The Mom Crowd

It seems that I’ve been catching a lot of flicks lately that involve mother-child relationships.  I guess it’s a common theme in storytelling: the power of a mother’s love, and the ties that bind a mother and her child together.   

If you like watching movies and spending time with your mom, here are some movies you might enjoy seeing together for a moms’ night in:

• Under the Same Moon.  Recently released on dvd, this is about a young boy separated from his mother.  He’s in Mexico with his ill grandmother, and she’s in California trying to make a new life for them.  Eventually, she was hoping she could have him join her in the States.  This story is centered around current immigration issues and the hardships of poor families trying to survive in an unfriendly culture.  The little boy is adorable, and I enjoyed watching him interact with everyone he came into contact with.  It’s An American Tail for grownups.  Here’s the trailer:

• Mamma Mia!  Also just released on dvd.  How many of you went and saw this in the theater?  Were there any men anywhere?    I saw this on a girls’ night out and couldn’t stop laughing.  It’s definitely fun and silly, perfect for a night with your musical-loving mom.  A friend of mine recently shared with me that she watched this two times in a row with her mom, using the dvd’s sing-along feature.  Mother-daughter bonding at its finest!    Here’s a brief bit from a touching scene with Meryl Streep (as mother Donna) and Amanda Seyfried (as daughter Sophie):

• The Visitor.  Another tale of immigration woes, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie starring Academy Award-nominee (for this role) Richard Jenkins.  He befriends a Syrian musician named Tarek, who is detained in New York City for his illegal status.  Halfway through the movie, Tarek’s mother appears, and her character is a gentle study in the measure of a mother’s love.  If you can’t see this with your mom, see it with anyone.  It’s very, very good.  See from the trailer, which makes me cry:

• The Mirror Has Two Faces.  Ever since I’ve started writing for The Mom Crowd, I’ve looked for a way to mention this oldie-but-goodie directed by and starring Barbra Streisand.  I watch it about once a year.  Barbra is Rose Morgan, a single and brilliant literature professor who falls for a geeky, handsome math professor on the same New York campus (I think it’s Columbia U.).  Lurking in the background of this experimental relationship is Rose’s mother, played by the legendary Lauren Bacall (Academy Award nominee for this role).  The mother-daughter relationship in this story is fascinating to me – Bacall is all high-fashion glamour, and Rose is the “ugly-duckling” daughter at odds with her.  Rose’s transformation from an insecure lonelyheart into a self-confident woman hinges on a single key scene with her mom.  Watch for it.  Here’s another favorite scene, both for the mother-daughter dynamic I’ve described and because Jeff Bridges is so sweet in it (first 3 minutes):

What are your favorite mother-child movies?  Any favorites you like to watch with Mom?  Are you now humming “Mamma Mia”?  Is it weird that Pierce Brosnan appears in two of the four movies I’ve listed?