Serial Mom

1994 R 1h 33m DVD

Serial Mom

1994 R 1h 33m DVD
  • Overview
  • Details
In director John Waters's satire, Kathleen Turner plays Beverly Sutphin, a suburban mom who slays those who fail to uphold her idea of perfection. Among the things that trigger Beverly's rage are women who dare to wear white shoes after Labor Day.
Cast
Kathleen Turner, Ricki Lake, Suzanne Somers, Sam Waterston, Matthew Lillard, Traci Lords, Mink Stole, Patricia Hearst
Director
John Waters
Format
DVD
Screen
Full Screen 1.33:1
Subtitles
English, Spanish (Neutral), French
CC
Yes
Audio
French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Rating
R - Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.
age 16+
Common Sense rating Pause for kids 16 & under
age 16+

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that there is considerable violence and killing here. Splattery gore happens both in video clips from famous horror movies (which are praised as entertainment, over more wholesome movies like Annie) and in the "real" narrative. There are depictions of sex and male masturbation and brief glimpses of topless/pornographic magazines. A Catholic mass is ridiculed. The swearing gets really vile in places, and, like the violence, it's meant as a contrast to the tame-looking situation-comedy milieu.

Sexual Content

Glimpse of nudie magazines and a topless woman on vintage exploitation video (to which a character masturbates). Mrs. Sutphin and her husband have loud sex (but stay clothed in sleepwear). References to pornography and perversion.

Violence

Characters are stabbed (one character's viscera comes off on the rapier), one run over by a car, others bashed to death, and one set on fire. Gory excerpts from slasher movies.

Language

Beverly makes horrible obscene phone calls to the neighbor, heavy on the c-sucker word, later making the victim break down in a swearing fit herself. "A-hole," the S-word, and more. For what it's worth, this same Jekyll/Hyde heroine disapproves of using profanity.

Social Behavior

As part of the satire Beverly is a "role model" American housewife to the utmost -- perfectly mannered and spotlessly domestic -- when she isn't a profanity-spewing, murderous, manipulative sexpot psycho. Her husband and kids (normal, except for a gore-movie-loving son) vow to unconditionally love her even if she is insane.

Consumerism

Mention of other movies, with favorable critiques for the adults-only horror movies Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Blood Feast, negative ones about family-friendly fare like Annie and Bill Cosby. A joke about a Pee-wee Herman doll, shots of major department stores and breakfast cereals. Mention of clothing labels.

Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol

Reference to a character being a "pothead." Social drinking.

  • Age appropriate
  • Not an issue
  • Depends on your child and your family
  • Parents strongly cautioned
  • Not appropriate for kids of the age

This information for parents is provided by Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving kids' media lives.

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