The day after Father’s Day I did a post on Fathers On Film; since yesterday was Mother’s Day I would now like to do a post on mothers in the movies. I actually had a difficult time compiling a list of mothers, because mothers tend to get a bad reputation in the movies. Consider the following movies: A Patch Of Blue, Mommie Dearest, Friday The 13th, Ordinary People, Psycho - just to name a few. All of these movies feature a mother that is either cruel, abusive, bigoted or just plain psychotic! And maybe I will do a future post about THOSE kind of mothers; but today I want to focus on the good mothers in movies; the kind, supportive, courageous, sacrificing mothers. Here are the memorable mothers that have been featured in some of my favorite movies, in alphabetical order:
Butterflies Are Free (1972)
This comedy-drama focuses on a young blind man named Don (Edward Albert) and his whirlwind relationship with the girl living in the apartment next to him (played by Goldie Hawn). Their romance is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Don’s mother, Mrs. Baker (Eileen Heckart, who won a well-deserved Oscar for this role). She is a domineering, overprotective woman, determined to have her son move back home. Yet during the movie Mrs. Baker begins to realize the importance of allowing her son to make it on his own. She recognizes this when Don is faced with sudden heartache and betrayal and decides to come home with her. It is then that Mrs. Baker changes her mind and encourages Don to stay and continue his new life away from her. She truly loves her son and know that he will be all right and that he will be able to build a stable, independent life and be a great success at whatever he wants to be.
A Christmas Story (1983)
I’ve mentioned before that this is one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies, but I’d like to focus on the character Mrs. Parker, Ralphie’s mom (Melinda Dillon, in a terrific performance). Throughout the movie Mrs. Parker does her best to keep things in order in the house, dealing with her blowhard, but lovable husband (Darren McGavin) and her two young boys. She may seem like a stern, uncompromising mother, especially when she refuses to let Ralphie get his ultimate Christmas gift (a Red Ryder BB gun), constantly telling poor Ralphie “you’ll shoot your eye out!”; but then there is a sweet moment when Mrs. Parker finds Ralphie in a huge fight with the local bully. She brings him home, helps clean him up, calms him down, consoles him, and then does the coolest thing: she doesn’t rat him out to the father, so Ralphie ends up not being punished for being in a fight! What a great mom!
The Sixth Sense (1999)
I’ve also mentioned this movie before, as one of my all-time favorite frightening movies. And once again there is a supporting character that I want to focus on; the mother of the boy “who sees dead people” - Lynn Sear, played by Toni Collette. Collette was deservedly nominated for an Academy Award for her beautiful and strong performance as Cole’s mother, a single parent working two jobs and struggling to help her troubled son. She has such love for her son and she becomes fiercely protective of him. When Cole is tormented at a kid’s birthday party, Lynn makes a late night call to the parents and basically tells them off! Don’t ever threaten or hurt her kid! And throughout the movie Lynn tells Cole to “look at my face” in order for him to see how much she loves him, how she doesn’t think he is a freak, and to prove that she is not mad at him. At the end of the movie when Cole opens up to his mother, Lynn breaks down in tears and embraces him and reaffirms her love for him. It is so beautiful and touching!
Steel Magnolias (1989)
This is one of the ultimate tear-jerkers for me, and yet it is also one of the funniest movies I’ve seen. This movie features an amazingly talented ensemble of actors: Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts and Sally Field. Sally Field portrays M’lynn, the mother of Julia Roberts’ character Shelby. M’lynn is very protective of Shelby, who is diabetic, and while she does not support her daughter’s decision to have a child she remains devoted and loving towards Shelby. Then tragedy strikes when complications from her diabetes causes Shelby’s kidneys to fail. In need of a kidney transplant it is her mother who comes to her aid, making this incredible sacrifice. I don’t want to give anything away about the movie (for those who have not seen it), but I will say that Field is so exceptional in this role, playing such a compassionate yet strong woman, willing to do whatever it takes to help her daughter.
Terms Of Endearment (1983)
Speaking of tear-jerkers, this is another favorite of mine that is also quite funny. I love the experience of laughing between the tears, crying between the laughs. Shirley MacLaine received the Best Actress Oscar for her fine work as Aurora Greenway, a widowed mother with a tumultuous relationship with her only child, Emma (played by Debra Winger). Aurora is a very demanding, critical parent, and yet she loves her daughter without fail. Aurora may not seem like the type of mother that you would want to sympathize with, but even with her flaws she becomes quite the pillar of strength when Emma is diagnosed with cancer. One of the most powerful scenes in the movie is when Aurora practically has a meltdown with one of the nurses when she insists it is time to give her daughter a shot to ease her pain. She screams at the nurse to “give my daughter the shot!” and then calmly, quietly thanks the nurse. It's a moment that is funny, yet also very emotional!
"Laughing between the tears and crying between the laughs" ... with those words you've just described my favorite parts of dramedies. And you picked some excellent movies to depict this, but even better do they display all the goodness we've come to expect from our mothers.
ReplyDeleteSo glad we share such a great mom! :)