Drowning Mona (2000)

I own over 1,000 movies and Drowning Mona is one of my favorites. It's a dark comedy... which not everyone can appreciate, hence the bad reviews... but the dialog is hysterical and the characters are awesome.

Set in the quirky little town of Verplanck, New York... where virtually everyone drives a Yugo with a vanity plate... the movie is filled with odd characters that are the real key to it's overall charm.

Bette Midler shines in the role of the recently deceased Mona... a woman with few if any redeeming qualities.

Jamie Lee Curtis is sublime in the role of the slutty waitress Rona... complete with mullet and dangling cigarette.

Pay attention to the details. That's where some of the best humor lies.

If you enjoy dark, tongue-in-cheek, bizarre little comedies, this is your movie.

Fmovies: Drowning Mona is a hard movie to describe. On the one hand, I liked it because, the cast seemed to be doing the best with what the script they had to work with. On the other hand, the plot seemed choppy and the dialogue was for the most part pretty stale. Will Ferrell absolutely steals the movie with his part as the creepy funeral director who laughs inappropiately, has trouble with the right way to make eye contact, and is constantly having sexual trysts during the viewing. If you're looking for an offbeat comedy, give this a try. But don't rush out and kill yourself to see it.

In a town full of "Yugo" cars, and mentally challenged residents, we find fertile ground for a terrific dark comedy. Bette Midler plays Mona, a monstrous woman everybody has a reason to hate. When her Yugo plunges into the lake due to foul play, no one seems to care that she is dead, and everyone is a suspect in "Drowning Mona". William Fichtner absolutely steals this movie, as Mona's "battered husband", who likes to play "Wheel of Fortune" with Jamie Lee Curtis. Meanwhile, Danny DeVito, as the sheriff, has plenty of suspects, including his future son-in law. If you enjoy "black comedies" like "Ruthless People" or "Eating Raoul", this is a must see, and comes highly recommended. - MERK

Drowning Mona fmovies. I am so missing my copy of, "Drowning Mona", luckily it has been on my cable movie channel lately. Anyway, I have always been shocked that this film never saw more critical acclaim. To me it is the epitome of what a, "dark comedy", should be. The tremendous word play, goofy (yet well developed characters as well as character relationships), even though the characters were mostly small town and moronic, they were intertwined/interwoven in such a smart and believable way to me it is a tragedy this film is not known to most movie lovers, for it is high up on my list of all time favorite funny movies. Although thanks to your website I have at least come to find out that this film has been characterized as having a cult following, which makes me feel more at ease. The all star cast delivers one liners after one liners that all add up to such a hilarious finish, not only does it get better with age like a great bottle of red wine or single malt, but I always come away noticing something(albeit small) new. Spending time growing up both in a Pennsylvanian small town and the Bay Area, I love the small town feel of this movie, yet I find the characters intellect to be closer to those of big city even though they're relationships are more small town. Anyway I love this movie, and never do things like this but just had to give props to the creators, writer, and cast for such a spectacular piece of art, big up's!

... even the police.

Bette Midler, even though she is the title character, gets second billing to Danny DeVito.

In the recently released "Isn't She Great" she gets to play both sides of the ugly/beautiful coin and she does it here again brilliantly.

Sherriff Wyatt Rash (DeVito) has too many suspects in the death of Mona. Everyone would like to see her dead.

Neve Campbell as his daughter (Ellen) turns in a fine performance. Her breakdown and ultimate (short-lived) lesbian experience with the town's mechanic is either over-the-top -- or just short of being brilliant; hard to tell.

Casey Affleck (Ben's little brother) is very one-note -- I want to believe that it was written that way and that Bobby is not as shallow as the script would have us believe.

This is not a film that will appeal to everyone -- but hang in -- it only gets better as it goes along.

I enjoyed it -- and as I reflect on it -- it only gets better.

This off-beat comedy is definitely one of the better movies I've seen recently. The plot is engaging and fast-paced; the movies doesn't even come close to the two-hour mark. The conclusion is satisfying and unexpected.

Every actor is perfectly cast. Casey Affleck gives an excellent performance as put-upon Bobby Calzone, Neve Campbell is terrific as Ellen, Bobby's fiancee, and Danny DeVito is loveable and sweet as police chief Wyatt Rash, Ellen's father. All in all, this is a very good movie, perfect for a lazy day.