Rage, jealousy, murder, and Eastern European automotive engineering combine in this offbeat black comedy. Verplanck, NY, is a small town north of Manhattan that has the dubious distinction of being the Yugo capital of America; the ill-fated import compact was first test-marketed in Verplanck, and nearly everyone in town drives one. So no one finds it unusual when a yellow Yugo is seen floating in the river, though seeing someone trapped inside is out of the ordinary. Verplancks chief of police, Wyatt Rash (Danny De Vito), discovers that the deceased driver was a prominent local citizen, Mona Dearly (Bette Midler), and the evidence suggests that Monas death was no accident. But the investigation into Monas murder is hampered by one rather significant detail: nearly everyone in town hated Mona and wanted her dead. She alienated her son Jeff (Marcus Thomas) and his business partner Bobby (Casey Affleck). Bobbys girlfriend Ellen (Neve Campbell) (who is also Rashs daughter) is convinced that Mona would have tried to drive a wedge into their relationship. Monas husband Phil (William Fichtner) couldnt stand her and fell into an affair with Rona (Jamie Lee Curtis), the waitress at the local diner. And even Rashs sidekick, Deputy Feege (Peter Dobson), spent too much time on the wrong end of Monas temper to care that shes dead. Before long, the question is no longer who is a suspect, but who isnt? Drowning Mona was directed by Nick Gomez, who earned positive notices for his independent films New Jersey Drive and Illtown. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide