Absolutely. I saw it in theaters with my parents when it came out and the whole theater was howling with laughter. You never have those experiences these days. It was something great to experience.
They're implying that Divine took her roles VERY seriously. There are interviews with her on the set of Pink Flamingos were she sees the movie and her acting as an artsy creation. She tried her best because she had NOTHING. Kathleen is a mega star who is aware that it's fluff and really has nothing to lose, John is already an established director making bigger budget films. NOTHING is really on the line. All John Waters's actors weren't professional actors but took their roles very seriously back then because they felt that they were doing something special.
I think Backbeat was really a quickly made tv movie made for teens in the 90s with a little Beatles element. I mean that is smart in many ways where you use a little of the excitement of the group, you make the music as modern and fast-pasted as possible with a modern band(there's no way these guys played like animals like that). You use one of the rising young stars of the moment Steven Dorff in a role too cool for school(the lost Beatle) who falls for a hot chick and who's also best friend with the Lennon. It is attractive and entertaining, the movie looks great, it is the quintessential teenage/young male fantasy. It works but it is very light on content.
I haven’t seen Backbeat since 1994. I remember liking it and having a major crush on Sheryl Lee at the time...but I wonder if Ebert was right. I’m curious if the movie holds up
Serial Mom was ahead of it’s time. The satire in that movie is amazing. Especially when you know that it was produced BEFORE Court TV/The OJ Murder Trial went mainstream in the US. Don’t believe me, look at the timeline of events.
I didn't like the scene when Scotty (played by Justin Whalin) was being ordered to be quiet by Chip (played by Matthew Lillard). So I imagine that Scotty will say, "No" that he is not going to be quiet until Chip gives him a pointed look that he makes on his face. Again, Scotty refused to be quiet because he was serious from his comments that he made as he orders Chip not to give him a pointed look because it was extremely annoying. Chip refused to stop giving him that look because he doesn't like his comments that he made as he makes the pointed look on his face again. I might be worried that he was going to order his sister Misty (played by Ricki Lake) and his dad (played by Sam Waterston) to be quiet too and to mind their business. So why did Chip had to tell him that for? I think this scene was not very funny when that happen. As for the movie, It was terrible to watch.
you want to know what's ironic? the actor that played Paul McCartney in Backbeat apparently did so well in the role that he was cast as Paul AGAIN for the Linda McCartney Story, he was even engaged to Elizabeth Mitchell for while but they didn't make it to the altar
I understand the qualms Siskel and Ebert have with Turner's realistic performance in Serial Mom and it's tempting to compare her negatively against Divine, but they failed to recognize that Turner's realism is precisely what makes Waters's satire so distinctly biting in the picture. Despite is superficial thematic similarity to Waters's prior work, it's actually a very different sort of beast to anything else he's done. While I personally am more enticed by his earlier and more overtly transgressive films, Serial Mom is the most refined thing he's made, technically and thematically, and I can see why he sees it as his best movie.
We watch movies for the pure entertainment factor. These guys watch a movie to critique it. Serial Mom is a unique dark comedy that really hasn’t been attempted. I loved it.
They still wield power. The difference is that there's so many critics online and on RU-vid, folks simply gravitate to the critic that sounds and feels exactly like they do. Just an exercise in confirmation bias
Serial mom was hilarious. They are so off the mark here. Turner was brilliant. They were tooo old to understand or enjoy it. They make me sad not the movie.
Stuart Sutcliffe did not miss the Beatles both he passed away tragically from a brain hemorrhage very young. I think 21 years old. That's not missing the boat. And he was never a musician he could not play bass he was preforming with his back to the audience because he could not play. John Lennon's lover
Serial Mom is hilarious. Turned out that Serial Mom is arguably the best John Waters film. It's the one I watch the most. "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow ..."
Huge Beatles fan since day 1.... but Backbeat was just meh for me. I was all stoked about it when it came out... haven't really had the desire to watch it again since then.
@10:26 Oh, come on, Gene! I burst out laughing twice from those preview clips alone; the only one that isn’t funny is the Taxi Driver imitation, a horse which has been flogged long past dead in dumb comedies. As for White Fang 2, I burst out *groaning* when I heard that the natives mistake a white man for a god. That gimmick would have been “problematic” by 1994 standards, to say nothing of cliché and tiresome. What book are these writers all sourcing from to get these awful tropes budget after budget, in front of audience after audience?
I liked Serial Mom but I can understand why it would turn some people off. I saw it in a theater. Unfortunately, I also saw Cops and Robbersons in a theater too.
It’s a satire. What’s even funnier is that movie was made BEFORE the OJ Trial. Which it not only predicted, but parodied very well if you know about that trial & so many others during that period of time.
After rewatching serial mom, I understand what Ebert was saying it’s mean spirited. In water’s other films there’s a sense of love for the characters and for the film. Serial Mom just comes across as mean, and angry, the tone is off because it feels as though no heart was put into the picture just anger and resentment.
Thankfully, Chevy Chase has completely fallen into obscurity. Ebert is wrong here: Chase was never funny, even during his "Saturday Night Live" days. And he's never made a single film that's enjoyable.
`Yeah compared to his OLDER movies, like Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living and Polyester, .. . if you've seen THOSE you'll know WHAT they're talking about. Serial Mom was still pretty edgy by NORMAL MAINSTREAM Hollywood standards AT THE TIME though.