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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Hbo Home Video
Salesrank: 67341
Released: April 2, 2002 |
| Our Price: $4.46 |
| Used Price: $2.79 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
WANDA & VERNA BOTH WANT THEIR DAUGHTERS TO JOIN THE HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADING TEAM. SINCE VERNA'S CHILD SEEMS MORE LIKELY TO WIN, WANDA PLANS TO DISTRACT THE CHILD BY MURDERING VERNA!BASED ON A TRUE STORY.
Description of The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom:
Directed by Michael Ritchie (The Candidate) with an eye toward his terrific 1970s legacy of social and political satires, this 1993 HBO comedy stars Holly Hunter as the real-life Texas woman who solicited a killer to aid her daughter's dream of becoming a high school cheerleader. Hunter is remarkable in the lead, somehow both scary and sympathetic. But it is Ritchie who gets to the heart of the matter in the aftermath of the murder, when there is a mad scramble by the media and Hollywood to package the absurdist atrocity for their own ends. One of the director's more biting studies of the shadow side of ritual Americana, this is not for anyone looking for a bull docudrama. --Tom Keogh
The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom Reviews:
How To Eliminate The Competition! 
2009-04-15 - Unquestionable, this is a bizarre film! It's a cynical docu-drama (mockumentry?) about a real-life woman in Texas who plotted to kill another mom whose daughter was in junior high school cheerleading competition with her daughter. The idea was to mess up the girl enough that her kid would win the competition to get on the squad.
Holly Hunter is outstanding as the "competitively-challenged" mother, "Wanda Holloway." Also, I liked Beau Bridges in his low-key in his role of "Terry Harper" and thought he was just as entertaining as Hunter.
Hunter, with her real Texas twang that we have to endure in her other films, is perfect for this role. Her accent is so strong in here it's hard to understand a third of what she says, but her acting and the fascinating story make this fun to watch.
I was amazed to find out this was a made-for-TV film. It certainly doesn't have that look and feel (which is a compliment!).
Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom 
2008-05-24 - I hadn't seen this in several years and was wondering if it still held up. It definitely DOES! Holly Hunter is frightenly perfect in this role -- is she just over-invested in her daughter's success or is she treading the brittle edge of mental illness? Either way, she's one of the most-believable villainesses ever -- a forerunner to Nicole Kidman's role in "To Die For" (which deserved an Academy Award). An earnest Beau Bridges and looney Swoosie Kurtz round out this excellent cast.
Has Holly ever won an award?
2007-03-06 - If not, she should. One of the few actresses today who consistently turn's in top notch performances. I think this story was taken from a real news story. Frightening, hiliarous, black comedy. A true view of humanity at it worst. Hysterical cheerleader Mom, who was never a cheerleader herself and suffered the humiliation as a young girl of never being good enough to be in the click, is fiercely determined to make sure her daughter becomes one of the golden few, no matter the cost. Excellent performances buy the whole cast. Enjoy!
YOU'VE UPGRATED THE ACTRESS... NOW, LET'S DOWNGRADE THE MOTHER.
2006-07-17 - MY FEELING ON THIS MOVIE AND THE REAL-LIFE EVENTS IS THAT WANDA HOLLOWAY IS A LIAR AND JUST PLAINE STUPID. SHE IS A COMPLETE MENTAL CASE AND SOCIALBATHILISTIC EMBARASSMENT TO HUMAN KIND. IF SHE WAS THEN BACK IN 1991 SO INNOCENT, THEN WHY HAVE THE GUTS TO GO OVER TO THIS MAN'S HOUSE WANTING TO TALK ABOUT RIDDING EITHER VERNA HEATH OR HER DAUGHTER OR BOTH. HELL, WANDA DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO TALK IN THIS MAN'S HOUSE, INSTEAD, SHE HAS THIS GUY MEET HER IN THE PARKING LOT OF A PLACE CALLED GRANDY'S OR SOMETHING LIIKE THAT. IT IS JUST 100% CLEAR THAT SHE WAS NOT STABLE, BUT KNEW EXCACTLY WHAT SHE WAS DOING WHEN THESE EVENT TOOK PLACE. AND IF SHE WAS SO INNOCENT, THEN MY QUESTION TO HER WOULD BE THIS... WHY EVEN TALK ABOUT IT AT ALL.
Everything is bigger in Texas......
2006-04-05 - And this movie is no exception. Holly Hunter is fantastic, as she is in everything she does (also loved her as Billie Jean King in "When Billie Beat Bobbie" among others). She is so deadpan in Wanda's warped logic, that it draws you in to what made this woman really commit this crime. She actually felt justified!
Of course, the movie is hilariously weird and the title alone is a conversation starter.
