I recall seeing ED AND HIS DEAD MOTHER (1993) on cable several times back in the mid-90s. For some reason, I really latched onto this movie and part of it has always stayed with me. I couldn't believe how absurd and outrageous the humor was in this when I first saw it. It literally plays death as a kind of sick joke.
The always-reliable Steve Buscemi has an early, rare starring role as one of the titular characters Ed. Buscemi's style of humor works to great effect in this movie, but unlike in many of his later supporting roles in films, Buscemi's Ed is really a purely good guy with no real shades of gray. He lives a simple life, running the family hardware store, lives like a monk with his oddball uncle (hilariously played by Ned Beatty).
The absurd plot of the story is that Ed's mother has recently died and a salesmen offers to revive Mom (played with dark, scary, glee by British actress Miriam Margoyles) for a small price. I remember being absolutely terrified of Ed's Mom when I first saw this movie! She was literally the walking dead, a kind of human zombie who effortlessly and nonchalantly slept in the fridge, chased down dogs with lawnmowers, and violently stabbed people! The way Buscemi and Beatty reacted to her shenanigans was spot on hilarious!
Another HUGE bonus in this movie is the presence of the incredibly hot Sam Jenkins, who plays a new neighbor lady that falls for Ed while she's investigating the goings-on at his house. Jenkins was an all-natural brunette beauty in a time before all this crazy plastic surgery that actresses go through! Her incredible body is featured without fail several times in the movie, but it never comes across as sleazy or cheap, just part of the uninhibited nature of this film!
The movie has an unapologetic morbid tone throughout and the moments are laugh-out loud funny. Dark comedies nowadays tend to try for oddball to the point of being disgusting or too self-conscious. But this is definitely not true of Ed and His Dead Mother!
The always-reliable Steve Buscemi has an early, rare starring role as one of the titular characters Ed. Buscemi's style of humor works to great effect in this movie, but unlike in many of his later supporting roles in films, Buscemi's Ed is really a purely good guy with no real shades of gray. He lives a simple life, running the family hardware store, lives like a monk with his oddball uncle (hilariously played by Ned Beatty).
The absurd plot of the story is that Ed's mother has recently died and a salesmen offers to revive Mom (played with dark, scary, glee by British actress Miriam Margoyles) for a small price. I remember being absolutely terrified of Ed's Mom when I first saw this movie! She was literally the walking dead, a kind of human zombie who effortlessly and nonchalantly slept in the fridge, chased down dogs with lawnmowers, and violently stabbed people! The way Buscemi and Beatty reacted to her shenanigans was spot on hilarious!
Another HUGE bonus in this movie is the presence of the incredibly hot Sam Jenkins, who plays a new neighbor lady that falls for Ed while she's investigating the goings-on at his house. Jenkins was an all-natural brunette beauty in a time before all this crazy plastic surgery that actresses go through! Her incredible body is featured without fail several times in the movie, but it never comes across as sleazy or cheap, just part of the uninhibited nature of this film!
The movie has an unapologetic morbid tone throughout and the moments are laugh-out loud funny. Dark comedies nowadays tend to try for oddball to the point of being disgusting or too self-conscious. But this is definitely not true of Ed and His Dead Mother!