Drowning Mona (2000)

People are voting emotionally.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Danny De Vito and Bette Midler are really had outstanding career, but in this film only Midler is funny as ruthless woman and De Vito as Xeriff, then as good guy maybe this explain in part that picture didn't take off, quite often De Vito play a devious guy who try find advantage to yourself so as normal guy...he's totally wasted in this role and the remain cast didn't help so much...maybe the two deputy with the weak jokes about how Jeff lost your hand...another waste was not explore Will Ferrell's character who deserved more space which is really outrageous funny!!!

This movie is great. It's full of stars, many before their prime. Three Dog Night allover the soundtrack. Sukie and the diner owner's sister from the Gilmore Girls pops up for a moment. The girl from Studio 54. Ben Affleck's little brother. Bette Midler who was the queen of the beloved plays a disgusting person. Danny DeVitto who normally plays disgusting is a pretty good dude. The support cast is packed full of recognizable character actors. The story is compelling. The plot is convoluted, filled with flashbacks. Yugos everywhere. The product placement is so blatant its funny in and of itself. I really appreciate how thy dare to make most of the Characters such terrible people.

It will go without saying five minutes into this movie that it is unlike any other movie you've seen. This sometimes dark, sometimes slapstick, sometimes subtle comedy boasts one of the most intriguing casts to date. There are a number of recognizable faces, Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Jamie Lee Curtis (to name a few), that brighten up the screen just that much. But to be honest, it was the roles played by Casey Affleck, Marcus Thomas, and William Fichtner especially that made 'Drowning Mona' so enjoyable for me. The movie itself goes back and forth between present time and flashbacks containing moments of a living Mona Dearly, who dies rather abruptly at the very beginning of the film. I think too many people say the plot it predictable. I was more than entertained for the entire movie and I never actually KNEW who actually killed Mona. Sure I had my predictions, and who doesn't. The point is that the movie's very funny and actually quite smart. Once we see Mona Dearly fly over a cliff in a car, the sense of craziness sets in. Your basic human instincts will at first allow you to feel bad for Mona (I hope). But once you see every person in town partying and laughing over her "timely" death, you can't help but play along. The part where Jeff, Mona's son played by Marcus Thomas, asks the police why Mona was driving his car while popping open a beer is absolutely priceless! The main characters in the film are Bobby Calzone (Casey Affleck) and Chief Rash (DeVito). Chief Rash is the only person in town who cares about Mona's death. Well, maybe it's more that it's his job than he really cares. Heck, even his co-workers could care less. Bobby also (kind of) feels sorry for Mona, but is allowed to laugh and enjoy the situation thanks to his fiancé Ellen (Neve Campbell). So for most of the movie, Rash just drives around in his Geo--take note of the opening disclaimer--and asks townies questions about what kind of person Mona truly was. The responses are all hilarious. I could go into great detail with almost 50 different quotes or scenes that back up the fact that Mona Dearly was a horrible person who deserved to die. But I just don't have the time. You really have to hear/see them to believe it. As I hinted to, William Fichtner's performance as Phil Dearly is hands down the best. He plays the ill-fated-but-happily-sorrowing-over-the-worst-person-he'd-ever-met husband. He is a very suspicious character, and seems to know something that no one else does. He puts the blame on Bobby Calzone, who is one of the most harmless people you could ever meet. What makes this particularly interesting is that Bobby is the future son-in-law of Chief Rash. So that is very hard for Rash, and us, the viewer, to believe. 'Drowning Mona' is pretty much a "whodunit" movie with a twist that makes you laugh and think at the same time. I guess I can't rebuff the fact that the storyline becomes predictable over time. And that's the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. But you'll still be impressed with the shifts between past and present and definitely the comedy. There's also an excellent cameo from former SNL star Will Ferrell. I won't spoil the rest.

If you have ever been to the real Verplank, you would know why they picked the name of the town for this story. I grew up in the town next to Verplank. And if any group of sorry trash needed to be ridiculed in a movie, it is Verplank. Too bad they didn't film in the real Verplank. Probably too trashy for the producers. Verplank Does not have the colorful characters found in this movie. The residents lack even the endearing qualities that Mona displays. And even YUGO would be ashamed to be associated with them. Verplank is referred to as the "Point" because it is a point of land in the Hudson river. But in reality, it is a butt. And when I saw the opening credits to this movie I laughed because Verplank had found it rightful place in movie history.