Die, Mommie, Die! (2003)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Mark Rucker

Writers (WGA):

Charles Busch (play)
Charles Busch (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Hollywood...It's a dirty town but someone has to do it!

Plot:

An ex-pop singer kills her much-hated husband to be with her young lover. Her daughter plots Electra-like revenge. |

Plot Keywords:

LSD | 1950s | Washed Up Star | Murder | Parody

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Charles Busch	...	Angela Arden / Barbara Arden
Angela Paton	...	Angela's Fan
Jason Priestley	...	Tony Parker
Natasha Lyonne	...	Edith Sussman
Frances Conroy	...	Bootsie Carp
Philip Baker Hall	...	Sol Sussman
Stark Sands	...	Lance Sussman
Josh Hutchinson	...	Policeman
Victor Raider-Wexler	...	Sam Fishbein
Nora Dunn	...	Shatzi Van Allen
Christopher McDaniel	...	Moving Man #1 (as Chris McDaniel)
Tom Hughes	...	Moving Man #2
Stanley DeSantis	...	Tuchman
Paul Vinson	...	Leather Daddy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Guilmette	...	Flashback Shadow (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Rucker

Writing credits (WGA)
Charles Busch		(play)
Charles Busch		(screenplay)

Produced by
Dante Di Loreto	....	producer
Lonny Dubrofsky	....	executive producer
Anthony Edwards	....	producer
Jeff Greenberg	....	associate producer
Robert Hall	....	associate producer
Bill Kenwright	....	producer
Frank Pavich	....	co-producer
Neil Weinman	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Dennis McCarthy

Cinematography by
Kelly Evans

Film Editing by
Philip Harrison

Casting by
Collin Daniel
Jeff Greenberg

Production Design by
Joseph B. Tintfass

Set Decoration by
Sandy Adams

Costume Design by
Michael Bottari
Ronald Case
Thomas G. Marquez

Makeup Department
Jason Collins	....	supervisor: Almost Human
Becky Cotton	....	key makeup artist
Robert Hall	....	special makeup designer
Francie Paull	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Philip Harrison	....	post-production supervisor
Erik Olson	....	production manager (as Erik M. Olson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Alexander	....	first assistant director
Mike Currie	....	second second assistant director
Courtney King	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Michael Courville	....	property master
Jim Falkenstein	....	assistant property master
Brian Kline	....	lead man
Leonard Kudishevich	....	swing gang
Bryan Langer	....	assistant art director
Kathleen Noonan	....	set dresser
Carol Lea Pike	....	assistant property master
Mark Weathers	....	swing gang

Sound Department
Jon Ailetcher	....	sound mixer
John Brasher	....	sound re-recording mixer
Roberto Domínguez	....	foley mixer
Daniel Hastings	....	boom operator
Eric Hoeschen	....	foley artist
Peter Levin	....	adr recordist
Rick MacLane	....	sound engineer
Peggy McAffee	....	sound effects editor
Stewart Nelson	....	adr editor (as Stewart Nelsen)
Stewart Nelson	....	dialogue editor (as Stewart Nelsen)
Paul Ratajczak	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Ratajczak	....	sound supervisor
Trevor Sperry	....	adr mixer
Trevor Ward	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Lance Wiseman	....	sound re-recording mixer

Stunts
Lou Simon	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jason Andrew	....	grip
Richard Avalon	....	first assistant camera
Robert Baek	....	second assistant camera
Brian Bartolini	....	electrician
Jeremy Brussell	....	best boy grip
Todd Dos Reis	....	camera operator (as Todd A. Dos Reis)
Kyle Drevlo	....	dolly grip
Greg Gayne	....	camera loader
Zack Greene	....	grip
Jesse Jaraczewski	....	best boy
Jean-Baptiste LeConte	....	electrician
Cullen Lockwood	....	first assistant camera
Kristina Loggia	....	still photographer
BJ McDonnell	....	grip
Rob Monroy	....	second assistant camera
Robert Murphy	....	electrician (as Rob Murphy)
Rich Paisley	....	gaffer
Charles Papert	....	Steadicam operator
Rainy Rau	....	additional camera loader
Alfredo Rosado	....	second assistant camera (as Alfredo A. Rosado)
Aaron Schulte	....	grip
Rick Tucker	....	key grip
Tracy Tucker	....	grip

Casting Department
Ron Digman	....	casting assistant
Stan Landsman	....	extras casting
Cathy Reinking	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Bottari	....	costume designer: Charles Busch's costumes
Ronald Case	....	costume designer: Charles Busch's costumes
Jesse Rodriguez	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Travis Graalman	....	assistant editor
Stephen R. Sheridan	....	color timer (as Steve Sheridan)

Music Department
Douglas M. Lackey	....	music editor (as Doug Lackey)
Dennis McCarthy	....	conductor
Steve Shepherd	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Al Burton	....	transportation coordinator
Gary Jackson	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Carlos Castellanos	....	production coordinator
Crystal Connell	....	craft service
Jae Downing	....	production assistant
Kojo Lewis	....	location manager (as E. Kojo Lewis)
Jan McWilliams	....	script supervisor
Matt Miller	....	production assistant
Grant Nellessen	....	title designer: main titles
Irwin M. Rappaport	....	attorney (as Irwin Rappaport)
Irwin M. Rappaport	....	production attorney
Rachel Smith	....	production assistant
Danica Vorkapich	....	production assistant
Diana Wrenn	....	assistant production coordinator
Kevin W. Wright	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Aviator Films
• Bill Kenwright Films

Distributors

• Sundance Film Series (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Illuminare Entertainment (2004) (Canada) (all media)
• Sundance Channel Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (video)
• Sundance Channel

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, language and a drug scene.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Aviator Films

Trivia:

Charles Casillo alleged that 'Charles Busch' had plagiarized his 1989 play "One Night Stand In A Lonely Hotel" and a temporary restraining order was issued ordering that he be given credit for the story and play. On 7 November 2003, a judge ruled that there were "no substantial similarities of protectible expression" between the play and the film and ordered that the injunction be removed, and that Busch be given sole credit for the film.

Quotes:

Angela Arden: I hate this house! I hate these walls... I hate that sofa! The only part of this dump that doesn't make me puke is that door - because that's the way I'm gettin' out!

Movie Connections:

References Dead Ringer (1964)

Soundtrack:

Why Not Me

High camp genre parody works pretty well

Charles Busch is a female impersonator who writes and stars in genre parodies. His last filmed effort was Psycho Beach Party. This latest effort, Die Mommie Die, is a parody of the drama queen melodramas of the 50s and 60s, in which actresses like Susan Hayward schemed and

seduced callously, and encountered crises which were not only larger than their real-life counterparts, but also arrived with far greater frequency.

The genre died out of the film world before most of you were born, but it left behind a legacy of nighttime soap operas like Dynasty, so if you can remember Joan Collins on the small screen, you'll have a good idea of the equivalent big screen target Busch is focusing on.

Busch is a talented guy, whom you may remember from his portrayal of Nat Ginsberg on Oz. I don't know if it's even correct to call him a female impersonator. He is a male who plays certain types of female roles convincingly. His characterization in this film is so convincing that you'll forget he is a male, and his writing shows a real gift for walking the line between lampoon and homage.

Busch and director Mark Rucker got the actors to deliver all their outrageous lines in a consistently theatrical and obviously insincere style to match Busch's own. I thought Jason Priestly was especially funny as a bisexual gigolo. The entire film plays out as if everyone in the cast knows he or she is in a high camp entertainment, and wants the audience to know that they know.

I laughed a lot, to tell you the truth. I suppose drag queen movies may not be what most of you are looking for. Me neither. But the fact of the matter is that Busch can probably evoke the actresses of that era better than any contemporary female I can name. Hell, When I was a kid I always wondered if Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were really middle aged men in wigs, so who better to portray them than a 48 year old man in a wig?

Busch is making fun of the melodrama queens, but he also has a gift for witty dialogue and a genuine regard for the subject matter which makes this an entertaining confection about part of filmdom's barely-remembered past.