Customer Reviews

The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, blow me over! I was stunned! I bought this dvd in a supermarket for less than I've ever paid before, expecting nothing much, purely on the basis of the peculiar title and the name of Holly Hunter. It's an absolute masterpiece: story, direction, acting, the lot! Made 13 years ago, and I'd never heard of it. One of the mothers talks about skill, not promotion, and that must be it. Tons of skill, no promotion. It is simply too good to be plugged, and its reputation can only get steadily better: see the other reviews --- a chorus of agreement. Holly is amazing, and everyone else is just perfect. Every scene is a delight: weirdly true and truly weird. This goes straight into the small group of films that I regard as the best ever.

Later. Well, I just have to add something to try to work out just what makes this movie so perfect. Basically, it must be down to the writing, which is superb. The dialogue never puts a foot wrong. These characters are fully rounded, totally developed, highly comic, yet incredibly real. Everything in the relationships is understated, subtle, accurately observed, and convincing. You feel you know exactly what these people are like, and can visualize precisely how this bizarre situation arose. Holly's performance is out of this world. The scene in the car with Beau Bridges is one of the two or three funniest I have ever seen. You know that Wanda doesn't really believe what she is saying, yet at the same time she really does want Verna gone. Verna's reactions are just as brilliant, and the slide into celebrity status of all the participants, including the school kids, is so accurate it hurts. The family atmosphere in the Holloway household is spot on; and the boy's performance is particularly good. What a consummate work of art!

It is my understanding that Holly Hunter never met Wanda Holloway before she made this movie. If that was true, then she deserves every award she gets. Her portrayal of Wanda was TOP NOTCH! I went to Channelview High School with Wanda, Terry and Tony Harper. If you watch this movie for no other reason than Miss Hunters performance, you will not be unsatisfied. Of course, Hollywood made everyone else look like a cartoon.
As fine an actor as Beau Bridges is, no one could do justice to a character like Terry Harper.
This is NOT a documentary, folks!

This movie succeeds in being hugely entertaining thanks to Holly Hunter's amazing performance in the title role. She is thoroughly convincing as the trashy, pushy mom who's dedication to the success of her daughter's future as a cheerleader eventually leads to attempted murder. The realism is heightened by the use of restaged media footage, and "interviews" with Hunter (in character), who's cracked logic and twitchy mannerisms will have you in stitches. All the performances are good, and the result is a very black comedy that effectively ridicules this misguided woman's bizarre and near-deadly obsession with success and one-upmanship. Recommended, as it works on so many levels.

This movie was hysterical! I loved Holly Hunter - she definitely deserved an Emmy for her performance. The music was great too -- I'm hoping "Dead Dog" was written for the movie and isn't a real song. If it IS a real song, than country music has hit an alltime low regarding subject matter for tunes. See this movie, you'll be glad you did!

And this movie is no exception. Holly Hunter is fantastic, as she is in everything she does (also loved her as Billie Jean King in "When Billie Beat Bobbie" among others). She is so deadpan in Wanda's warped logic, that it draws you in to what made this woman really commit this crime. She actually felt justified!

Of course, the movie is hilariously weird and the title alone is a conversation starter.

Simply stating that this movie is good is an understatement! Holly Hunter's performance with an outstanding supporting cast was spectacular. I have seen this film too many times to count. The script isn't cheesey and no one actually is portrayed as a victim. Every character had a wonderful human touch. Great performance of a real life event.

I hadn't seen this in several years and was wondering if it still held up. It definitely DOES! Holly Hunter is frightenly perfect in this role -- is she just over-invested in her daughter's success or is she treading the brittle edge of mental illness? Either way, she's one of the most-believable villainesses ever -- a forerunner to Nicole Kidman's role in "To Die For" (which deserved an Academy Award). An earnest Beau Bridges and looney Swoosie Kurtz round out this excellent cast.

If not, she should. One of the few actresses today who consistently turn's in top notch performances. I think this story was taken from a real news story. Frightening, hiliarous, black comedy. A true view of humanity at it worst. Hysterical cheerleader Mom, who was never a cheerleader herself and suffered the humiliation as a young girl of never being good enough to be in the click, is fiercely determined to make sure her daughter becomes one of the golden few, no matter the cost. Excellent performances buy the whole cast. Enjoy!

Well honestly the thing that got me to watch this movie is the TITLE. But the movie is just as funny! Well first, this comedy is like..a dark comedy. I'm not sure you'd roll on the floor laughing like crazy..(but that's my opinion)..but its one of those things where you chuckle, and the ocassional laugh, and then you move on.
The plot is crazy! I mean it's something that i've never heard of before!
The actors i think did a wonderful job. Holly was good! It kinda goes back and forth back and forth from the events to an interview. (Don't worry..this is NOT a spoiler!)
It's rated R...which i think is acceptable. I don't think anyone under 13 should watch this, because mostly of the language, and they probably won't get it.
Just remember this:::this movie doesn't have any physical comedy (well, i guess it has a few...). But to me, it was all TALK, which i have no problem with.
It's a good movie. I recommend this movie for anyone looking for something to do..or ur a holly hunter fan cuz she's practically (almost) in all of the scenes.

Only in America! It's hard to believe that the plot to this movie was actually based on a true story from Texas. This production is now up there with `Tin Men・as one of my ten favorite American movies, not just for the careful satire, but for the celebration of `Americana・ it truly is the kind of story, played out by a cast of intriguing characters, which could not have come from anywhere else in the world.
Michael Ritchie did an excellent job of presenting this story as half-comedy, half-documentary. Not that there should be anything comical about a real-life murder plot, but some of the characters involved really do defy imagination, to the point where the rest of us literally cannot take them seriously. The story thus has all the ingredients with which it could easily degenerate into farce, but Ritchie skilfully keeps the plot and the screenplay very credible for the viewer. Particulaly appealing was Ritchie's poignantly subtle ・and beautifully satirical ・treatment of the US media's appetite for sensationalism, which remains instructive to this day. So we have neurotic suburban housewives and their spoiled teenage daughters, bumbling detectives, prim-and-proper school teachers, lowbrow tabloid journalists, and a bungled murder conspiracy, all revolving around the insipid culture of high-school cheerleading in a small American town. It's a potent mix!
But the masterstroke was the casting of Holly Hunter in the lead role. Ten years on, hers remains the finest performance I have ever seen from an American actress. She didn't just act a part; she became the character ・like the true theatrical professional she is. So you can keep Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and all the other over-hyped, over-paid `stars・ Holly Hunter's high-quality, low-profile professionalism sets an example in this movie that I so wish others would follow. But don't just take my word for it; it's significant that all the other reviewers here have gone out of their way to mention this lady's outstanding performance, and rightly so. Thank you, Holly! Equally significant is the fact that all reviewers have awarded it five stars; again, rightly so.
All around, this movie gets just the right balance between satire and fact. We have an excellent director, an outstanding actress in the lead role, a very competent supporting cast, and a true-but-hard-to-believe, unsophisticated, all-American story, all presented in a very efficient 90 minutes. Don't let the title fool you; there's nothing farcical about it. It is both watchable and memorable.