The story takes place in Verplank, NY, which - we are told at the beginning - is where the Yugo company chose to test market its automobiles (the idea of every citizen in town driving a Yugo is the movie's idea of wackiness). Bette Midler plays Mona Dearly, a much-hated Verplank resident noted for her ill temper and blatant hostility. She lives with her idiot son Jeff and husband Phil (William Fichtner). One morning, Mona's brakes give out and her Yugo goes over a cliff and into the river. No one seems to mourn her death.

Danny DeVito is a cop investigating a murder in Drowning Mona

Verplank's chief of police is Wyatt Rash (Danny DeVito), a showtune-loving cop whose daughter Ellen (Neve Campbell) is due to marry Bobby (Casey Affleck). Many in town think Bobby killed Mona, since he'd had a fight with her shortly before her death. Other people think it was Phil, or perhaps his mistress (Jamie Lee Curtis). Maybe it was Jeff, although he seems too dim to actually accomplish anything so complicated as murder. Rash begins investigating the case, only to discover that a lot of people had a motive to kill Mona.

Drowning Mona has some amusing comic ideas. For instance, Jeff shows up for Mona's funeral in a Megadeth T-shirt and a sport jacket. I also liked the townspeople's various theories on how Jeff lost his hand (in every version, he was trying to grab a beer). Most of the humor falls flat, though. The jokes are built around Yugos, or running dogs over with lawnmowers, or Phil's sexual fixation with "Wheel of Fortune." Most of the time, the humor never goes far enough. Dark comedy should be daring and edgy, not tame and predictable. Occasionally there are glimpses of edginess, but not enough of them.

It helps somewhat that the cast is uniformly good. Each member works to create a character that is quirky and odd. DeVito is especially good, choosing to portray Rash in a laid-back, low-key way that underscores the strangeness of everyone else. I also liked Campbell and Affleck, who have a bizarre kind of trailer-park chemistry together.

I got a few chuckles out of Drowning Mona, but not many. The actors work overtime to pump life into a silly script. They almost succeed in making it work. I can't quite recommend the film, although I have some fondness for the performances. I have to wonder what so many talented people saw in this screenplay. Didn't they realize that dark comedies live on the border between hilarity and poor taste? Wouldn't they have relished the chance to go to the wall instead of just playing it safe?

( 1/2 out of four)

Drowning Mona is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, language and brief sexuality. The running time is 1 hour and 35 minutes.