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Mommy
USA 1995
produced by James K. Hoffman, Max Allan Collins (executive) for M.A.C. Productions
directed by Max Allan Collins
starring Patty McCormack, Rachel Lemieux, Jason Miller, Brinke Stevens, Michael Cornelison, Majel Barrett, Mickey Spillane, Sarah Jane Miller, Marian Wald, Mark Spellman, Janelle Vanerstrom, Judith Meyers, Nathan Collins, Tom Castillo, Tom Summit, George Michael (II), Dewayne Hopkins, Cruisin', Debi Hahn, Gary Coderoni, Jason Shepley
written by Max Allan Collins, music by Richard Lowry
Mommy
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Mommy's (Patty McCormack) rather obsessed with ther 12 year old
daughter Jessica Ann (Rachel Lemieux), so when she doesn't get the
"student of the year" award at her school for the third time in
a row, she has a word with Jessica Ann's teacher Mrs. Withers (Majel
Barret) - which ends with Mrs Withers dead. Mommy's clever enough though
to not leave any clues, and she even calls the police herself. And yet,
police Lt. March (Jason Miller) has his doubts that this death was just an
accident, and tries to get the truth out of Jessica Ann - but she in equal
terms loves and fears her mother, so she remains mum ... heck, she even
tells Mommy that the school's janitor (Sarah Jane Miller) has seen her at
the scene of the crime - and later on, the janitor turns up dead. Jessica
Ann isn't naive though, she does suspect her mother of having done
something bad, and has doubts that either her father or Mommy's second
husband have died from natural causes. Others have their suspicions as
well, even mother's boyfriend Mark (Michael Cornelison) - but that's
because he's actually an undercover insurance investigator who's
investigating her second husband's death. Eventually, Mommy finds out who
he is though and kills him right in front of Jessica Ann, then makes up a
story that he tried to rape the girl. It seems Mommy's getting away with
the murder even, but she knows she's backed up against the wall, so she
makes a hasty getaway with Jessica Ann. But she grows more unstable by the
minute, so much so that she eventually becomes a threat even her daughter
she loves above everything else ... Fan fave scream queen Brinke Stevens
plays Mommy's sister, veteran crime novelist Mickey Spillane her attorney. Above
everything else, Mommy is a pretty tight piece of suspense cinema,
one that for a change focuses on its villain and her slow descent from
supermother to psychopath - as seen through the eyes of her daughter, who,
being an impressionable kid, has been half-brainwashed into condoning her
actions or at least not second-guessing them. And as such, much of the
tension comes from what will happen to the girl while under her mother's
wing, and to all those trying to protect her. And a clever script and a
directorial effort that puts story over spectacle really help bringing
this all across, and a strong, star-studded cast helps as well of course. Worth
a watch for sure.
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