Mother (1996/II)

Director:

Albert Brooks

Writers (WGA):

Albert Brooks (written by) &
Monica Mcgowan Johnson (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

No Actual Mothers Were Harmed During The Making Of This Motion Picture.

Plot:

A neurotic, twice divorced sci-fi writer moves back in with his mom to solve his personal problems.

Plot Keywords:

Directed By Star | Author | Mother Son Relationship | Sibling Rivalry | Eccentric

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins

Cast

Paul Collins	...	Lawyer
Laura Weekes	...	Karen Henderson
Albert Brooks	...	John Henderson
John C. McGinley	...	Carl
Debbie Reynolds	...	Beatrice Henderson
Richard Assad	...	TV Installer
Joey Naber	...	TV Installer
Vanessa Williams	...	Donna
Lisa Kudrow	...	Linda
Rob Morrow	...	Jeff Henderson
Isabel Glasser	...	Cheryl Henderson
Danielle Quinn	...	Jill Henderson
Spencer Klein	...	Josh Henderson
Ernie Lively	...	Man at Rest Stop (as Ernie Brown)
Anne Haney	...	Helen

Also Known As:

Eema (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Kaiken takana on äiti (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Luuseri (Finland) (video title) [fi]
Mãe (Portugal) [pt]
Mãe é Mãe (Brazil) [pt]
Maman (Canada: French title) [fr]
Mamma (Sweden) [sv]
Mamma torno a casa (Italy) [it]
Manías de mamá, Las (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Iceland:L | Finland:S | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Kentfield, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Director/writer/actor Albert Brooks asked Nancy Reagan (who used to act under the name Nancy Davis) to play the part of his mother. Nancy really wanted to come out of acting retirement to play the role, but declined because she couldn't bear to be away from husband and former president Ronald Reagan, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Also on Brooks' list of former actresses to play his mother was Doris Day, but she showed no interest in coming out of acting retirement. Brooks is an old friend of actress/writer Carrie Fisher, and he knew her famous mother (Debbie Reynolds) through her. (Debbie used to try to pair Albert and Carrie off for marriage.) Brooks was looking for a big-name actress from the past and called Fisher to see if she thought her mother would accept the role. Fisher said yes, as did Reynolds.

Quotes:

Beatrice Henderson: We're not intimate dear. We just have sex occasionally.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Mike Myers/Aerosmith (#22.16)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Fascination

Brooks' Dry Humor Enjoyable

I enjoy Albert Brooks' dry sense of humor so much I almost made this video a "keeper," but it fell just short of that status. His unique brand of humor, ultra-sarcastic at times but very low-key, is refreshing at times.

Although this film is almost all talk and there are some lulls, it still maintained my interest. What I didn't like was the worldly outlook on things, a little too much pro-feminist ending and about seven usages of the Lord's name in vain. The latter is too much for a comedy, especially co-starring a classic-era actress in Debbie Reynolds.

I enjoyed seeing the town of Sausolito again. I had done some sightseeing in the San Francisco area the year before I saw this film and was very impressed with Sausolito.

Outside of those Bay-area scenes and Brooks' humor, however, the movie is nothing special. It's worth a rental.