Drowning Mona 2000, Rated PG-13 Columbia/Tristar

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Starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, et al. Released to DVD on July 25, 2000.

When Mona Dearly (Bette Midler) drives off of a cliff she shouldn't have, the townsfolk of Verplanck, New York couldn't be happier. Mona was a horrible person--when asked by Sheriff Rash (Danny DeVito) why he didn't report a death threat made towards his mom, Mona's son Jeff (Marcus Thomas) replied, "Because everybody wanted to kill her". And to wit, this is true. It's just up to Rash to get to the bottom of the matter. Similar in tone to the Coen brothers 1996 release Fargo in terms of humorously and subtly lampooning small town people, the laughs in Drowning Mona come from the irreverent and unusual reactions to the situation at hand. At Mona's funeral, only two people outside of the family bothered to show up and pay their respects, with her husband (William Fichtner) and son ultimately leaving the proceedings early, intent on hitting a local bar, reasoning that no one else will show up. The ending of this film doesn't sustain the same intensity or punch that the rising action created, but the overall tone of this film, mischievous and wryly funny, is what will ultimately be remembered. In a perfect world, Fichtner would be nominated for an Oscar for his downright strange performance.