Drowning Mona
| Drowning Mona | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Nick Gomez |
| Produced by | Al Corley |
| Written by | Peter Steinfeld |
| Starring |
Danny DeVito Bette Midler Neve Campbell Jamie Lee Curtis Casey Affleck William Fichtner Marcus Thomas Peter Dobson |
| Music by | Michael Tavera |
| Cinematography | Bruce Douglas Johnson |
| Edited by | Richard Pearson |
| Distributed by | Destination Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $37 million |
| Box office | $115.9 million |
Drowning Mona is a 2000 American crime comedy film starring Danny DeVito as Wyatt Rash, a local police chief from Verplanck, New York, who investigates the mysterious death of Mona Dearly, a spiteful, loud-mouthed, cruel and highly unpopular woman, who drove her son's car off a cliff and drowned in a river.
The film's first scene shows Mona Dearly (Bette Midler) leaving her home and trying in vain to unlock her car. Her keys fit her son's car, so she takes that and drives off. In a bend, the brakes fail completely and she drives off a cliff into the Hudson River. This is observed by Clarence, who is fishing there. Chief Wyatt Rash (Danny DeVito) later observes that there are no skid marks on the road.
Neither her husband Phil (William Fichtner) nor Jeph (her son) seem upset when they hear about Mona's death and they are not the only ones. Ellie (Wyatt's daughter) even wants to celebrate, because she feels the Dearlys have always treated Bobby (her fiance and Jeph's business partner) very badly. JB Landscaping is not doing well because of Jeph's laziness and lack of right hand and because Bobby is not very competent either. Bobby denies that he still wants to fire Jeph and that he has a problem with the Dearlys.
Phil and Rona (Jamie Lee Curtis), who are having an affair, meet at the Charm Motel. Phil expresses his happiness about Mona's death but denies involvement. Bobby meets Murph, his older brother, and denies that he has had a hand in Mona's death. Bobby owes his brother a lot of money, but it is suggested that he is often taken advantage of by him. Wyatt's investigation takes him to Jeph, who claims that Bobby threatened and attacked Mona. Lucinda, the local mechanic specializing in the Yugo (that seemingly everyone in town drives) informs Wyatt that Mona's car (i.e. Jeph's) had been tampered with in multiple ways.
Phil tells Wyatt that he was a battered husband, Mona having hit him after having accused him of having an affair. He also claims that Jeph and Mona had had an argument on the evening before the accident. Bobby tells Wyatt that he hated Mona and that they had had an argument over Jeph's pay. Mona would not let him dissolve the partnership. Phil and Jeph leave Mona's wake very early. Meanwhile, Wyatt breaks into the Dearly's and finds out that Mona's and Jeph's car keys have been switched. Phil expresses his gratitude to Bobby for killing Mona. Bobby then confesses to Ellie that he rigged Jeph's car, because Jeph was destroying their business. Ellie then announces that she is pregnant. This conversation is overheard by Clarence.
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