Go to the "Mother" Page

A Motherlode of Humor

In "Mother," which I assure you -- right now in January -- is the funniest movie you’ll see all year, science fiction novelist John Henderson (Albert Brooks) is suffering from writer’s block and failed relationships. Stumped for ideas and bewildered over all those girlfriends who lacked belief in him, Henderson decides to psychoanalyze his problems.

He took a wrong turn in his life, he concludes. And he knows exactly who was directing traffic at that crucial intersection: Mother.

Brooks, creator of such satiric gems as "Real Life," "Lost in America" and "Defending Your Life," and the runaway star in "Broadcast News," lives and breathes funny. The Andre Previn of modern-day angst, he raises his baton (with a sort of world-weary authority) and leads a comically layered concerto full of whining lamentations and note-perfect one-liners, giving us the distinct feeling that -- in his own way -- he speaks for all of us.

In this comedy, which Brooks wrote with regular collaborator Monica Johnson, Henderson is a walking, open wound, constantly vulnerable to his mother’s semiconscious and fully conscious insults and put-downs. He concludes that his only solution is to move back in with Mother, figure out what she’s all about, and somehow put his life back on course.

He’s taking a bold step. Beatrice (Debbie Reynolds), his mother, is a disarmingly heedless destroyer of sons, including one more amusing face in this simple family picture: John’s brother, Jeff (Rob Morrow), known to Mrs. Henderson’s peers as "the successful one," who’s at least as emotionally messed up as his sib.

The fun of the thing is watching the interplay between Brooks and Reynolds, who perform together like, well, family. Dysfunctional family, of course. Understandably, she doesn’t take well to her son’s harebrained scheme to move in, redo his bedroom like the good old teenage days, and spend quality time with her. And the vegetarian, health-conscious John really doesn’t want to swallow the disgusting, generic-brand food she’s been stashing away in the freezer for years.

As these strong-willed individuals joust verbally with each other, the "blame" for John’s frazzled psyche shifts constantly from one opponent to the other.

"I love you," Beatrice tells John, just after she has implied that she doesn’t think much of his recent sci-fi book.

"I know you think you do," says John, as sweetly and gently as possible.

"Maybe when you stopped eating meat," she hypothesizes later, "your writing became a little thinner."

We know Brooks is funny. But the twinkly eyed, almost devilish Reynolds is the comic rediscovery here, not only as John’s sweet-natured tormentor but as a technological klutz who can’t even deal with such modern conveniences as call waiting. When she’s on the line with John, a second call comes in. She keeps attempting to put John on hold, only to get him again.

"Hello?" she says.

"It’s still me," says John. She tries again. "It’s still me," he says again. Confronted with the newfangled, video-image telephone her son Jeff has given her, she’s unable to position her head in the right place to be picked up in the lens.

Dramatically, "Mother" solves John’s whole dilemma a little too conveniently at the end; and the big secret behind Beatrice’s psychological front amounts to a neat and tidy explanation. Morrow’s nerdy, neurotic performance has its moments, although it’s never allowed to truly develop; he’s a distant figure in the overall scheme of things. But "Mother" has too many comedic rewards for minor quibbles like these. There’s something to savor all the time—like the insidiously conceived revenge John wreaks on his mother for embarrassing him in public. (It’s one of the biggest laughs in the movie.) When you pass by the well-known lingerie store where this delicate vengeance takes place, you’ll be unable to stifle a silent chuckle.

MOTHER (PG-13) — Contains discussion of sex, but nothing truly offensive -- except the cheese Mrs. Henderson keeps in her freezer.