IMDb RATING
6.9/10
7.2K
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A neurotic, twice-divorced sci-fi writer moves back in with his mother to solve his personal problems.A neurotic, twice-divorced sci-fi writer moves back in with his mother to solve his personal problems.A neurotic, twice-divorced sci-fi writer moves back in with his mother to solve his personal problems.
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- 3 wins & 5 nominations total
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This is a great movie that is a lot of fun. I really liked Debbie Reynolds, who I think deserved a Best Supporting Actress award for her performance. Her comic timing is perfect.
Albert Brooks is great too. He reminds somewhat of Woody Allen, playing a neurotic science fiction writer who gets writer's block. He moves back home with Mom (Reynolds) in hopes of breaking the block.
The interplay between these two great actors is marvelous, thanks to a wonderful Brooks script.
One other comment I will add is that there is practically nothing in this movie to find offensive or objectionable. Good, clean fun, with many laughs.
Brooks more recent movie, "The Muse" featured a similar theme of a writer whose talents are temporarily stifled. I wonder if there is any autobiography to Brooks' scripts, but I am sure there is not, for his stories are often full of wonderfully funny moments.
I really recommend "Mother".
Albert Brooks is great too. He reminds somewhat of Woody Allen, playing a neurotic science fiction writer who gets writer's block. He moves back home with Mom (Reynolds) in hopes of breaking the block.
The interplay between these two great actors is marvelous, thanks to a wonderful Brooks script.
One other comment I will add is that there is practically nothing in this movie to find offensive or objectionable. Good, clean fun, with many laughs.
Brooks more recent movie, "The Muse" featured a similar theme of a writer whose talents are temporarily stifled. I wonder if there is any autobiography to Brooks' scripts, but I am sure there is not, for his stories are often full of wonderfully funny moments.
I really recommend "Mother".
Mother is a beautiful movie, in that it gives us an insight to our relationships with our parents. While I am not female, things might be a little different for daughters, but as a son, I can see the same behaviors that have cultivated in my mother. And she can see it in her mother. My girlfriend can see it in her mother, and her grandmother. While the comedy is a little dry, and actually slightly confusing on the initial viewing, if you return to the movie after a year or so, it will make complete sense. It only gets better after that. I can understand being underwhelmed by this movie the first time. Please don't judge it too harshly. I know I would have rated it a 6 or so when I first saw it, and now I've given it a 9. Maybe I should explain why it doesn't get a 10. There are a few sequences that should have been altered. I found the date scene to be a little too long, and the Mrs Robinson sequence should have been almost completely eliminated. It is a painfully bad gag, and the humor of it is something that can only be appreciated by those of a certain mind set. Don't worry, I'm not insulting you if you like it.
Albert's Brooks' comedy 'Mother' is frequently hilarious, with some cracking dialogue, and highly perceptive: few viewers will fail to recognise some aspect of their relationships with their family in its portrayal of its eponymous central character and her middle-aged son, played by Brooks himself. But in taking their interaction as its principal subject, instead of using it as a backdrop to a wider story, the film chooses to pursue limited ambitions, and there's a level of contrivance necessary to support this narrow focus: while, at a micro-level, the film is perfect, the overall plot makes less sense, and the ending is a little pat. Not a great film; but one guaranteed to make you smile.
I think Albert Brooks did a wonderful job with this film. Portraying all the odd little things that happen in our relationships with our respective mothers. We all have those moments where we look at her and can't believe that we were spawned from her loins. The ways that at any age, she can reduce us to about 9 years old and completely humiliate and embarrass the hell out us at a moments notice.
Debbie Reynolds is magnificent as the mother, she has that maniacal sense of motherly perfection that all of our mother's, at the very least, attempt to portray.
Rob Morrow is also hilarious as the jealous younger brother. Every scene between him and Brooks is a laugh riot, because they both seem to regress to their younger days when they would fight over toys and the remote control.
All in all, I think it is something everyone can relate to on some sense. We have all had one or two of these moments with our mothers and it is more than likely they will happen again.
Debbie Reynolds is magnificent as the mother, she has that maniacal sense of motherly perfection that all of our mother's, at the very least, attempt to portray.
Rob Morrow is also hilarious as the jealous younger brother. Every scene between him and Brooks is a laugh riot, because they both seem to regress to their younger days when they would fight over toys and the remote control.
All in all, I think it is something everyone can relate to on some sense. We have all had one or two of these moments with our mothers and it is more than likely they will happen again.
My mother was always a fan of Debbie Reynolds, so I took her to the theater to see this film when it came out. I must agree with everyone else who states that Debbie Reynolds should have been recognized by the Academy for this film. She nailed the part so perfectly, that sitting there, watching her on the screen with my own mom in the seat next to me, all I could think of was "My God, they're twins!"
Did you know
- TriviaDirector/writer/actor Albert Brooks asked Nancy Reagan (who previously acted under the name Nancy Davis) to play the part of his mother. Nancy really wanted to come out of acting retirement to play the role, but declined allegedly because she couldn't bear to be away from husband and former president Ronald Reagan, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Also on Brooks' list of former actresses to play his mother was Doris Day, but she showed no interest in coming out of acting retirement. Brooks is an old friend of actress/writer Carrie Fisher, and he knew her famous mother (Debbie Reynolds) through her. (Debbie used to try to pair Albert and Carrie off for marriage.) Brooks was looking for a big-name actress from the past and called Fisher to see if she thought her mother would accept the role. Fisher said yes, as did Reynolds.
- GoofsThe "original" baseball card that Jeff tells John is worth $50,000 clearly has the words "Reprint Series" visible on the back, which means it wouldn't be worth more than one dollar in 1996.
- Quotes
Beatrice Henderson: I love you.
John Henderson: I know you think you do, Mother.
- SoundtracksMrs. Robinson
by Paul Simon
Special lyrics by Albert Brooks & Monica Mcgowan Johnson (as Monica Johnson)
Performed by Steve Lively & Jess Harnell
Produced by Marc Shaiman
- How long is Mother?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $19,145,198
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $137,701
- Dec 29, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $19,145,198
- Runtime
- 1h 44m(104 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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