In honor of all those leading ladies in our lives, FilmFad presents an eclectic countdown of our Top 5 movies about Mom.
Freddy Mercury sang a ballad to them, William Adolphe Bouguereau immortalized their innocence on canvas, LL Cool J rapped about their advocacy of boxing, so it goes without saying that Moms have been a pretty BIG DEAL since the beginning. Moms come in a variety of flavors. Some are sweet, others are stern, some like to care for the weak, others watch the weakest burn. Some mothers are old and wise, other mothers are young and new, but one thing is for certain and that is moms will do what it is that moms will do. To celebrate the spectrum of motherly love, FilmFad would like to take a brief jog through our Top 5 Favorite Movies About Mom.
5. Big Momma’s House
Moms in disguise.
Some mothers are large and in-charge… and in drag? Martin Lawrence’s franchiser starter ‘Big Momma’s House’ takes mom into a cinematic arena of absurdity with his deliriously decadent deep cover movie momma. When the need arises to protect the beautiful Sherry Pierce (Nia Long) and her son from a nefarious robber (Terrence Howard), male FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) does what any good mom would do and disguises himself as a soulful, full bodied and mouthy grandmother to keep watch over his endangered assignment. Lawrence reminds us that it’s not necessarily the gender that makes for a great mom, it’s the ability to set aside one’s personal feelings to dole out mom-ly compassion and unconditional love… and totally pull-off dressing in drag. In the case of ‘Big Momma’s House,’ Martin Lawrence makes for one GREAT (pun intended) momma. This ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ meets deep cover action/comedy spun off two sequels proving that Big Momma is definitely in the house, or at least in the good graces of movie goers.
4. Baby Mama
New Moms.
On one of their first post ‘Saturday Night Live’ joint movie ventures, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler absurdly explore one woman’s quest for motherhood with a comedian heavy ensemble cast in tow for ‘Baby Mama.’ When the highly-accomplished, yet woefully single, businesswoman (Tina Fey) finds her dreams of having a baby shattered by recent news that she is infertile, she hires an offbeat working class woman as her amusingly unlikely surrogate stand in. While critical and audience reception for the film was meager to mild, the film’s core theme definitley scratches at what it means to be a ‘Baby Mama,’ breast pump and all.
3. Mr. Mom
Appreciating Moms.
Back in the early ’80s this Michael Keaton fueled comedy classic paid appreciation to moms far and wide by showing audiences what happens when dad has to fill those hefty shoes. After getting laid off from work, Keaton, a loving husband, swaps duties. With his wife returning to the workforce and he settling in as a stay-at-home dad, he quickly realises that being a mom is a job he has no clue on how to do. I’d like to think that ‘Mr. Mom’ gave perspective to the audiences of the early 80’s on the importance of what good moms do for us all.
2. Serial Mom
Overprotective Moms.
Moms show love in all kinds of ways. One of those ways is by protecting their beloved family from harm’s way. That can mean anything from keeping her children away from unsavory characters or, you know, murdering the boy who broke her daughter’s heart. In this case dear old mom is Beverly R. Sutphin, played by Kathleen Turner, and her only crime is loving her husband (Sam Waterston) and two children (Ricki Lake and Matthew Lillard). I wonder if this was John Waters tribute to his own mother? Either way, it definitely has all the oddities expected from a Waters film.
1. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
Moms with major firepower.
Estelle Getty is one SLY mom (Pun quite purposefully intended). In this 1992 critical bomb turned offbeat cult classic, Estelle Getty plays sweet dear old mom to gruff police sergeant Joe Bomowski (Sylvester Stallone). When mom comes to visit, Bomowski’s life is turned upside down with her “helpful” efforts. When she ruins her sons side arm, sweet mamma Tutti purchases her son a modified replacement. What she doesn’t realize is that was a black market gun and her and her son just landed in the middle of a big mess. Nevertheless, Tutti is one tough mother and it’s going to take a lot more than a few criminals to slow her down.