Rating: PG13
Genre:
Comedy
Theatrical Release: 03/03/2000(USA)
Release Date: 07/25/2000
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: 5.1/2
Run Time: 96 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
Rage, jealousy, murder, and Eastern European automotive engineering combine in this offbeat black comedy. Verplanck, NY, is a small town north of Manhattan that has the dubious distinction of being the Yugo capital of America; the ill-fated import compact was first test-marketed in Verplanck, and nearly everyone in town drives one. So no one finds it unusual when a yellow Yugo is seen floating in the river, though seeing someone trapped inside is out of the ordinary. Verplanck's chief of police, Wyatt Rash (
Danny De Vito), discovers that the deceased driver was a prominent local citizen, Mona Dearly (
Bette Midler), and the evidence suggests that Mona's death was no accident. But the investigation into Mona's murder is hampered by one rather significant detail: nearly everyone in town hated Mona and wanted her dead. She alienated her son Jeff (
Marcus Thomas) and his business partner Bobby (
Casey Affleck). Bobby's girlfriend Ellen (
Neve Campbell) (who is also Rash's daughter) is convinced that Mona would have tried to drive a wedge into their relationship. Mona's husband Phil (
William Fichtner) couldn't stand her and fell into an affair with Rona (
Jamie Lee Curtis), the waitress at the local diner. And even Rash's sidekick, Deputy Feege (
Peter Dobson), spent too much time on the wrong end of Mona's temper to care that she's dead. Before long, the question is no longer who is a suspect, but who isn't?
Drowning Mona was directed by
Nick Gomez, who earned positive notices for his independent films
New Jersey Drive and
Illtown.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
