Average customer rating:
- Mega Camp a la Almodovar!
- A Drag Queen Extravaganza!
- Wow This was Lots of Fun!!!!
- Fun and well made.
- Funny in parts
|
Die Mommie Die!
Starring:
Charles Busch ,
Angela Paton ,
Jason Priestley ,
Natasha Lyonne , and
Frances Conroy
Director:
Mark Rucker
Manufacturer: Arts Alliance Amer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
 General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Eccentric Families
| By Theme
| Comedy
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| Video
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General
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| Comedy
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| DVD
| Video
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| Video
Dunn, Nora
| ( D )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Hall, Philip Baker
| ( H )
| Actors & Actresses
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Lyonne, Natasha
| ( L )
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Paton, Angela
| ( P )
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( D )
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Similar Items:
-
Girls Will Be Girls
-
Psycho Beach Party
-
Sordid Lives
-
The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch
-
Another Gay Movie
ASIN: B0007VF22S
Release Date: 2005-04-26 |
Amazon.com
"You slipped into my life as easily as vermouth into a glass of gin," purrs reclusive singing star Angela Arden, as played by camp icon Charles Busch (Psycho Beach Party). Arden is not only haunted by a secret, she's treated like dirt by her louse of a husband (Phillip Baker Hall, Boogie Nights), her snoopy maid (Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under), and her petulant daughter (Natasha Lyonne, Slums of Beverly Hills). Only her mentally defective son (Stark Sands) and a well-endowed gigolo (Jason Priestley, Beverly Hills 90210) treat her with love and affection. Is it any wonder she takes drastic action to improve her life? Replete with lurid sex, incestuous overtones, a poisoned suppository, musical numbers, an acid freakout, and black-and-white flashbacks, Die Mommie Die! lovingly sends up movie soap operas. The tone is uneven, but Busch skillfully walks a razor-sharp line throughout. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Mega Camp a la Almodovar!.......2007-02-10
Charles Busch is FANTASTIC! Lana turner , move over. I believe there is not one female actress in Holywood today thant can ACT! Charles can act at being all these awesome women in a drop of a pin. The movie has some flaws but they makeup with all the great talent and the FUN. This movie is Fun and if your in for laughs and DRAMA check it out. Great to see at a dinner party.
A Drag Queen Extravaganza!.......2006-11-14
Charles Busch, who wrote the script for this film as well as plays the lead, has produced an odd soap opera with appeal to gay audiences. I had never heard of Charles Busch but he obviously is the penultimate drag queen in his outlandish flowing gowns, wigs, and dalmation pantsuits.
The story is actually based on Greek tragedy but in the hands of Charles Busch, it becomes a camp classic. The story is based on the Greek myth of the twin sisters, Helen of Troy and Clytaemnestra. Clyteamenestra is married to Agamemnon. Agamemnon has sacrificed his oldest daughter in an effort to change the course of the Trojan War, which he wins. However his wife Clyteamenestra has taken a lover, Aegisthus. He has another daughter, Electra, and a son, Orestes. In the hands of Charles Busch, these Greek mythology characters come to life in a sordid tale of Hollywood murder, incest, and all kinds of other sexual oddities.
Jason Priestly plays the bisexual gigolo lover who seduces both the son and the daughter in the story. One well acted character is the maid, played by Francis Conroy, the mother from "Six Feet Under". Natasha Lyonne plays the role of Electra seeking revenge on her mother. Phillip Baker Hall plays the role of Agamemnon, the Hollywood producer.
Charles Busch, playing actress/singer/dancer Angela Arden, is on camera about 90% of the time and carries the film with his costumes and hairstyles. The clothes he wears are outlandish but entertaining. After I saw the DVD with a group of guys, it was interesting how they described all the outfits you will see in this film.
Some parts of the film move more smoothly than others but overall it is entertaining and a bit over the top.
Wow This was Lots of Fun!!!!.......2006-10-18
I loved this clever and very campy film. I have always been a fan of female impersonators. I was very impressed and saw in NYC during the 70s the late Charles Pierce, and was equally impressed with the late Craig Russell, the star of the 70s movie "Outrageous" which I highly recommend. I am surprised that I had never seen the work of Charles Busch until I bought this DVD. He is truly a gifted performer. One forgets a bit that he is a man in a dress and you get into his very good acting and comedy effort. I felt that the scenes in black and white seemed to show him as being more male. The movie is one that is played for camp to the hilt and they used a Beverly Hills mansion to film lots of scenes in, and that worked very well. I sort of felt that the film resembled the movie from the 70s "Something for Everyone" in that a young man,basically a gigilo in both films, gets involved with the families, and then proceeds to seduce everyone. This film also makes the viewer work very hard to figure out what is going on, and they basically pull the wool over your eyes as to the true identity of the main character until close to the end. The murders are handled cleverly as well, not being at all what they appear. I thought Jason Priestly and Natasha Lyonne played very well against the work by Mr Busch. In the interview section Busch, who really looks so dramatically different out of drag describes how he was trying to send up different bits from old movies and great film stars of the past like Bette Davis. I think at one point he recreated the scene to some degree in "Sunset Boulevard" where Gloria Swanson is lead away by the cops. Obviously Mr Busch really had so much fun doing this film. I was not aware this had been a stage play. I do think it worked better as a movie as they were a bit restriced with the stage set which I saw on the special features. Oh and I must not forget to pay homage to the incredible costumes for Mr Busch which really were so dramatic. The two designers came forth with some great ones. I needed a laugh, and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to laugh like crazy and is not put off by camp or parody. It also made me realize I need to watch again the fun and delightful "Wigstock". I find if I am down and depressed putting that movie on really lifts my spirits, so now if I need help elevating my mood in the future I will call on the zany and extremely talented Charles Busch. Finally in a small part Frances Conroy, who of course played the Mom in the brilliant HBO series "Six Feet Under" shows her talents for camp and comedy quite effectively as a somewhat mousy house maid, who has a bit of an evangelic Christian aspect to her character. This certainly is not for all tastes, I would not share this with my elderly parents as they might find it a bit offensive, and wouldn't get into the campiness of it. Everyone in this movie gave their best and I will certainly think of buying other DVDS that Charles Busch is a part of!!! This is one I was so delighted with I intend to watch it again very soon. Also I loved the way they intentionally made the lip synching look so off. A Campy Treat, This movie either works for you, or its doesn't!!
If you are a free spirit, go for it, if you are conservative, and uptight do not even think about it!!!
Fun and well made........2006-09-05
"Die Mommie Die" is defintely a "gay interest" movie, but it is so well produced that it stands head and shoulders above most films of it's type whose audiences are usually limited to film festivals and fringe interest cinemas. Charles Busch is the talent responsible for writing and creating the project, and it's safe to say that his portrayal of the central characte of Angela Arden is what brings the film alive.
As Angela Arden (in drag but played straight), Busch gives us a glamorous former cabaret star, now living in the shadow of her past success, and surrounded by a wealth, but also a family full of deceit, hate and trouble. Angela is herself haunted by her own past, and the entry into her life of a young male lover who also seduces both her son and daughter seems to provoke a chain of events with very melodramatic and tragic consequences. All par for the course really as the film is intended to evoke the golden age of Hollywood melodrama as made famous by Bette Davis, Joan Crawford et al, and it does this pretty well, with it's own modern agenda creeping in, of course.
This is undoubtedly a vehicle for Charles Busch, and he makes a stunning job of it in my book. The photography, lighting, costumes and hairdos are all spot on, creating the perfect vision of a star every time he/she appears on screen. He even manages to deliver a great script, with plenty of brand new quotable lines for any aspiring screen goddesses out there, such as: "The only part of this house that I don't hate is that door, because that's how I'm getting out of this dump!" (ok that's not verbatim, but you get the idea!).
The fact that Busch keeps the camp element quite low key means that the film is capable of acheiving the valuable trick of pulling you into the plot, which, although based quite blatantly on certain star vehicles (if I say which films, I risk revealing the films twist ending!), still manages to hold your attention all the way through. Actually if there are any histrionics in the film, they come from the other cast members (especially the younger ones) rather than Busch, although Frances Conroy (from Six Feet Under) does a great job as the loyal maid, Bootsie, and so does Philip Baker Hall as Angela's tyrannical husband.
Above all, everyone involved in the film seems to be having a great time, and it's clear from the luxurious photography and design that a considerable amount of talent was working behind the camera as well. There are many stunning shots and some quite fun and novel compositions (one shot of Jason Priestly unzipping his fly fades perfectly into a shot of a cocktail glass on a tray - well, you probably have to see that to understand what I mean there!). I enjoyed watching this film immensely, and the twist ending surprised me (even though as soon as it happened, I remembered immediately which famous star movie I had seen it in before)
Put aside any preconceptions and you might just find that you have a lot of fun watching this. That said, if your preconception is of seeing an unashamed parody/homage to the great Hollywood women's pictures - with a modern slant - then keep it and you should be rewarded!
Funny in parts.......2006-05-05
There are certainly some humorous moments in this odd little picture, but overall I'd say it's just a film made to showcase the talent of a drag queen to command attention. It was like watching a really bad soap opera.
Average customer rating:
- Mega Camp a la Almodovar!
- A Drag Queen Extravaganza!
- Wow This was Lots of Fun!!!!
- Fun and well made.
- Funny in parts
|
Die Mommie Die!
Starring:
Charles Busch ,
Angela Paton ,
Jason Priestley ,
Natasha Lyonne , and
Frances Conroy
Director:
Mark Rucker
Manufacturer: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
Comedy
| By Genre
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Eccentric Families
| By Theme
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Parenthood
| By Theme
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Parody & Spoof
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Black Comedy
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Dunn, Nora
| ( D )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Hall, Philip Baker
| ( H )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Lyonne, Natasha
| ( L )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Paton, Angela
| ( P )
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Priestley, Jason
| ( P )
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All Sundance Titles
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DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( D )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Girls Will Be Girls
-
Psycho Beach Party
-
Sordid Lives
-
The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch
-
Another Gay Movie
ASIN: B0001Z3HEK
Release Date: 2004-06-29 |
Amazon.com
"You slipped into my life as easily as vermouth into a glass of gin," purrs reclusive singing star Angela Arden, as played by camp icon Charles Busch (Psycho Beach Party). Arden is not only haunted by a secret, she's treated like dirt by her louse of a husband (Phillip Baker Hall, Boogie Nights), her snoopy maid (Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under), and her petulant daughter (Natasha Lyonne, Slums of Beverly Hills). Only her mentally defective son (Stark Sands) and a well-endowed gigolo (Jason Priestley, Beverly Hills 90210) treat her with love and affection. Is it any wonder she takes drastic action to improve her life? Replete with lurid sex, incestuous overtones, a poisoned suppository, musical numbers, an acid freakout, and black-and-white flashbacks, Die Mommie Die! lovingly sends up movie soap operas. The tone is uneven, but Busch skillfully walks a razor-sharp line throughout. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Mega Camp a la Almodovar!.......2007-02-10
Charles Busch is FANTASTIC! Lana turner , move over. I believe there is not one female actress in Holywood today thant can ACT! Charles can act at being all these awesome women in a drop of a pin. The movie has some flaws but they makeup with all the great talent and the FUN. This movie is Fun and if your in for laughs and DRAMA check it out. Great to see at a dinner party.
A Drag Queen Extravaganza!.......2006-11-14
Charles Busch, who wrote the script for this film as well as plays the lead, has produced an odd soap opera with appeal to gay audiences. I had never heard of Charles Busch but he obviously is the penultimate drag queen in his outlandish flowing gowns, wigs, and dalmation pantsuits.
The story is actually based on Greek tragedy but in the hands of Charles Busch, it becomes a camp classic. The story is based on the Greek myth of the twin sisters, Helen of Troy and Clytaemnestra. Clyteamenestra is married to Agamemnon. Agamemnon has sacrificed his oldest daughter in an effort to change the course of the Trojan War, which he wins. However his wife Clyteamenestra has taken a lover, Aegisthus. He has another daughter, Electra, and a son, Orestes. In the hands of Charles Busch, these Greek mythology characters come to life in a sordid tale of Hollywood murder, incest, and all kinds of other sexual oddities.
Jason Priestly plays the bisexual gigolo lover who seduces both the son and the daughter in the story. One well acted character is the maid, played by Francis Conroy, the mother from "Six Feet Under". Natasha Lyonne plays the role of Electra seeking revenge on her mother. Phillip Baker Hall plays the role of Agamemnon, the Hollywood producer.
Charles Busch, playing actress/singer/dancer Angela Arden, is on camera about 90% of the time and carries the film with his costumes and hairstyles. The clothes he wears are outlandish but entertaining. After I saw the DVD with a group of guys, it was interesting how they described all the outfits you will see in this film.
Some parts of the film move more smoothly than others but overall it is entertaining and a bit over the top.
Wow This was Lots of Fun!!!!.......2006-10-18
I loved this clever and very campy film. I have always been a fan of female impersonators. I was very impressed and saw in NYC during the 70s the late Charles Pierce, and was equally impressed with the late Craig Russell, the star of the 70s movie "Outrageous" which I highly recommend. I am surprised that I had never seen the work of Charles Busch until I bought this DVD. He is truly a gifted performer. One forgets a bit that he is a man in a dress and you get into his very good acting and comedy effort. I felt that the scenes in black and white seemed to show him as being more male. The movie is one that is played for camp to the hilt and they used a Beverly Hills mansion to film lots of scenes in, and that worked very well. I sort of felt that the film resembled the movie from the 70s "Something for Everyone" in that a young man,basically a gigilo in both films, gets involved with the families, and then proceeds to seduce everyone. This film also makes the viewer work very hard to figure out what is going on, and they basically pull the wool over your eyes as to the true identity of the main character until close to the end. The murders are handled cleverly as well, not being at all what they appear. I thought Jason Priestly and Natasha Lyonne played very well against the work by Mr Busch. In the interview section Busch, who really looks so dramatically different out of drag describes how he was trying to send up different bits from old movies and great film stars of the past like Bette Davis. I think at one point he recreated the scene to some degree in "Sunset Boulevard" where Gloria Swanson is lead away by the cops. Obviously Mr Busch really had so much fun doing this film. I was not aware this had been a stage play. I do think it worked better as a movie as they were a bit restriced with the stage set which I saw on the special features. Oh and I must not forget to pay homage to the incredible costumes for Mr Busch which really were so dramatic. The two designers came forth with some great ones. I needed a laugh, and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to laugh like crazy and is not put off by camp or parody. It also made me realize I need to watch again the fun and delightful "Wigstock". I find if I am down and depressed putting that movie on really lifts my spirits, so now if I need help elevating my mood in the future I will call on the zany and extremely talented Charles Busch. Finally in a small part Frances Conroy, who of course played the Mom in the brilliant HBO series "Six Feet Under" shows her talents for camp and comedy quite effectively as a somewhat mousy house maid, who has a bit of an evangelic Christian aspect to her character. This certainly is not for all tastes, I would not share this with my elderly parents as they might find it a bit offensive, and wouldn't get into the campiness of it. Everyone in this movie gave their best and I will certainly think of buying other DVDS that Charles Busch is a part of!!! This is one I was so delighted with I intend to watch it again very soon. Also I loved the way they intentionally made the lip synching look so off. A Campy Treat, This movie either works for you, or its doesn't!!
If you are a free spirit, go for it, if you are conservative, and uptight do not even think about it!!!
Fun and well made........2006-09-05
"Die Mommie Die" is defintely a "gay interest" movie, but it is so well produced that it stands head and shoulders above most films of it's type whose audiences are usually limited to film festivals and fringe interest cinemas. Charles Busch is the talent responsible for writing and creating the project, and it's safe to say that his portrayal of the central characte of Angela Arden is what brings the film alive.
As Angela Arden (in drag but played straight), Busch gives us a glamorous former cabaret star, now living in the shadow of her past success, and surrounded by a wealth, but also a family full of deceit, hate and trouble. Angela is herself haunted by her own past, and the entry into her life of a young male lover who also seduces both her son and daughter seems to provoke a chain of events with very melodramatic and tragic consequences. All par for the course really as the film is intended to evoke the golden age of Hollywood melodrama as made famous by Bette Davis, Joan Crawford et al, and it does this pretty well, with it's own modern agenda creeping in, of course.
This is undoubtedly a vehicle for Charles Busch, and he makes a stunning job of it in my book. The photography, lighting, costumes and hairdos are all spot on, creating the perfect vision of a star every time he/she appears on screen. He even manages to deliver a great script, with plenty of brand new quotable lines for any aspiring screen goddesses out there, such as: "The only part of this house that I don't hate is that door, because that's how I'm getting out of this dump!" (ok that's not verbatim, but you get the idea!).
The fact that Busch keeps the camp element quite low key means that the film is capable of acheiving the valuable trick of pulling you into the plot, which, although based quite blatantly on certain star vehicles (if I say which films, I risk revealing the films twist ending!), still manages to hold your attention all the way through. Actually if there are any histrionics in the film, they come from the other cast members (especially the younger ones) rather than Busch, although Frances Conroy (from Six Feet Under) does a great job as the loyal maid, Bootsie, and so does Philip Baker Hall as Angela's tyrannical husband.
Above all, everyone involved in the film seems to be having a great time, and it's clear from the luxurious photography and design that a considerable amount of talent was working behind the camera as well. There are many stunning shots and some quite fun and novel compositions (one shot of Jason Priestly unzipping his fly fades perfectly into a shot of a cocktail glass on a tray - well, you probably have to see that to understand what I mean there!). I enjoyed watching this film immensely, and the twist ending surprised me (even though as soon as it happened, I remembered immediately which famous star movie I had seen it in before)
Put aside any preconceptions and you might just find that you have a lot of fun watching this. That said, if your preconception is of seeing an unashamed parody/homage to the great Hollywood women's pictures - with a modern slant - then keep it and you should be rewarded!
Funny in parts.......2006-05-05
There are certainly some humorous moments in this odd little picture, but overall I'd say it's just a film made to showcase the talent of a drag queen to command attention. It was like watching a really bad soap opera.
Average customer rating:
|
Sundance Channel Film Series Coll (Dopamine/In This World/The Other Side of the Bed/Die Mommie Die)
Starring:
Charles Busch ,
Angela Paton ,
Jason Priestley ,
Natasha Lyonne , and
Frances Conroy
Director:
Mark Rucker ,
Emilio Martínez Lázaro , and
Mark Decena
Manufacturer: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
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| Genres
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| Video
General
| Drama
| Genres
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| ( D )
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Hall, Philip Baker
| ( H )
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Lyonne, Natasha
| ( L )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Paton, Angela
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
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| ( P )
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( S )
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ASIN: B00069A6S6
Release Date: 2004-11-30 |
Description
In This World: This award-winning film tells a moving and dramatic story that reveals the desperate measures people take a escape persecution and the life threaten conditions they find themselves in along the way.
Dopamine: Follows the courtship between a computer animator and a kindergarten teacher. It creates a soulful portrait of two people facing up to the risks and rewards of falling in love.
Die Mommie Die!: When pop diva Angela Arden's husband discovers that she's having an affair, she calculatedly offs him with a poisoned suppository . . . or does she?
The Other Side of the Bed: A raucous and sexy romantic comedy with a musical twist. The film tells the story of two couples who search for love leads to lies and heartache - and lots of song and dance.
Average customer rating:
- Mega Camp a la Almodovar!
- A Drag Queen Extravaganza!
- Wow This was Lots of Fun!!!!
- Fun and well made.
- Funny in parts
|
Die Mommie Die
Starring:
Charles Busch ,
Angela Paton ,
Jason Priestley ,
Natasha Lyonne , and
Frances Conroy
Director:
Mark Rucker
Manufacturer: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape
Dunn, Nora
| ( D )
| Actors & Actresses
| VHS
| Video
Hall, Philip Baker
| ( H )
| Actors & Actresses
| VHS
| Video
Lyonne, Natasha
| ( L )
| Actors & Actresses
| VHS
| Video
Paton, Angela
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
| VHS
| Video
Priestley, Jason
| ( P )
| Actors & Actresses
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All Sundance Titles
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| Foreign & International
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General
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| Stores
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| Video
Comedy
| By Genre
| Indie & Art House
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Girls Will Be Girls
-
Psycho Beach Party
-
Sordid Lives
-
The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch
-
Another Gay Movie
ASIN: B00023BLNK
Release Date: 2004-06-29 |
Amazon.com
"You slipped into my life as easily as vermouth into a glass of gin," purrs reclusive singing star Angela Arden, as played by camp icon Charles Busch (Psycho Beach Party). Arden is not only haunted by a secret, she's treated like dirt by her louse of a husband (Phillip Baker Hall, Boogie Nights), her snoopy maid (Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under), and her petulant daughter (Natasha Lyonne, Slums of Beverly Hills). Only her mentally defective son (Stark Sands) and a well-endowed gigolo (Jason Priestley, Beverly Hills 90210) treat her with love and affection. Is it any wonder she takes drastic action to improve her life? Replete with lurid sex, incestuous overtones, a poisoned suppository, musical numbers, an acid freakout, and black-and-white flashbacks, Die Mommie Die! lovingly sends up movie soap operas. The tone is uneven, but Busch skillfully walks a razor-sharp line throughout. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Mega Camp a la Almodovar!.......2007-02-10
Charles Busch is FANTASTIC! Lana turner , move over. I believe there is not one female actress in Holywood today thant can ACT! Charles can act at being all these awesome women in a drop of a pin. The movie has some flaws but they makeup with all the great talent and the FUN. This movie is Fun and if your in for laughs and DRAMA check it out. Great to see at a dinner party.
A Drag Queen Extravaganza!.......2006-11-14
Charles Busch, who wrote the script for this film as well as plays the lead, has produced an odd soap opera with appeal to gay audiences. I had never heard of Charles Busch but he obviously is the penultimate drag queen in his outlandish flowing gowns, wigs, and dalmation pantsuits.
The story is actually based on Greek tragedy but in the hands of Charles Busch, it becomes a camp classic. The story is based on the Greek myth of the twin sisters, Helen of Troy and Clytaemnestra. Clyteamenestra is married to Agamemnon. Agamemnon has sacrificed his oldest daughter in an effort to change the course of the Trojan War, which he wins. However his wife Clyteamenestra has taken a lover, Aegisthus. He has another daughter, Electra, and a son, Orestes. In the hands of Charles Busch, these Greek mythology characters come to life in a sordid tale of Hollywood murder, incest, and all kinds of other sexual oddities.
Jason Priestly plays the bisexual gigolo lover who seduces both the son and the daughter in the story. One well acted character is the maid, played by Francis Conroy, the mother from "Six Feet Under". Natasha Lyonne plays the role of Electra seeking revenge on her mother. Phillip Baker Hall plays the role of Agamemnon, the Hollywood producer.
Charles Busch, playing actress/singer/dancer Angela Arden, is on camera about 90% of the time and carries the film with his costumes and hairstyles. The clothes he wears are outlandish but entertaining. After I saw the DVD with a group of guys, it was interesting how they described all the outfits you will see in this film.
Some parts of the film move more smoothly than others but overall it is entertaining and a bit over the top.
Wow This was Lots of Fun!!!!.......2006-10-18
I loved this clever and very campy film. I have always been a fan of female impersonators. I was very impressed and saw in NYC during the 70s the late Charles Pierce, and was equally impressed with the late Craig Russell, the star of the 70s movie "Outrageous" which I highly recommend. I am surprised that I had never seen the work of Charles Busch until I bought this DVD. He is truly a gifted performer. One forgets a bit that he is a man in a dress and you get into his very good acting and comedy effort. I felt that the scenes in black and white seemed to show him as being more male. The movie is one that is played for camp to the hilt and they used a Beverly Hills mansion to film lots of scenes in, and that worked very well. I sort of felt that the film resembled the movie from the 70s "Something for Everyone" in that a young man,basically a gigilo in both films, gets involved with the families, and then proceeds to seduce everyone. This film also makes the viewer work very hard to figure out what is going on, and they basically pull the wool over your eyes as to the true identity of the main character until close to the end. The murders are handled cleverly as well, not being at all what they appear. I thought Jason Priestly and Natasha Lyonne played very well against the work by Mr Busch. In the interview section Busch, who really looks so dramatically different out of drag describes how he was trying to send up different bits from old movies and great film stars of the past like Bette Davis. I think at one point he recreated the scene to some degree in "Sunset Boulevard" where Gloria Swanson is lead away by the cops. Obviously Mr Busch really had so much fun doing this film. I was not aware this had been a stage play. I do think it worked better as a movie as they were a bit restriced with the stage set which I saw on the special features. Oh and I must not forget to pay homage to the incredible costumes for Mr Busch which really were so dramatic. The two designers came forth with some great ones. I needed a laugh, and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to laugh like crazy and is not put off by camp or parody. It also made me realize I need to watch again the fun and delightful "Wigstock". I find if I am down and depressed putting that movie on really lifts my spirits, so now if I need help elevating my mood in the future I will call on the zany and extremely talented Charles Busch. Finally in a small part Frances Conroy, who of course played the Mom in the brilliant HBO series "Six Feet Under" shows her talents for camp and comedy quite effectively as a somewhat mousy house maid, who has a bit of an evangelic Christian aspect to her character. This certainly is not for all tastes, I would not share this with my elderly parents as they might find it a bit offensive, and wouldn't get into the campiness of it. Everyone in this movie gave their best and I will certainly think of buying other DVDS that Charles Busch is a part of!!! This is one I was so delighted with I intend to watch it again very soon. Also I loved the way they intentionally made the lip synching look so off. A Campy Treat, This movie either works for you, or its doesn't!!
If you are a free spirit, go for it, if you are conservative, and uptight do not even think about it!!!
Fun and well made........2006-09-05
"Die Mommie Die" is defintely a "gay interest" movie, but it is so well produced that it stands head and shoulders above most films of it's type whose audiences are usually limited to film festivals and fringe interest cinemas. Charles Busch is the talent responsible for writing and creating the project, and it's safe to say that his portrayal of the central characte of Angela Arden is what brings the film alive.
As Angela Arden (in drag but played straight), Busch gives us a glamorous former cabaret star, now living in the shadow of her past success, and surrounded by a wealth, but also a family full of deceit, hate and trouble. Angela is herself haunted by her own past, and the entry into her life of a young male lover who also seduces both her son and daughter seems to provoke a chain of events with very melodramatic and tragic consequences. All par for the course really as the film is intended to evoke the golden age of Hollywood melodrama as made famous by Bette Davis, Joan Crawford et al, and it does this pretty well, with it's own modern agenda creeping in, of course.
This is undoubtedly a vehicle for Charles Busch, and he makes a stunning job of it in my book. The photography, lighting, costumes and hairdos are all spot on, creating the perfect vision of a star every time he/she appears on screen. He even manages to deliver a great script, with plenty of brand new quotable lines for any aspiring screen goddesses out there, such as: "The only part of this house that I don't hate is that door, because that's how I'm getting out of this dump!" (ok that's not verbatim, but you get the idea!).
The fact that Busch keeps the camp element quite low key means that the film is capable of acheiving the valuable trick of pulling you into the plot, which, although based quite blatantly on certain star vehicles (if I say which films, I risk revealing the films twist ending!), still manages to hold your attention all the way through. Actually if there are any histrionics in the film, they come from the other cast members (especially the younger ones) rather than Busch, although Frances Conroy (from Six Feet Under) does a great job as the loyal maid, Bootsie, and so does Philip Baker Hall as Angela's tyrannical husband.
Above all, everyone involved in the film seems to be having a great time, and it's clear from the luxurious photography and design that a considerable amount of talent was working behind the camera as well. There are many stunning shots and some quite fun and novel compositions (one shot of Jason Priestly unzipping his fly fades perfectly into a shot of a cocktail glass on a tray - well, you probably have to see that to understand what I mean there!). I enjoyed watching this film immensely, and the twist ending surprised me (even though as soon as it happened, I remembered immediately which famous star movie I had seen it in before)
Put aside any preconceptions and you might just find that you have a lot of fun watching this. That said, if your preconception is of seeing an unashamed parody/homage to the great Hollywood women's pictures - with a modern slant - then keep it and you should be rewarded!
Funny in parts.......2006-05-05
There are certainly some humorous moments in this odd little picture, but overall I'd say it's just a film made to showcase the talent of a drag queen to command attention. It was like watching a really bad soap opera.
DVD:
- Eddie Izzard - Unrepeatable
- Flirting With Disaster (Collector's Edition)
- Fools Rush In
- For Richer or Poorer
- Fubar
- George Carlin - George's Best Stuff
- Ghostbusters Double Feature Gift Set (Ghostbusters/ Ghostbusters 2 and Commerative Book)
- Grand Theft Parsons
- Guantanamera
- Henry Rollins - Shock and Awe
DVD
DVD