One of the funniest films from this year! High camp; too bad the direction's so dull that after an hour even the funny bits get drowned out by the tedium. This is the kind of movie that tries to build suspense by having every character act as stupid and inattentive to the obvious as possible.
Jessica Lange does a lot of eye-rolliing, neck-straining and incessant smoking as the wealthy gargoyle mother who has it in for innocent dumbbell daughter in law Gwyneth Paltrow. Jonathan Schaech plays a piece of wood who occasionally stumbles into a scene with other characters. You know Lange's supposed to be evil because she smokes, drinks and has an inexplicable Southern accent (in upstate New York?). The film sports two endings (don't worry, no spoilers here!!!), the first of which is guffaw-inducing just because it's medically not possible, and a final showdown which is incredibly dull and comes out of nowhere. Lots of bad dialogue and far-fetched plot "developments" carry the viewer to the bitter end.
Allegedly this film was held up for massive re-shoots and edits for a whole year. One hopes for a "director's cut" just so we can see what could have been even worse than this hilarious nonsense. Recommended!!!
