With his film Mother’s Day, ensemble-cast impresario Garry Marshall has created the perfect Mother’s Day gift: a movie night out with mom that’s all about her (no overpriced bouquet needed).
Jennifer Aniston stars as a single mom looking for a new start, Kate Hudson is a woman looking to strengthen the relationship with her own mother and Julia Roberts is a TV presenter focusing on her career. Co-starring Jason Sudeikis and Timothy Olyphant, it’s the story of four families who come together and fall apart leading up to Mother’s Day.
And while you’re in the mommy mood, here are 10 other films to dig out that celebrate and vilify the mothers in your life:
Edward Scissorhands
When she discovers a pale-faced monster (Johnny Depp) with gardening shears for hands living alone on the fringes of her neighbourhood, Avon lady Peg (Dianne Wiest) goes into full ’50s sitcom-mom mode, bringing him home to live with her family — much to the initial chagrin of rebel daughter Winona Ryder — and setting him up with some great Avon products. A mother’s love is a monster’s salvation in this Tim Burton fairy tale, even when a judgmental society threatens to slash it all to pieces.
Alien
In 1986 James Cameron created sci-fi’s best heroine — and most ferocious adoptive mom — in Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, who takes maternal responsibility for Newt (Carrie Henn) and doing battle with another mother, an alien insect spawning pods of creatures that keep killing off the humans aboard Ripley’s ship. That leads to the famous mom-versus-mom smackdown between Ripley and the alien, complete with memorable battle cry: “Get away from her, you bitch!”
Philomena
Stephen Frears adapted this true story of a working-class Irish woman (Judi Dench) on a quest to find the son who, 50 years earlier, she was forced to give up for adoption. “I’ve thought of him every day.” Co-starring Steve Coogan, the film is in turns funny and weepy, both a criticism of Catholic nuns in the 1950s and a testament to a mother’s unwavering devotion.
Rosemary’s Baby
Mothers in horror films have much to endure, and none more so than Rosemary (Mia Farrow) in Roman Polanski’s 1968 hit: Rosemary’s husband (John Cassavetes) gives the OK for the devil to have sex with his wife, if only he can get a starring role in a play. Torment and soul-searching ensue during the pregnancy, not to mention the true horror of childbirth. But the serene smile on Rosemary’s face as she looks upon her demon-baby for the first time speaks to the power of a mother’s undying love.
Sounder
Dad is full of wisdom, too, but it’s mom (Cicely Tyson) who is forced to keep her family together during the Depression after her husband is unjustly sent away to labour camp. Rebecca must try to put food on the table while navigating a cruel white power system. The film earned Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Picture nominations.
Animal Kingdom
Jacki Weaver earned an Oscar nomination as the twisted matriarch of her little Australian crime family, consisting of her three sons and teenage nephew, brought into the fold after the overdose of his mother. “Smurf” gives orders of armed robbery and murder to her sons even as she snuggles on their laps, and when her nephew threatens to spill all to a detective (Guy Pearce), a most un-motherly edict is given.
The Kids Are Alright
Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star as a couple whose kids (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) go on a quest to find their biological father in this Best Picture contender. Dad (Mark Ruffalo) proves to be more than the family had bargained for. An uplifting family comedy-drama.
Sophie’s Choice
A young Holocaust survivor’s story unravels in flashbacks during the course of the film, culminating in the famous, horrific choice that no mother wishes to make. Upon boarding the trains for concentration camps, a Nazi commander propositions Sophie (Meryl Streep) and tells her she may keep either her young son or young daughter, not both. Sophie breathes but is barely alive, tormented by a mother’s worst nightmare.
Terms of Endearment
Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger are mother and daughter who frequently clash, especially after a marriage that mom disapproves of. As mom Aurora navigates her own new relationship with a neighbour (Jack Nicholson), daughter Emma gets sick, and apologies and deathbed amends need to be made in the weepiest movie ending ever.
Mommie Dearest
Come on, it had to be mentioned! Nothing will make you feel better about your relationship with your own mother than watching Faye Dunaway go gaga over wire hangers in this 1981 biopic about Joan Crawford. Hangers is the most oft-remembered scene, but Dunaway’s performance throughout became the guidebook for abusive mom-portrayals for years to come.
