Serial Mom – Collector’s Edition (1994/Universal DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: B Feature: B
There are
a few filmmakers out there who have the Midas Touch of film. One of them is
John Waters, and in Serial Mom the
king of subversive cinema trains his campy gaze on the American myth of
suburbia. Starring Kathleen Turner as
the perfect mother and housewife, who just also happens to be a serial killer,
along with Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, and Matthew Lillard who you will most
likely recognize as Shaggy from the live-action Scooby Doo movies, this is a hilarious satire of the American
dream, slasher films, and the celebrity status of high-profile criminals.
To
supplement the excellent film, there is a load of superior extra features
including three featurettes, two commentary tracks, and the theatrical trailer.
The first two featurettes, “Serial Mom: Surreal Moments” and “The Kings of Gore: Herschell Gordon Lewis
and David Friedman” are fantastic. Each about ten minutes long, they're
what any cinephile wants from a special feature. The first gets into the mind of John Waters
and his motivations for writing and directing Serial Mom, while the second discusses the careers of two of the
first names in gore flicks and how their work influenced John Waters as a
developing filmmaker.
The third
featurette, “The Making of Serial Mom”,
is obviously older and not nearly so interesting nor well-made. As for the commentary tracks, the first
features John Waters and Kathleen Turner, while the second is just John Waters.
On the surface, it doesn't make much
sense at all to have both on the disc, and if you're going to choose just one
to watch (which you most likely are) definitely go with the first. But for die-hard Waters fans, the extra
insight from the legendary filmmaker is worth the additional hour and a half.
The
picture quality is adequate, but the reds pop noticeably more than the other
colors which, except for some bright greens, tend to fade. This is probably due either to the transfer to
DVD or the remastered image advertised on the back cover. The frame is 1.85:1
anamorphic widescreen. The sound is
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and just a tad soft.
In the
featurette “Serial Mom: Surreal Moments”
John Waters says that this is the movie of his that everyone likes. Whether it's die-hard John Waters fans who
rank Pink Flamingos higher than Citizen Kane, or 15 year old girls who
rent Hairspray every weekend, Serial Mom
is a movie that everyone can sit down, watch, and thoroughly enjoy.
- Matthew Carrick
