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Catch a movie with mom
[Photo: Paramount Pictures]
Terms of endearment |
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 9, 2002
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The mother of all gift lists
She gave you a million things. Now it's your turn. Here are some suggestions.
From Marmee to Vivi
Books are always a good gift choice. New books ideal for Mother's Day were featured on Sunday in the Times' book pages. Check them out on www.sptimes.com. Moms with a taste for the tried and true might appreciate these suggestions:
Moms with attitude
Forget Donna Reed. Today's TV mothers -- though still caring and nurturing -- are bolder, smarter and tougher.
Mother's Day specials
Some places offer special Mother's Day deals. See Get Away calendar for hours, admission prices and other details:
Catch a movie with mom
"M" is for the movies that she showed me. "O" is for the others I sneaked by her. "T" is for the theaters we visited, "H" is for the home where we returned, "E" is for everything I owe her and "R" is suitable only for viewers over 17 unless accompanied by parents, hopefully ones who care as much as mine.
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"M" is for the movies that she showed me. "O" is for the others I sneaked by her. "T" is for the theaters we visited, "H" is for the home where we returned, "E" is for everything I owe her and "R" is suitable only for viewers over 17 unless accompanied by parents, hopefully ones who care as much as mine.
Put them all together and they spell "mother." In honor of my mom and all those loved just as much by their children, here's a special list of home video picks for your Mother's Day viewing pleasure:
The Joy Luck Club -- The personal histories of four Asian women and their Americanized daughters create a deeply emotional tapestry crafted by director Wayne Wang. Regardless of culture, this is a great reminder of sacrifices made by mothers and sometimes ignored by their children until it's too late to thank them. Terms of Endearment -- Aurora Greenway, played by Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine, may be Hollywood's finest maternal creation: loving to hilarious fault, devoted beyond death, and still pretty frisky when a randy astronaut (Jack Nicholson) comes into her life. Laugh one minute and bawl like a baby the next. Mother -- Albert Brooks plays a struggling writer forced to move back into Mom's nest. Debbie Reynolds delivers the best performance of her long, storied career as a motherly honey bee with a stinging tongue underneath all that sweetness. Mask -- Raising physically or mentally challenged children can bring out the best in mothers, even if they aren't June Cleaver. A single, biker-gang mom (Cher) devotes her life to a massively deformed son (Eric Stoltz), doing all the right things, sometimes in spite of herself. The last best movie Peter Bogdanovich made before The Cat's Meow. Mrs. Miniver -- Greer Garson won an Academy Award -- and set the record for longest acceptance speech -- as a British matriarch standing up for her family against Nazi bombs. Freudian alert: Garson later married the actor (Richard Ney) who played her son. Winston Churchill reportedly claimed this movie did more for the war effort than a flotilla of destroyers. Baby Boom -- From the yuppie era comes Diane Keaton as a go-go career woman who receives an unusual inheritance: a baby girl. Her first impulse is to run, then to nurture. Can she have it all? Only by making the perfect apple sauce. Postcards from the Edge -- A movie star needing rehab (Meryl Streep) turns to her mother (MacLaine again) for support. Thing is, Mom was a movie star, too, so her daughter's problems seem like show business as usual. Mike Nichols directed this valentine with sandpaper borders. Stella Dallas -- Divorced mother (Barbara Stanwyck) leading a shallow life makes the ultimate sacrifice for her daughter. One of the all-time great tear-jerkers. Parenthood -- Mary Steenburgen has her hands full holding the Buckman family together. Three generations of maternal instincts and offspring resistance collide in Ron Howard's comedy, from Helen Shaw's crabby matriarch to Steenburgen and Diane Weist's yuppie love to Martha Plimpton's impending, possibly unwed, pregnancy. The men in their lives (Steve Matin, Jason Robards, Keanu Reeves, Rick Moranis) can only stand and stammer. Stepmom -- A terminally ill mother (Susan Sarandon) copes with cancer, her already grieving children and the woman (Julia Roberts) who'll replace her in their lives. Not as schmaltzy as it sounds, and the performances are excellent. Mr. Mom -- Men who believe homemakers have it easy should keep a copy of this comedy handy. Michael Keaton walks a few miles in those shoes for all of us and, boy, do his feet hurt. After this movie, taking out the garbage is a breeze and one day for celebrating mothers doesn't seem like enough.
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