Mother Knows Best

Viewing this was probably the most enjoyable two hours of my life.

I saw this a while back on Channel Five, and couldn't wait to get a copy, but sadly it's not been released on DVD or VHS, so I've hit a dead end. However, next time it's shown, I'll be sure to tape it! It's about a dominating mother who answers an advert in the paper from a boy who wants to find a date, and makes her daughter go out with him. What she doesn't know is that he's got a poor job (by her standards) and so, she sets out to split the two up, leading to inexplicable consequences.

Honestly, if you ever get the chance, give this one a look. You won't be disappointed.

This is a surprisingly okay film that I caught on Lifetime - okay and Lifetime with regard to movies is usually a contradiction in terms, but not this time. Well-cast and directed with a light touch by Larry Shaw, as well as a halfway decent script, "Mother Knows Best" is both entertaining and absorbing.

Based on a true story, the beautiful and talented Joanna Kerns plays Celeste Cooper, a socialite who doesn't like her daughter's husband. He's an auto mechanic instead of a doctor. So she hires someone to kill him. "I want him shot in the head," she instructs the hit-man.

Kerns really elevates this film with her glamor and no-nonsense line deliveries. She approaches the hit as if she's arranging for a catering job. Christine Elise is her daughter and Grant Show her husband, and both are appealing. David Spielberg is Celeste's henpecked husband. Watching his daughter from afar on her wedding day, he cries and says to Celeste, "She reminds me of you the day we were married." "Shut up, George," his wife says.

Good.

We open with the statement, "Although fictionalized, the following dramatization was inspired by actual events." The credits run over some forthcoming scenes, which seem to give away too much of the plot, but really make up for some lack of action during the early running (and give up nothing important). Until the drama picks up excitement, you can revel in the somewhat psychotic performance of perfect mother Joanna Kerns (as Celeste). A wealthy and socialite, Ms. Kerns has just won a "Woman of the Year" award for her charitable and charming good will. She worries about her desirable daughter's lack of manly attention, and places a "personal ad" for pretty blonde Christine Elise (as Laurel Cooper)...

At first Ms. Elise thinks her mother's idea will match her up with a "serial killer," but she goes out on a blind date with the respondent anyway. Elise is thrilled when the man turns out to be handsome entrepreneur Grant Show (as Ted Rogers). Coincidently, Mr. Show reveals his mother encouraged him to answer the personal ad. Elise and Show hit romance head on, and plan to marry. But, mother Kerns has decided Show is unfit for her daughter. He has his own business, but is an automobile mechanic. So, Kerns decides she must break up the young couple, by hook or by crook...

If this really happened, as revealed in the opening and closing, more than a little dramatic license must have been taken. It doesn't matter as this is one of the most fun (and suspenseful) TV movies from the "Lifetime" production team. Everyone is as perfect as Kerns' décor, with hired gunman Sherman Augustus (as Dick Cutler) and soundtrack contributor Patrick Williams standing out. Especially stick with it for Kerns' indignant comeuppance.

******* Mother Knows Best (4/12/97) Larry Shaw ~ Joanna Kerns, Christine Elise, Grant Show, Sherman Augustus

My favorite genre of movies is true crime and this one captures beautifully the reason I enjoy watching them so much. I have seen it many times and could still watch it over and over.

Joanna Kerns plays the role of an overbearing society mother to perfection. The character she plays, Celeste Cooper, has a sense of entitlement and feelings of superiority that leads her into believing she has the right to do anything she wants. Even while plotting the most deceptive and evil schemes, she holds herself with grace and dignity. It's an excellent example of how money and status can warp a person's perception of reality.

The other actors also give quality performances but Kerns is the reason you are likely to never forget this show. I recommend it to everyone, even if you're not a true crime story fanatic like me.

This is one of my favorite Lifetime movies! I would highly recommend it, if you like suspense thrillers. Christine Elise (Emily from 90210) and Grant Show (Jake from Melrose Place) both star in this movie and they are both excellent in it, as is the mother (I forget her real name). This movie has an excellent twist as well! A must-see!