Tough and gutsy Texas widow Wilma McClatchie (a splendidly brassy'n'sassy Angie Dickinson, looking mighty fine in her early 40's and frequently out of her wardrobe) and her two equally feisty hottie daughters -- the sexually precocious Billie Jean (adorable blonde sprite Susan Sennett of "The Candy Snatchers") and dim-witted Polly (pretty brunette cutie Robbie Lee of "Switchblade Sisters") -- embark on a wild'n'rowdy crime spree in 30's Depression-era America in order to escape hard times. Accompanying the lovely ladies are charming, but cowardly con man William J. Baxter (the ever-hammy William Shatner sporting a hilariously hokey Southern accent) and ill-tempered bank robber Fred Diller (the hunky Tom Skerrit),who happily jump in the sack with the willing wanton women in between breaking many laws. Directed with tremendously rambunctious gusto by Steve ("An Eye for An Eye") Carver, jam-packed with a pleasing plenitude of car chases, shoot outs, cuss words and tasty gratuitous nudity (even Sally Kirkland as a local harlot and Joan Prather as a snotty heiress the gang abducts doff their duds and bare their beautiful bodies),further enlivened by a ceaseless forward-ho quick pace, a rousing hillbilly bluegrass score by David Grisman, a cheerfully irreverent tone, and nifty supporting turns by Royal Dano as a profanity-spewing preacher and the always terrific Dick Miller as huffy fed Bonney (a sly homage to "Bonnie and Clyde," methinks),"Big Bad Mama" supplies a handy helping of joyous down-home trashy entertainment that's a true treat to watch.

Subtle and wholesome this movie ain't! In fact, it's about the trashiest film I have seen in ages--and I've seen a lot of films!! The characters in the film are 100% awful and low-class--sort of like a 1930s version of the guests from "The Jerry Springer Show"! The film is unapologetically trashy--with boobs (and a whole lot more),cursing, irreverence and rednecks galore! It's obvious that Roger Corman was NOT trying to make a film that would be featured on "Masterpiece Theatre" or in the Criterion Collection!

The film is about 'Mama' (Angie Dickenson) and her two rotten daughters. After starting a fight during a wedding and running off, this lovely brood goes into business selling moonshine and doing anything else they can to earn a buck...and I mean anything. And yet, despite being trashy and wicked to the bone, Mama declares that they are a nice family and refers to her white-trash daughters as "my little girls"--even when they strip in public or sleep around with practically anyone or anything. We are obviously NOT talking about a deep or particularly consistent group of people!

Later, this wholesome family kinda drifts into the bank robbing business. In a genuinely funny scene (one of the few in the film),during their first robbery, another gang also tries to rob the bank at the same time! In the process, one of the gang members are killed and the two gangs merge--with Tom Skerritt now becoming the love interest for Mama. Just a bit later, Mama meets up with William Shatner--and almost immediately jumps into the sack with him. Skerritt isn't pleased and assuages his feelings by jumping in the sack with BOTH of the younguns'. Despite also living during the 1930s, this WON'T be mistaken for "The Waltons"!

In addition to this sick group are two Federal agents--one of which is a perennial actor in Corman films, Dick Miller ("Bucket of Blood" and "Little Shop of Horrors"). Both these agents have the intelligence of maggots and I assume they were added for comic relief--just like Boss Hog and the boys from "The Dukes of Hazard".

This is also obviously NOT a film to show your pastor or rabbi!!! I can also see CC's point--this film is bound to offend ANYONE--particularly religious people. This film is obviously what you might call a "guilty pleasure"--you just turn off your brain (and your sense of moral outrage) and enjoy as best you can. It is especially recommended for people who consider "The Dukes of Hazard" and "Jackass" and "Flesh Gordon" to be fine family entertainment.

So, despite being 100% trashy, is the film worth seeing? I would say for most people, no--mostly because the writing and acting are incredibly broad (i.e, BAD). This simply is a poor and rather vulgar film--though possibly enjoyable in a low-brow sort of way. While some might like such an unapologetically bad film, others might just have their jaws drop in disbelief at the utter awfulness of it all. Of course, stupid people may enjoy this mess of a film. You KNOW this is so when William Shatner's performance is the most subtle and understated in the entire film!!

A couple final notes, and not that it matters as this is NOT a film for purists, but one scene has a picture of J. Edgar Hoover on the wall--circa 1960. A mistake but hardly important considering everything. Also, over a decade later, "Big Bad Mama II" debuted. Considering how the first movie ended, I have no idea how such a sequel could have been possible.

BIG BAD MAMA is an outrageously cheesy 1930s-era crime comedy from producer Roger Corman; think of it as an over-the-top riff on BONNIE & CLYDE and you'll be right. The slick, speedy storyline involves Angie Dickinson as the titular character, a machine gun-toting criminal who, along with her teenage daughters, wreaks havoc throughout rural Texas. Other notable additions to the cast include Dick Miller as a dedicated lawman, Tom Skerritt as a wildman, and the great William Shatner as a shady character who falls in with the outlaws. The film is very much an exploitation picture, with a simple plot, lots of action and movement, and plenty of nudity from the female cast members. It builds up to an insanely violent climax that attempts to go one better than BONNIE & CLYDE and succeeds admirably.