Ed and His Dead Mother

Ed (Steve Buscemi) loves his mother, but she's been dead for a year. When the Happy People Corporation gives him the chance to bring her back from the dead, he readily agrees. Also, we have a romantic subplot and a story of a man who just got out of prison (who I think is played by the same guy who played Uncle Rico and the Wolfman from "Monster Squad").

Steve Buscemi has never steered me wrong, and putting him in a lead role was brilliant on someone's part (he too often ends up forgotten in the background). This is one of his best roles, right up there with his part in "Ghost World". Buscemi knows comedy, and now it seems we can safely say he can even do romance (who would have thought?).

The comedy here is of the dark kind you might find on "Tales From the Crypt" or "Creepshow", with old women trying to eat dogs and the use of chainsaws and lawnmowers as weapons (has someone been watching "Dead Alive"?). People who love mainstream comedy (Ben Stiller fans) aren't going to love this, but those who like the stranger stuff will eat it up.

The salesman was great. I forget his name, but he looks like an old Ted Danson. He had a role that seemed like he should have been a newspaperman from "Little Shop of Horrors", his style was right out of the Roger Corman playbook. And the beautiful woman next door (played by Sam Jenkins, whose name does not do her justice)... ravishing! Those outfits were a little strange (even for the early 1990s) but she made them work. Would you believe Buscemi could find a woman this attractive? Believe it!

The gore was very minimal (even during a chainsaw scene) and the nudity was decent. The humor was the real selling point (if you don't find the opening courtroom scene funny, you may as well turn it off right then). But there was just something really great about this one, it was put together perfectly.

Fans of "Dead Alive" might like this one, as will fans of "Little Shop of Horrors". I really think you'll appreciate the similarities. And if you need Buscemi like Britney needs panties, this should be on the top of your must-see list.

Good one-liners and great deadpan performances by Steve Buscemi and Ned Beatty highlight this irreverent romantic comedy about death and hardware...? If you can find this little off-beat gem to watch, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Anyone familiar with the original 'Twilight Zone' series may see some familiarity to the 1964 Season 5 - Episode 32 - 'Mr. Garrity and the Graves' which was a reheat of an actual event. That story was based on an 1873 incident in Alta, Utah.

Beyond that is was a fairly enjoyable movie, I can see how it is more popular now than at its original release as it circulates out on cable and streaming services.With a cast (partial list of notables) like this the movie works well.

Steve Buscemi as the phobic, off kilter Ed Chilton, Ned Beatty as Uncle Benny with his one liners, John Glover as the consummate salesman A. J. Pattle, Sam Jenkins as Storm Reynolds, (all 5'-11" of her), Jon Gries as psycho Rob Sundheimer and Gary Farmer as the unflappable, stoic Big Lar.

I thought that the last scene fell flat but maybe they were in a hurry to wrap it up in the 1:33 runtime.

Ed Chilton (Steve Buscemi) is a hardware store owner / operator still mourning the death of his mother Mabel (Miriam Margolyes) one year later. Therefore he is easy prey for a smarmy, super slick salesman, A.J. Pattle (John Glover), who's hawking the reanimation of the deceased. Ed soon agrees, and after some setbacks and price haggling, Mabel is brought by Pattle to Eds' doorstep. Naturally, as Ed and his uncle Benny (Ned Beatty) quickly realize, she's not the woman she used to be. For one thing, her new diet should come as a shock to no-one.

"Ed and His Dead Mother" is a pretty predictable black comedy, with no real inspired moments or fireworks. That said, it's still easy enough to take, and enjoy, but that itself may pose a problem for some viewers: it's NOT all that dark, or insane. One might think of it as a much milder version of Peter Jacksons' "Braindead", minus the over the top gore. What makes it as entertaining as it is is this excellent cast of familiar faces. Buscemi is endearing in the lead, the often priceless Glover is a hoot as usual, Beatty is quite funny (his character is a shameless, horny voyeur), and the under rated Margolyes has fun as the re-animated mother. The supporting cast can boast a couple of other recognizable people: Eric Christmas as a defense attorney, Gary Farmer as hardware store employee "Big Lar", Jon Gries as an ex- convict, and Rance Howard (very funny himself) as a crazed reverend. Sam Jenkins (a.k.a. Mrs. Kevin Sorbo) offers up lots of sex appeal as a new neighbor. Dawn Hudson, who has a bit as a telemarketer, became Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences years later.

The movie is decently directed by Jonathan Wacks, who'd produced the cult classic "Repo Man" about a decade previous, and whose other directorial credits include "Powwow Highway" and "Mystery Date". It's also noteworthy for its stylistic choice of black & white wrap around segments, and Mason Darings' fine score.

"Ed and His Dead Mother" isn't anything great, but it does offer some fun for a well paced 91 minutes.

Six out of 10.

Rarely on IMDb do you see such divergent reviews--lots of HATED ITs and LOVED ITs but not so many scores in between. I think this is because to love it, you MUST be the sort of person that can appreciate sick, over-the-top comedy--like I do! This is similar to the movie EATING RAOUL, but it seems to be better written and acted.

The film begins with Ed limping through life well after the death of his beloved mother. He's obviously in a funk and can't seem to get her early death out of his mind. Then, completely out of the blue, a guy dressed in a white suit walks into Ed's hardware store and offers to bring Ed's mom back from the dead! All this only in the first few minutes of the movie! Yes, it does have some mildly gross moments (though most is described, not shown) and some VERY kooky moments (such as the newly revived Mom chasing dogs and cats up and down the street with a riding mower after she gets a taste for BLOOD). Not everyone's cup of tea, to be sure, but if you like 'em wild and irreverent and off-color, you MUST give this movie a try--if you can find it! This was not released to the theaters (wimps!) and is hard to find on tape--you'll probably need to order it, like I did.

One reviewer compared this movie, unfavorably, to DEAD ALIVE. I saw both films and thought ED AND HIS DEAD MOTHER was a much funnier and less disgusting film. I also didn't think the plot was stolen, though there are a few similarities, I grant you. DEAD ALIVE is more like an EVIL DEAD/NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD film (complete with ALL the gore) while ED AND HIS DEAD MOTHER has almost no gore and is more funny to me (though I am sure opinions will vary).

UPDATE: This film has been shown a lot on Showtime recently, so if you have the channel keep an eye out for it.