MOTHER
US, 1996, 104 minutes, Colour.
Albert Brooks, Debbie Reynolds, Rob Morrow, Lisa Kudrow, John C. Mc Ginley.
Directed by Albert Brooks.
The comedies of the doleful Albert Brooks (Real Life, Defending Your Life) are an acquired taste. He seems to get the worst deals out of life (though he has a fair wit to express all this), hang-dog and harrassed. Here he is a 40-something adolescent best-seller author who feels so put down by his mother that he decides to move back in with her to try to get over his problems with her. Mother is played by Debbie Reynolds (at 64), a mixture of the obtuse, the quietly domineering, not knowing how she puts down her son. However, both he and the audience learn more about Mother and find she is a more complex character that we imagined. This is definitely a matter of taste comedy which some will find over-contrived and moderately funny. Others will find this chapter of Brooks' woes entertaining and enjoy Debbie Reynolds. I did. As the ad says, Mother misunderstands you best.
1.The comedies of Albert Brooks, his skill as a writer, director, star? The parallels with the Woody Allen style? Lugubrious but comic?
2.The California settings, homes, work, supermarkets? Authentic and realistic? The musical score, the range of songs?
3.The title of the film, the focus? Debbie Reynolds as Mother, her long career, her reputation, her style of performance?
4.John and his work, sad, frustrated, his relationships with his brother, with his mother, the contrast between them? At home, arguing, his mother interfering? The effect on him? The confrontations, the outings? John discovering more about his mother?
5.Debbie Reynolds as Beatrice, her age, experience? At home, her thrift? Her continued criticisms? Her not realising how much she interfered? Her relationships with her two sons? The visits, going out? Correcting John? Her way of talking, at home? Games and manipulation?
6.The fact of her writing, her giving it up, her marriage, her life, her continuing to write? John discovering this, reading it, the truth about his mother’s frustrations, her suppressing these, her life, the touches of bitterness?
7.The themes of writing, creative writing, change, the fact that it was not too late?
8.Jeff, his family, his relationship with his wife? The family, relationship with John? Comparisons, rivalries, reconciliation?
9.John, his mother urging him to go out, the dates? The character of Linda, Donna, the relationships?
10.The supporting characters, Carl, the contribution to the atmosphere of the film? Comedy?
11.A blend of crises and emotion, childhood traumas, relationships, mother and son relationships, discovery of the truth – and coming to terms with relationships and life?
