan is a thinly veiled copy of Borat with a more family friendly rating to try to get a bigger audience, and Observe and Report is a wannabe Paul Blart Mall Cop). You don't see John Waters copying what was popular a few months ago. Plus his attention to detail and casting is excellent. Kathleen Turner was perfect for this role and should have received Oscar consideration as this is one of the most memorable female leads in a comedy ever. Sam Waterson is perfect as the Beaver Cleaver type Dad, Rikki Lake is perfect as the over-weight daughter, and Matthew Lillard is perfect as the dorky immature teen son. Mink Stole is terrific as is the other lady as the nosy neighbors. There is even a Suzanne Somers cameo which is funny too. No one casts better then John Waters. I like how he always uses his hometown of Baltimore for the setting. This is a classic by one of the last cinematic visionaries. Watch a Dirty Shame too, there is nothing else like it.