Sunday, May 13, 2012

That's my Momma!: Mommy II- Mommy's Day

Hug your Mom and hide this movie!  You may recall that I did the 1995 Thriller Mommy on Mother's Day last year.  It was a film about a Mom killing people who she thought were getting in the way of her young daughter's success.  It wasn't good.  However, it was notable for casting the same lady who was the evil kid in The Bad Seed as the Mother.  That's pretty much the whole gimmick here.  In spite of that, they made a sequel.  Considering that there is a Leprechaun remake in the works, anything is possible!  This sequel follows the original, but takes a few odd turns throughout to make it, well, weird.  To find out more about this curious sequel, read on...
Before I get to the plot, I have to mention that famous Author Mickey Spillane is back as the titular Mother's lawyer.  Why?  What did you have to gain, Mickey?
Anyhow, the titular Mother is about to executed, but makes an escape attempt through the sillies of off-camera hijinks.  Things go awry when she's shot...or do they?
By getting her execution delayed, the Mother gets herself signed up for an experimental procedure to curb violent behavior.  This gets her set free, but she still can't see her daughter.

Say good-bye to Spillane and the original film's Detective- who has a stroke- here.  They didn't sign up for more than Cameos, apparently.
While our villain/heroine wants to be near her daughter- who she tried to kill in the last film-, people and situations get in the way.  This leads to a series of murders, including the beating death of an Ice Skating Coach...
The combo of a fallen light/heel to the eye of a TV Producer- who blindsides the Mother on his show- and...
This lady in the shower, who instinctively catches a Stereo thrown in.  It's the same logic as the Van Daminator...and a little bit sillier.
Despite all evidence to the contrary, the woman claims innocence.  Her sister- yeah, right- doesn't believe her.  But...
She's actually not guilty...of most of the murders.  It's actually an elaborate scheme by the TV Show Host from earlier and the Sister's Husband- who got rich on a book about the original killings- to create a sequel book.

Get it- a sequel just to make money?  Ha ha.
After disposing of the guilty party and proving her innocence, the Mother is returned to her daughter.  Of course, it's pretty clear that she killed the lady in the shower and her sister is just waiting for her opportunity to prove it.

This is the final film, so that build-up is for nothing.  Oh well.  The End.
I suppose there is some merit here.  Here's the thing: the twist ending is the only really interesting thing about it.  I guess I have to give them credit for playing with the audience's expectations.  That said- the whole thing seems silly.  The guy was already set with the first book and there's no hint that he NEEDS to do a second one.  Furthermore, they muck up this angle by having the sister of a victim from the previous film try to work with the husband, who promptly turns her down.  What was the point of that?  Was it just to make things more confusing?  It really messes with the idea of who is good and who is bad too.  For example, the woman has a good reason to be mad- the Mother killed her Sister and was never charged with the crime!  Why then is she suddenly an evil woman trying to make money?  I guess you could argue that it makes for a more complex tale, but I just feel confused by the whole thing.  It's just another example of one of those little things that the movie gets wrong.  I should also mention that the movie has the feel of a cheap, TV movie- which it is.  That's not the worst thing in the World, but it does hurt the film.  Instead of watching crap like this, how about you do something more constructive?  What do you think, evil Author Husband?
Next up, Project Terrible begins another round with a boring, boring film.  Vincent Gallo in space- the horror!  Stay tuned...

2 comments:

  1. Mickey Spillane and the film's writer/director - Max Allan Collins - were friends for years and years - so Mickey left South Carolina for a trip to Muscatine Iowa to cameo for his buddy.

    And this one wasn't a TV movie either. Just sayin'.

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  2. Well there you go.

    To be fair, it does LOOK like a TV Movie- not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that.

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