Review: Drowing Mona (2000)

Starring: Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Neve Campbell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Affleck, William Fichtner & Marcus Thomas

Drowning Mona is a black comedy with a "Whodunnit?" theme. The film has a star-studded cast, a lineup of great comic actors and, at least, one outstanding actor of remarkable intensity and believability in any role - William Fichtner. The combination makes this film comedic dynamite.

The setting is upstate New York, a fact that will surely not be lost on anyone who has spent some time there. The sets of this film are remarkable for their realism and they way they create the atmosphere so perfectly that you feel you really are upstate. It is surprising to learn that, in reality, Drowning Mona was filmed on the west coast.

There are some unsung comedians in the film, too, who deserve to be pointed out. They are the Yugos. They inadvertently become the focus of comedy in a couple of the movie's best scenes. Even the police cars are Yugos.

While this is a very light-hearted film, it does a remarkable job telling its dark tale of a dastardly murder - or murders. The movie goes into sufficient depth to explore the low animal impulses of some of the people of Verplanck, New York.

Some negative critics of the film say that the characters in the story are impossibly stupid. I admire those critics for having been able to live their lives surrounded by only refined, intelligent people of sophisticated tastes, however, I think I know a few of the characters in that film personally. To those of us familiar with the common and the crass, the characters seem perfectly well drawn. That fact makes this film even funnier because it hits its mark perfectly.

Not all comedies work for all people, but this mixture of very serious themes with humor will work for many people. The film maintains a good comedic rhythm. The set ups are not obvious. The story line is actually quite complex. It is one of those movies that you can watch again and again. It never fails to deliver laughs.