PopHorror Let's Get Scared
There’s a million ways to deal with the death of a partner. Therapy, religion, meditation… hell, even multi-level marketing, if that blows your hair back. But Truly, Madly (2020) is the only movie I’ve seen where a recently widowed religious woman, Barbara (Sondra Carver), seeks solace in a murderous obsession with her adult gay son, Anthony (Adam Freeman: Reunion From Hell 2021).
Writer/director Brian Dorton (Crazy Fat Ethel 2016) has made a funny and strange Grindhouse slasher tribute to motherhood and the fear of loneliness. Mom wants son to keep her company and “go straight.” Son just wants to be left alone and sleep with whomever he wants.
The movie is less bloody than most Grindhouse tributes I’ve seen, but just as raunchy.
Don’t watch if you can’t handle dialogue like:
“When I met your father, I was a virgin. The first time he took me, I tore. Ripped me wide up,” says Barbara, while massaging her nipple at the dinner table.
“Please take your medications properly, okay?” deadpans Anthony.
And, of course, just about every American sacred cow is taken out with the proverbial shotgun. You know, stuff like child molesters, unconventional handicaps, religious hypocrisy, and gay people offending straights merely by existing.
I liked the warped Grindhouse film quality, but the audio bugs got a little iffy. I felt like I was listening to a Geiger counter after about an hour. Repeated and fetishistic images of pasta and turtles were cute and random. Maybe they symbolize something to Dorton; maybe he just likes pasta and turtles. Throw in some poignancy about empty nest anxiety and some nice twists, and call it a day.
Just DON’T forget Mother’s Day.
