Those with a sarcastic sense of humor and appreciation of '40s, '50s and '60s movies (especially those starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis) will particularly groove on this camp-licious, over-the-top film, "Die Mommie Die."
Some critics are comparing it to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," but don't let that discourage you. "Die Mommie" is a faux melodrama with a much funnier story line featuring a few surprise twists and intentionally cheesy acting that's aged to perfection.
Charles Busch, who wrote the play from which this film was adapted, plays the lead character of Angela (yes, Angela) Arden, a washed-up diva who is trapped in a dead marriage to Sol, a has-been producer (Philip Baker Hall). The two have a pair of spoiled children: The eldest, Edith (Natasha Lyonne), hates her mother for cheating on her father whom she adores in a creepy, borderline-incestuous way and their son, Lance (Stark Sands), was recently kicked out of college for starting a gay orgy.
Other characters include Angela's boyfriend, played by Jason Priestly, who manipulates the entire family with his allegedly mammoth man parts, and servant Bootsie (Francis Conroy) who knows entirely too much.
When Sol finds out about Angela's affair with Priestly, he cuts off her line of credit, causing the decadent songstress to snap and attempt to kill him with an arsenic-laced anal suppository.
Later, scenes of a wacky acid trip, an airborne letter opener and a hilarious three-way romp add to the racy fun.
Viewers must be in the mood for unsubtle humor -- including lots of sexual innuendos -- and ready for cornball lines like: "Men are like Halloween pumpkins, they might not look the same on the outside, but inside they're all mush" and "(he) slipped into my life as easily as vermouth into a glass of gin."
Luckily, all of the actors have a firm grasp of playful sarcasm and deliver these ridiculous lines dead on, practically winking at the camera after saying them.
Although this film is more sophisticated, and definitely better acted (especially Busch and Priestly ), than most cult films, it will still make the ideal "midnight" flick to own on DVD and watch with friends, preferably with cocktails in hand.
"Die Mommie Die" will air at the Oriental Theatre on Thurs., Oct. 2, kicking off the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Film/Video Festival.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
