Serial Mom (1995)
HBO Home Video
Cast: Katheleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Matthew Lillard, Ricki Lake
Extras: Audio Commentary, Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots, Featurette, Biographies
Rating:

As the number of DVD titles continues to grow, it’s becoming obvious that audio commentaries are very hit-or-miss. However, it is also becoming apparent that John Waters can be relied upon to supply a very entertaining speech while watching his films. Waters comments on the newly released DVD of ’Serial Mom’ are hysterical, as he ponders Monica Lewinsky, Suzanne Sommers, and Don Knotts.
Waters rises above more ’respected’ and ’skilled’ directors who have tried their hand at a running commentary by being himself and being very entertaining. Waters tells us how the film was made and what it was like to work with the actors. These are the things that we want to hear about on a commentary!

Along with the commentary, ’Serial Mom’also sports many other extras, including on-set interviews, cast biographies, a trailer (which is a home video trailer, not a theatrical one) and many TV spots. The film is presented in a 1.66:1 letterboxed format. The framing is accurate and the picture is very clear. As with most of Waters’ films, there is an interesting color palette and it is displayed well here, although the picture is a bit dark at times. The Dolby Digital 2-channel soundtrack is quite good and very active throughout the film.

To the best of my knowledge, this is my first experience with an HBO DVD, and I was impressed.