Mother

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!"

This is one of those movies that's like watching a play on a movie screen, and what an enjoyable play it is. Through deft writing and flawless acting, this film manages to capture the subtle psychological warfare taking place b/t Brooks and his family. Also to his credit, the Brooks character is far from flawless or blameless that the relationship has become such an emotional wasteland. A gentle giant.

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.

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.

With "Mother," director Albert Brooks has given us another great comedic filmmaking triumph. The acting is terrific, the laughs come at a fairly steady pace, and, like all great comedies, it has an inner meaning underneath all the smirks and giggles.

Brooks co-wrote, directed, and starred in this one, playing the somewhat unsuccessful science-fiction novelist John Henderson (he's contstantly being compared to Stephen King) who blames his problems with women on Mom. Therefore, he decides to move back in with Mother (played by Debbie Reynolds, whom Brooks somehow lured back to the big screen) and figure out their problems. What ensues might have been sitcom-style laughs, but Brooks and co-writer Monica Johnson know better than that; the laughs are pretty fast-paced but their well-observed ranting as opposed to tasteless wisecracks.

The keys to the film, however, are Brooks and Reynolds, the latter which brings a special emotional undertone to a role that would have been played as all sap by any other actress. Check "Mother" out; if you want smart, funny humor and even a tad bit of drama, you should enjoy it immensely. Rated PG-13. 104 minutes. 8 out of 10.