Martha, Inc.

Meee-owww! It's the rise and fall of Martha Stewart: from a manipulative little kid, crushing her eight-year-old competition at the bake fair, to a grabby, greedy, calculating Terminator, the boss from hell who's rude to her fans, worse to her staff, and an absolute bitch with her friends and family. Martha, Inc., written by Suzette Couture and directed by Jason Ensler with catty glee, finds Cybill Shepherd flinging herself into the role of the domestic diva with a hammy, scenery-chewing panache, throwing tantrums over merlot and low-thread-count K-Mart sheets in a performance on a par with Faye Dunaway's Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest. Hardly a sympathetic portrayal by any means, this made-for-TV flick nevertheless does have heart enough to wonder whether Stewart really deserves the dragging through the mud--and the courts--she's receiving now over her ill-timed stock trades. An instant camp classic, this is recommended. (M. Johanson)