Mother (1996) Reviews

Is underappreciated one word? I'm not sure. If you watch this movie, listen to this movie. Watch it more than once. The dialog, while subtle is brilliant, which is too over used to be helpful. It is witty and clever and lets you see who these complicated people really are. I have seen it many times and I laugh out loud still. Debbie Reynolds is perfection. This is the movie you want to show to your mother so she'll see what she does to you, but you don't cos she just won't get it.
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Albert Brooks is at his best in this film and Debbie Reynolds was really perfect as she underacted as opposed to doing the charicature of a Jewish mother. The scene with the cheese and the ice cream is truly one of the funnier scenes I've seen in a long time. The true humor lies with the two brothers and their relationship with their mother. Brooks is supposed to be the "neurotic" one and his "successful brother" the picture of a stable guy with his house and 2.5 children who obviously has a problem when his brother chooses to move-in with mom to try to figure out how he became the man he is. The premise was wonderful and very well presented and I often saw visions of my own brother as the successful, mentally healthy child, with me being the out-of-control one on my own quest to find out the ever pressing question: "how did I get to be this way?" An very funny and enjoyable movie that reminds one of their own quest for their identity in relation to their siblings.
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A bit slow in spots, but generally a very good film. Not as good as "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World," but a close second. This is a definite must-see for any Albert Brooks fan. Debbie Reynolds and Rob Morrow were great. Albert Brooks wasn't bad either!
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