Crazy Mama

Not so much a sequel to Corman's Bloody Mama, more a good-natured parody of the Bonnie and Clyde family gangster genre, scripted by Robert Thom. Demme took on this riotous Corman production at very short notice, and played up the laughs rather than the violence. Set in the '50s, the story centres on Depression child Melba Stokes (Leachman) and her journey from West to East coast along with mom (Sothern) and daughter (Purl), gathering together en route a motley band united in their sufferance at the hands of the law. Demme brings to the sly social commentary his usual deft choice of rock'n'roll standards, and draws enthusiastic performances from his wacky cast.