Die, Mommie, Die!

"Die, Mommie, Die" is a campy parody of the "woman's picture". Mostly a sendup of Joan Crawford but includes things from other movie queens by the new movie "queen". If you have not seen many of these films, you won't get a lot of the humor, including the over-complicated plot, special lighting, clothes, facial expressions, poses, names, etc. There is nudity, sexual material, vulgar language, etc. It is a hoot for adult audiences.

GRADE = "B"

I can't say enough wonderful things about DIE MOMMIE DIE. It's the funniest and most entertaining movie I've seen this year. Charles Busch is hysterically funny. And he's a wise and generous actor who lets the rest of the cast shine along with him. Everyone else -- particularly Natasha Lyonne, Jason Priestly, and Frances Conroy -- is great -- and obviously having a lot of fun with the story's loopy, inspired twists and turns. Director Mark Rucker has done a fantastic job with this material; it's a very impressive and knowing debut. And, of course, the production design and costumes are outstanding!

While this is a giddy, spot-on parody of the melodramas we all know and love, you don't have to know all the references to enjoy this movie. It's strong enough to stand on its own. I saw it at a recent film festival -- and it put me in the BEST mood. I can't wait to see it again -- and bring my friends.

Reviewers who complain that Charles Busch is not believable as a woman - comparing him unfavorably with Divine, et al - miss the point. Busch is in a class all his own, and comparing him to ANYBODY else limits the viewer's ability to enjoy what he offers.

He's not SUPPOSED to be a believable woman. He's like a precocious kid who loves to dress up and act like glamorous movie stars from the long-gone days when EVERYBODY overacted, when ALL stars were hams, before Marlon Brando changed the nature of screen acting forever.

Unless you can enter Busch's unique world on HIS terms, you won't like his movies. He's letting us watch him act out his glamorous fantasies, the same delightful fantasies he's been acting out since he was a child.

He's not a drag queen, he's not a female impersonator, he's not a cross-dresser or a transvestite. He is a MAN - but with the sweet, innocent, wide-eyed, starstruck heart of a little boy - who has a whole lot of fun dressing up like and acting like Bette Davis or Joan Crawford or Olivia de Havilland. He invites us to join in the game.

It's fun, unless you're trying to fit it into some mold it doesn't belong in.

Why am I taking the time to review this movie? Because I loved it, practically every minute of it. Even now, I'm thinking about renting it again because this is the type of movie that you don't easily forget.

The plot of Die, Mommie, Die is straightforward: a washed-up singer is trapped in a bad marriage to a movie mogul who really doesn't love her. She decides to kill him so she can have a life and a real lover. That pretty much sums up the general plot.

The only criticism I have of this movie is that it should have tried to incorporate more songs, such as was done in the great Julie Andrews hit, "Victor Victoria". The one song in Die, Mommie, Die, "Why Not Me?" is repeated in several flashbacks. I don't know if the song is original, but it was perfect for this movie, and I wished there were more songs like this because it would have been a great soundtrack to buy.

This not a movie that would appeal only appeal to a small part of the movie-going public, but rather a great, campy movie that is full of fun. Perhaps the best compliment I can give this movie is that I wish I had seen it on the big screen. It would be well worth the $9.

Addendum: Almost four years have gone by since I reviewed this movie, but I have no indication if anyone has ever read this. So, if you stopped by, please leave your thumbs up or thumbs down.

Beautiful, glamorous, fading singer Angela Arden (Charles Busch) is miserable. Her horrible husband is making life hell; her daughter Edith (Natasha Lyonne) loves daddy--too much; her son Lance (Stark Sands) is gay and into drugs; her lover Tony Parker (Jason Priestley) is sleeping with her and Edith and Lance....Angela suffers exquisitely.

A parody and a loving remake of the womens pictures made from the 40s up to the 60s. Busch (a man in drag) looks perfect and suffers constantly; the settings are beautiful; the dialogue high camp; everybody and everything looks picture pretty...even the flashes of (male) nudity and sleazier aspects are handled in a very "pretty" fashion. Also it includes some hilariously obvious back screening. This works beautifully because the whole cast plays it straight--there's no winking at the camera or overacting. Busch is just great in his role--he evokes Susan Hayward and Joan Crawford at their best. Lyonne and Sands are having a fun time as her seriously disturbed children--especially Sands. And who ever though Priestley could be such a great actor. He plays everything straight-faced beautifully. Also there are a TON of film references for film buffs.

My only complaint--and this is minor--is the color isn't as bright and strong as it should be. It seems kind of washed out.

That aside this is really a great film. A must for gay men and film buffs.