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Drowning Mona (2000)

5.5 | Mar 03, 2000 (US) | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | 01:36
Budget: 6 000 000 | Revenue: 15 427 192

The death of Mona Dearly wasn't so much a whodunnit, as a who didn't.

The recently deceased Mona Dearly was many things: an abusive wife, a domineering mother, a loud-mouthed neighbor and a violent malcontent. So when her car and corpse are discovered in the Hudson River, police Chief Wyatt Rash immediately suspects murder rather than an accident. But, since the whole community of Verplanck, N.Y., shares a deep hatred for this unceasingly spiteful woman, Rash finds his murder investigation overwhelmed with potential suspects.

Featured Crew

Director
Executive Producer
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Foley Artist
Dialect Coach
Costume Design
Producer
Stunt Double
Foley Artist

Cast

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Danny DeVito
Chief Wyatt Rash
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Bette Midler
Mona Dearly
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Neve Campbell
Ellen Rash
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Casey Affleck
Bobby Calzone
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William Fichtner
Phil Dearly
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Marcus Thomas
Jeff Dearly
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Peter Dobson
Lt. Feege Gruber
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Tracey Walter
Clarence

Reviews

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r96sk
9 | Sep 09, 2025
'Drowning Mona' is funny viewing. A great time was had watching. It's an amusing flick and also a smart one, I really enjoyed the use of flashbacks (especially with the unreliable pov aspect) in particular. Each character has their own personality trait too, which is nice. I do like this humour, which is quite dry and almost deadpan - right up my alley. The music is good as well, particularly towards the end with the usage of "Popcorn" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag". Pacing-wise it's spot on, what with its brisk run time of 90 minutes. The cast list is top, everyone onscreen does great work here. Danny DeVito is more laidback than usual, I'm unsure if I like him as such but the low energy trait works because each character, as noted already, has their own schtick so I didn't question it all that much to be honest. Casey Affleck's bumbling Bobby is good, that word couldn't be used to describe his trim though... that's a wig, right?! William Fichtner, Marcus Thomas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell and Bette Midler play their parts to a strong standard. Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy appear too! A bit of a hidden gem, this. That's strange given those on the cast. Looks like I might be in the smaller section of (the small in itself) audience that highly enjoyed this one. Admittedly, the general view seems to be that it's passable at worst. Either way: recommended!