ianlouisiana Review of Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)

Take your mother to see it - but don't ask her to stay over.

[7/10 · 22 August 2006]

Very few people make bad films on purpose.Mr Stallone is nobody's fool. These statements should be self-evident.Therefore if SOMMWS is so bad why did a reputable director and a canny star have anything to do with it?The answer is that it isn't a bad film at all,when I saw it the cinema audience gave every appearance of huge enjoyment,many of Miss Getty's one - liners induced such laughter that Mr Stallone's rueful responses were often inaudible.I believe the trouble lies in the fact that many critics refuse to accept that Mr Stallone is in fact quite an accomplished light comedian as well as being an action star of proved bankability. As an LA detective having his mother over for a visit he is able to play against type in this fish out of water comedy.As mother,Miss Estelle Getty seizes a rare big screen opportunity and makes every line count.She is an innocent abroad in big bad LA,blithely going where wise men fear to tread. SOMMWS is not ground - breaking stuff,but it is old - fashioned funny. You could take your mother to see it - but don't ask her to stay over.