Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Cosmoeticadotcom Why is it that the most banal and straightforward films get lauded by the Motion Picture Academy, while films that push boundaries and take risks, especially if comedies, get ignored? And why is it that there is no separate category for comedies and musicals for the Oscars? In watching the DVD of the 2003 Sundance channel film Die Mommie Die! I could not help but have these thoughts. It's a truly brilliant film, with an Oscar caliber performance by Charles Busch, playing a Joan Crawford/Susan Hayward/Gloria Swanson/Bette Davis/Doris day-like hybrid character in a spoof of the Grand Dame Guignol classic films of the 1960s that inspired such 1980s television soap operas as Dynasty and Dallas. What makes it so brilliant, aside from the dominant performance by Busch, is that it works both as camp, in the vein of the films it parodies, and also as a lampoon or satire of camp. Achieving excellence in one of these veins is difficult enough, but to go two for two in the same film is damned near miraculous. And given that the Grand Dame Guignol genre is so campy to begin with, it's even harder to achieve than in parodying other stock forms, such as science fiction, in the recent The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra, itself a terrific spoof of 1950s sci fi, but far easier to pull off than this film's aims were. The moments that are the most memorable, and which make this film soar, are the not quite sure if one should laugh moments, because there is a sense that there is genuine emotion being felt by the ridiculous characters within. This is brilliance, and it all goes back to a terrific screenplay written by Busch, a renowned drag queen, who adapted the screenplay from a late 1990s one man show. Busch, in a red wig, also looks remarkably like Eve Arden, and although it's been years since I saw 1960s sitcom The Mothers-In-Law, which starred Arden and Kaye Ballard, I'm sure that Busch loaded a few sly references to the actress upon whom both the name and look of his character is derived.The basic premise of the film is that Busch is washed up actress/singer Angela Arden, in a loveless marriage, who takes on many lovers. Her twin sister Barbara died years earlier, her movie producer husband, Sol Sussman (Philip Baker Hall), is failing in health and business and manipulates their maid Bootsy (Frances Conroy), who is in love with him, her daughter Edith (Natasha Lyonne) is a bitch who hates her, and her son Lance (Stark Sands) is a mentally unbalanced homosexual. Add in Lothario tennis pro Tony Parker (Jason Priestley), who also wickedly savages his own TV soap opera persona, and the makings of a fun film abound. He also seems to be channeling a poor man's Peter Lawford in his brim hat, tennis shorts and penny loafers.There are numerous greatly funny sex scenes…. This is a film that never, in a billion years, would get nominated for an Oscar, the way Brokeback Mountain has, but it represents everything artistically that Brokeback Mountain is bankrupt of- originality, daring, humor, humility, and terrific writing. The same sad fact of neglect also unfortunately applies to Busch's great performance. There will come a time, though, when injustices like this even out, and when film lovers who are speaking of this film draw a blank when Brokeback Mountain is mentioned. Let's hope that we're all alive and kicking when that day comes.

RaiderJack Die Mommie Die! is fabulously executed and wonderfully realized by a cast that appears to be having the time of their lives. The cast is remarkably top-notch in a project that pays homage to the camp classic actresses of the 50s like Bette Davis, Lana Turner, Joan Crawford, etc. As a matter of fact, Charles Busch, the actor portraying Angela, named Bette & Joan as inspirations for his characterization of Angela Arden. Moreover, the storyline behind the Arden sisters is remarkably close to that of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" The cast boasts such stalwart members as Phillip Baker Hall, Francis Conroy and the positively irresistible Jason Priestley. They even managed to incorporate rumors that abound re Priestley's sexual prowess into the storyline which makes it all the more delicious! The movie is set in the late 60s. Angela, formerly a popular singing star in the 50s, is trying to make a comeback. Unfortunately, her voice is no longer as strong as it used to be; furthermore, musical tastes, have changed. Alas, Angela seems oblivious to these developments and remains convinced that she is more than ready to return to her rightful place as an entertainment legend. NOT! To make matters worse, her husband treats her like dirt, her stepdaughter cannot bear her, and her boy toy, Jason Priestley, is working the whole family.Angela Arden is a wonderful character and Charles and company pull this off with aplomb!!! Interestingly enough, advance publicity on the film would lead one to believe it is this big camp comedy classic. Even though laughs abound throughout the film, it was difficult to decide if this were a comedy, dramedy, camp classic, or what. After completely abandoning useless categories, I simply just enjoyed the film and found that it can and will be to you what you want it to be.It is NOT a crowning achievement. It is NOT vying for writing accolades.What it IS is thoroughly entertaining and a film you will return to time and time again simply because it is fun.Wooooooooooooooonderful addition to any film library!!!!

jotix100 Charles Busch, the humongous talented writer and performer of the brilliant theatrical spoofs "Vampires Lesbians of Sodom", "Shanghai Moon", "Red Scare on Sunset", "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife", among others, makes an enormous contribution with his screen treatment of the material he created for this film. Under the direction of Mark Rucker, Mr. Busch clearly demonstrates why he is a man ahead of his times.Charles Ludlum, Everett Quinton and Charles Busch, were the ones responsible for the plays that made them icons of the Off and Off-Off-Broadway theater. These men transformed themselves into the larger than life women they wrote about, most taken from the movies they all adored. Those screen goddesses clearly received a lovely tribute from these performers. Charles Busch, perhaps, was the most visible of those early drag dramas. With his enormous success in "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom", Mr. Busch conquered a great New York audience as this play proved. The rest is history.With "Die, Mommie, Die", Mr. Busch seems to be a reincarnation of a younger and sexier Joan Crawford, a woman that is revered by the author. This is a film that "borrows" from those women pictures where everything is larger than life. Those were films where outrageous things were done by the leading actress. There are elements of several of Ms. Crawford's movies, but one can still see influences of Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Bette Davis and others."Die, Mommie, Die" is camp of the highest order. Charles Busch plays the twin sisters Angela and Barbara Arden. These women are yin and yang in the Busch lexicon. In addition for looming large over the material, Mr. Busch's own take on the characters are never tacky, or obnoxious. As in all of Mr. Busch's plays, there is so much style that some of the studios would probably benefit from this man's talent in the fashion department. Mr. Busch has an impeccable taste as shown in all his appearances.Of course, this is a film to enjoy because of the extreme situations that only a Charles Busch can conceive. The dialog is fast and it is witty beyond words. For people not exposed to Mr. Busch's brand of humor, it might take a while to realize this is a unique voice in this type of film genre.The supporting cast, Jason Priestley, Natasha Lyonne, Philip Baker Hall, Stark Sands, and Frances Conroy, back up the star, Mr. Busch, and they make the film a lot of fun to watch.

waylonsmithers9 In spite of all the references to various Hollywood "women's films," I thought that the most inspired in-joke was having Angela (Charles Busch) and Lance (StarkSands) speak to each other in a secret language, much to the annoyance ofEdith (Natasha Lyonne). Lyonne fans will recall that her character in SLUMSOF BEVERLY HILLS had a secret language that she shared with MarisaTomei's character.Overall, I thought this was an okay film. As a fan of the kinds of films that provided the inspiration, I enjoyed the various in-jokes and references. However, I felt that the cinematography could have been more stylized, withdeeply saturated colors. Oddly enough, a deleted scene that appears on theDVD looks more like a 1950s Technicolor melodrama than the film itself. As for Charles Busch, he looked too much like a man in drag for my tastes. While his masculine appearance did add to the humor (particularly when anothercharacter commented on Angela's beauty), at the same time, I found itdistracting, especially in his close-ups. Perhaps the cinematographer couldhave used soft-focus for the close-ups, thus mimicking the techniques of those who photographed all those aging actress horror films of the 1960s, not tomention the Lucille Ball version of MAME.In any event, this was a fun film for those who understand the genre, although I would not go so far as to call it a classic, camp or otherwise.