Die Mommie Die is the latest comedy from writer actor Charles Busch, best known for his sublime spoof, 2000's Psycho Beach Party.
Adapted from the stage play of the same name and directed by first-timer Mark Rucker, Die Mommie Die stars Busch as Angela Arden, a faded diva songstress who kills her hated husband to be with her much younger lover.
Everything's coming up melodrama in this flick, which parodies the so-called 'women's pictures' of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. It reminded me of 1945's Waterloo Bridge, starring Vivien Leigh. The music is pure soap, lines are lingered on and our diva's only ever shot through gauze. There's a great supporting cast: Phillip Baker Hall is her miserly movie producer husband, Sol; Station Agent's Patricia Clarkeson is the bible-bashing maid, Bootsie; Natasha Lyonne is daughter Edith (she loves her daddy just a little bit too much!) and Stark Sands is son Lance, a pot-smoker who's been expelled from school for having gay orgies. Jason Priestley steals the show as gigolo tennis pro Tony Parker.
Die Mommie Die is worth watching, although it's not a patch on Psycho Beach Party. Charles Busch is a one-note actor who cannot carry the lead role in a film. The jokes are thinner on the ground and ultimately it's just not camp enough. 2½ /5 stars.
Adapted from the stage play of the same name and directed by first-timer Mark Rucker, Die Mommie Die stars Busch as Angela Arden, a faded diva songstress who kills her hated husband to be with her much younger lover.
Everything's coming up melodrama in this flick, which parodies the so-called 'women's pictures' of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. It reminded me of 1945's Waterloo Bridge, starring Vivien Leigh. The music is pure soap, lines are lingered on and our diva's only ever shot through gauze. There's a great supporting cast: Phillip Baker Hall is her miserly movie producer husband, Sol; Station Agent's Patricia Clarkeson is the bible-bashing maid, Bootsie; Natasha Lyonne is daughter Edith (she loves her daddy just a little bit too much!) and Stark Sands is son Lance, a pot-smoker who's been expelled from school for having gay orgies. Jason Priestley steals the show as gigolo tennis pro Tony Parker.
Die Mommie Die is worth watching, although it's not a patch on Psycho Beach Party. Charles Busch is a one-note actor who cannot carry the lead role in a film. The jokes are thinner on the ground and ultimately it's just not camp enough. 2½ /5 stars.