Drowning Mona - Region 1 DVD

Except for DeVito's good-intentioned lawman, who's oblivious to the epic unpleasantness surrounding Mona and her family, every character is a tiresome caricature, and the cast--which includes Neve Campbell, Jamie Lee Curtis, William Fichtner, and Casey Affleck--is all too happy to oblige the screenplay's limited vision of humanity. Only a couple of minor background touches--a funeral home's sign boasting "As Seen on TV!"; a lawn-care company's drably uninspired T-shirt motto "Yeah, we can do that"--elicit anything near a chuckle. Otherwise, Drowning Mona is a particularly grungy movie visually--it looks as though the camera itself was nursing a hangover throughout the shoot--and betrays a cynically misanthropic attitude toward its characters, not to mention its audience. --David Kronke