Come difendersi dalla mamma

I don't know why, but I liked this movie. It's one of Steve Buscemi's few leading roles in a movie and I like him as an actor, but my enjoyment of this film went beyond that. I've only seen it on TV a few times (was this ever actually released in theaters?) but I enjoyed it. It has a quirky humor to it and a rather odd storyline. If you ever see this on TV on a Sunday afternoon, watch it.

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.

This movie offers a strange view on death, and the life after that. Steve Buscemi offers a so-so performance, in this funny, but sick comedy. Even though there are few good ones in the movie, some of parts of the film were funny enough to get a laugh. With an interesting plot, this movie is worth giving a try, if you have nothing better to do...

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.

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.