Cecil B. Demented (2000) - Rotten Tomatoes

Cecil B. Demented (2000)

Cecil B. Demented (2000)

TOMATOMETER

AUDIENCE SCORE

Critic Consensus: The idea behind John Waters' latest has much potential, but the movie ends up being too sloppy and underdeveloped in terms of script and direction. Also, by today's standards, it fails to shock.

Cecil B. Demented Photos

Movie Info

Cecil B. DeMented goes behind the scenes with a group of obsessed cinema terrorists whose goal in life is to avenge the crass sins of commercial movie culture through acts of brazen filmmaking and vigilante outlaw cinema retribution. As the movie begins, the title character and his "Sprocket Holes" gang kidnap Honey Whitlock, a beloved Hollywood movie star visiting Baltimore for the premiere of her latest blockbuster. Once Whitlock is their prisoner, DeMented and his horny, tattooed crew immediately go into production on Raving Beauty, the ultimate underground movie in which Whitlock is forced to play the insane owner of a failed art theatre. Armed with lights, cameras, heavy artillery and courage to burn, DeMented and his guerrilla production team wreak havoc on the Baltimore film scene, hitting targets from the Maryland Film Commission to penetrating the high-security set of a major big-budget sequel.

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Cast

Stephen Dorff
as Cecil B. Demented
Melanie Griffith
as Honey Whitlock
Alicia Witt
as Cherish
Zenzele Uzoma
as Chardonnay
Mink Stole
as Mrs. Mallory
Patricia Hearst
as Fidget's Mother
Kevin Nealon
as Himself
Eric Barry
as Fidget
Eric Roberts
as Honey's Ex-husband
Judith Knight Young
as Ticket Seller
Ray Felton
as Roy Stillings
Bill Grimmett
as Mayor Adam Fenwick
Jeffrey Wei
as William, boy in wheelchair
Sloane Brown
as Newscaster
Ginger Tipton
as Box Office Lady
Nathan Stolpman
as Ticket taker
Melanie Gorombol
as Candy counter girl
Gary Wheeler
as Theatre manager
Tara Garwood
as Charles Theater girl
Marty Lodge
as Film commissioner
Mark Bernier
as Studio Executive
Patsy Grady Abrams
as Family woman
Rhea Feiken
as Family woman
Shana Gelbard
as Family woman
Susan Lowe
as Family lady
Mary Vivian Pearce
as Family lady
Michael Gabel
as Film delivery driver
Mark Joy
as Fidget's dad
Alan J. Wendl
as Security teamster
Peter Gil
as Director
Eric Richardson
as Director of photography Jean Pierre
Marybeth Wise
as Assistant director
Channing Wilroy
as Shop steward
Dan Morgan
as Teamster
Delaney Williams
as Teamster C
Frank Ferrara
as Teamster
Steve Mack
as Teamster
Scott Morgan
as Groupie
Tim Caggiano
as Moviegoer
Joshua Billings
as Drive-in manager
Terry McCrea
as Evil Jock
Conrad Karlson
as The Psychiatrist
Rosemary Knower
as Cecil's mother
Douglas Roberts
as Cecil's dad
Nat Benchley
as SWAT cop
Dave Trovato
as SWAT cop
Billy Tolzman
as Petie's trick
Jonathan Fiorucci
as Raven's groupie
Christopher Chase
as Mayor's Bodyguard
Paul M. Clary
as Gaffer "Gumped Again"
Jacques Derosena
as Photographer
Jeff Dignan
as Movie Premiere Attendee
Brian Donahue
as Teamster
Melissa Fatto
as Shucks Oysters
Mimi Fletcher
as Movie theatre patron
Graham Gordon
as Heavy Metal Fan #4
Lindsey Jarboe
as Movie Premiere Attendee
Keith Konecke
as Heavy Metal Fan #1
Chilembwe M. Mason
as Movie theater patron
Eddie Page
as Swat Team Member
Jim Page
as Waiter in Kitchen
David Stelzer
as Heavy Metal Fan #2
Tim Sulin
as Heavy Metal Fan #3
John Waters
as Reporter
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Critic Reviews for Cecil B. Demented

All Critics (80) | Top Critics (24)

Where once Waters was brilliantly polluted, now he comes off diluted.

January 1, 2000

A losing battle.

January 1, 2000

The problem with John Waters making a movie about the sorry state of commercial cinema is that his output is only a little more useful than what he's satirizing.

January 1, 2000 | Full Review…
Top Critic

Ends up a sloppy exercise in irritating audiences instead of the sharp satire the story line promises.

January 1, 2000

Not even the reassuring familiarity of the Waters stock company (including Mink Stole, Ricki Lake and, pointedly in this case, Patty Hearst) is enough to fully redeem this effort.

January 1, 2000

Barely coherent mishmash.

January 1, 2000

Audience Reviews for Cecil B. Demented

½

At first, it seems like John Waters wants to make an audacious hate letter to mainstream cinema with some nice moments of brilliance, but then you realize his "revolutionaries" are a bunch of freaking tards and the film gets too over-the-top and all over the place to have a point.

Carlos Magalhães
Carlos Magalhães

Super Reviewer

Full Of GRACE!

Robert C
Robert C

Super Reviewer

½

De-ment-ed For-ev-er!!! I have no clue why people think this is not as good as Waters' other work. So vastly under-rated, waaaay better than Sunset Boulevard or Day of the Locust when it comes to a movie about movies.

_kelly .King
_kelly .King

Super Reviewer

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