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This is a brief synopsis of the plot of a fictional murder thriller novel revolving around the life of a girl named Jessica Ann Sterling and her mother. In the story, Mrs Withers is the teacher who refuses to give the prize to Jessica Ann stating that another pupil is getting it. Ann’s mother then murders Mrs Withers and later goes on to kill anyone who tries to expose her. In the end, Jessica Ann uncovers the sinister truth about her mother’s actions as the plot unfolds towards the climax.
Jessica Ann Sterling’s mother confronts Jessica Ann’s teacher Mrs Withers after she hears rumors that Ann will not get a prize for being the tops in class. When teacher Mrs Withers states that they are giving the prize to another pupil, Mrs Sterling literally knocks her off the ladder to death. Mrs Sterling goes on to murder a number of other people who threaten her. When the police discover the truth, the daughter realizes that her mother is a killer.
Patty McCormack rose to international fame as a child actress when she portrayed psychopathic McCormick starred in The Bad Seed (1956), a movie where a young girl ruthlessly killed everyone in her way. Patty received an Oscar nomination for this role making her the youngest nominee ever at age eleven. After that incredible performance, McCormack starred in television shows including an important role in The Sopranos (1999-2007) then later getting casted as Pat Nixon in Frost/Nixon (2008).
Mommy looks very similar to what a sequel to The Bad Seed would look like. In it, Mommy is played by Patty McCormack who I imagine could be Rhoda Penmark as an adult. It’s not difficult to believe that McCormack has transitioned from being an evil child hell-bent on succeeding in school to a mother completely devoted to making sure her child achieves in school. Mommy also has many other aspects that face The Bad Seed not just story wise but in structure as well; like how there is a duel over the issue of a child deserving an award more than another student.
Mommy is a very low-budget feature. The cinematography is at best equivalent to an amateur movie; most faces are completely in shadow, and the action during specific parts is too dark to see. Also, the direction of Max Allan Collins is often clumsy too – the shot where Patty McCormack opens a jar is bathed in lurid red light and instead of setting the mood, overheard sinister musical cues harshly drown the audience in their sound. Most of the ‘dramatic’ parts of the murders, like the one where Majel Barrett gets pushed off the ladder or Michael Cornelison gets shot, are utterly devoid of any flair.
While Mommy follows the formulae of a quintessentially 1990s psycho-thriller perhaps something close to Mother’s Boys (1994) which came out around the same time there are many painful gaps within the script. For one, Mark Jeffries played by Michael Cornelison is simply not convincing as an insurance investigator who for some reason has assumed the role of Patty McCormack’s boyfriend. After his ruse is exposed, all he does is shrug his shoulders and tries to appear as a nice caring guy. The character of Jessica Ann, the narrator, speaks as a child with a vivid imagination but at times her words sound way older than what would be believable for her age.
The highlight of Mommy is, of course, the cast, and I must say that Max Allan Collins has done a terrific job in assembling one. In addition to Patty McCormack who gives a doll’s performance, Collins has managed to get Scream Queen Brinke Stevens (in a nonnude role as Patty McCormack’s sister); The Exorcist (1973) dour detective Jason Miller as a sullen and washed-out detective (which is how Miller seems to me nowadays); Majel Barrett widow of Gene Roddenberry, Nurse Chapel among other parts in Star Trek (1966-9) as the teacher who gets murdered, and for some reason, the writer Spillane who in his later view’s headshot looks like Patty McCormack’s crossed divorce uclawyer.
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