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DIE MOMMIE DIE! Send This Review to a Friend
Charles Busch, writer and actor, is not only great in drag, but he can even survive a screen close-up. In "Die Mommie Die!," directed as pure camp by Mark Rucker from Busch's screenplay based on his stage play, Busch plays Angela Arden, a composite of those celebrated actresses who have been favorite divas in soap opera type dramas. Recall Bette Davis, Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck to get an idea of what Busch is up to in this romp.
Angela is presented as a popular singer whose voice and career have collapsed since she withdrew after the mysterious death of her twin sister and vaudeville partner, but she has new illusions of recovered grandeur. However, her comeback notion is being sabotaged by her nasty producer husband (Philip Baker Hall), who is jealous of her penchant for other men, presently bi-sexual Tony Parker (Jason Priestley), who also goes for Angela's ditsy daddy's-girl daughter (Natasha Lyonne) and dopey gay son (Stark Sands). Frances Conroy is amusing as the family maid Bootsie, who has her own view of the entourage.
This odd mix is ready for a shake-up, and one of my favorite moments is when Angela, frustrated that her chronically constipated husband won't drink his poisoned milk, stirs a large suppository in the brew to seek another mode of bodily entry. It's that sort of movie. A little camp goes a long way and the plot manipulations tend to wear thin. But there's amusement in the weird character assortment and there's always Busch to grasp our attention and earn our admiration as he delightfully struts his feminine stuff. He is simply the ultimate in camp fun. A Sundance Film Series release.
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