Die, Mommie, Die!

Very humorous, always campy tale of aging star whose parade has long since skipped off down the road. (Yes, shades of SUNSET BOULEVARD, to be sure). Charles Busch brings his stage drama/comedy/what have you to the big screen, and it's a pretty enjoyable romp, at that. Throw in some great performances by Jason Priestley, in his stingy brim hat, shorts and occasional penny loafers; looking like a rich Tab Hunter, or a poor Peter Lawford, you choose, between snickers. Philip Baker Hall (a great dramatic actor, with a superb nose for comedy), is a standout. Natasha Lyonne as Edith, the daughter and Stark Sands as the sexually confused (or is HE?) son, and you've got the makings for some nostalgic, and yet irreverent fun. Frances Conroy is also a standout for her folksy, Southern, religious demeanor, as the maid, Bootsy. Without ruining it for you, essentially DIE, MOMMIE, DIE! is a tip of the hat to the late sixties movies where happy mom's were popping valium, terms like "baby" punctuated every third word in a sentence, and the thought of having a gigolo on the side didn't seem so remote. Of course, this doesn't take place in Nebraska, naturally it's Tinseltown. People there were so desperate to be hip (have times changed too much? Hmmmm.) and nobody dared to be square. You'll find others nods, winks and tips of the hat throughout, if you're a film buff, and if not, you'll still have a great time. Busch, who wrote the original stage play and this screenplay, stars in the lead, and does it with relish. This is a labor of love, and it shows. An enjoyable little indie, indeed. Recommended.

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.

Charles Busch has a cult following in New York City, as he's known for his hilarious plays. A few years ago, he broke into the mainstream with the Broadway hit, Tale of the Allergist's Wife, and now there's even a documentary about him.

An immensely talented writer, he knows the classic female legends genre backwards and forwards and can play one with the best of them.

"Die Mommie Die" was originally a Busch play, and the film, albeit low budget, is excellent - actually, all the better because it's low budget. It's a combo of "Dead Ringer," "The Big Cube," "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," and "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte."

Busch plays Angela Arden, who performed with her twin sister Barbara. Angela broke with Barbara and made it big, while Barbara wound up in broken-down supper clubs. Barbara eventually died.

Today Angela, a real tramp, is living the high life with a rich husband, a gay son, a Lolita-type daughter, and a young boyfriend (Jason Priestley).

Busch is hilarious, resembling Kathy Griffin, wearing fabulous clothes and looking darn good.

This film has a gay sensibility, but if you love the old movies it's based on, you should enjoy it. Very high camp.

"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"

If you don't get the campy fun in movies like PORTRAIT IN BLACK, DEAD RINGERS, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, DIE DIE MY DARLING, STRAIGHTJACKET and SUNSET BOULEVARD, you probably won't get DIE MOMMIE DIE. If you do, you'll probably be howling like the audience I saw it with.

Although shot on an obviously ultra-low budget, MOMMIE still works on many levels. It's funny, campy, naughty, witty and Charles Busch shines in the role of Angela Arden, which he reprises from his own stage play. Thankfully, they didn't give the part to a woman, which is what ruined the tone of another Busch screen adaptation, PSYCHO BEACH PARTY. Busch is pitch-perfect as Angela and the fact the you never forget he is a man greatly helps bring out the campy tone of the story.

This is a must see for those who like to watch MOMMIE DEAREST every couple of years or so for a good laugh.