We young people always complain that our parents don't understand us. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we tend to see things from our own perspective, and sometimes forget to walk a mile in their shoes before we can understand them. How much do we know really know about our own parents anyway? How often do we sit down and ask them the questions they always seem to want to know about us?
Albert Brooks's Mother is about a man who moves back in with his mother in order to understand her better. This sounds at first like it has all the markings of a crummy Hallmark Movie of the Week, but it's surprisingly comical and is finely tuned to details we probably take for granted in our everyday lives. Take, for example, a kitchen scene when the son (Brooks) is being offered one item of food after another by his mother (Debbie Reynolds). She obviously means well, but the son exclaims, "Stop. No more food. It's like Fantasia." The film has lots of true moments like that, and it's these little touches that keep it afloat.
Brooks plays a sci-fi author named John Henderson, who has recently divorced for the second time. He's tried to jump back into the dating scene (there's a very funny sequence where he takes a ditzy Lisa Kudrow to dinner and ends up with disastrous results), but he can't seem to make things work. After calling his mother, he realizes he could never seem to make things work with her either, and tries a little experiment. He moves into his old room at the house (taking out all his old toys and gadgets), and hangs out with her. Mother, however, is never really impressed at this, because she has always favoured her other son, Jeff (Rob Morrow). I like the way Jeff and his mother appear so sure of themselves at the offset and John appears to have no direction, yet somehow, these roles get reversed. John points out some interesting characteristics within his family, like a confident shrink about to pinpoint a diagnosis. He ironically becomes the most self-aware character and by rocking the family boat, he helps them discover a bit about themselves.
Reynolds ably handles the material her part offers, but Brooks definitely wins the most kudos. He tackles the lead role, assumes directorial duties and penned the sharp screenplay with Monica Johnson. Plus, his character goes shopping for underwear with his mom, and that alone deserves the Purple Heart for humiliation.
There's a lot to relate to in Mother, and the subject matter flirts with becoming serious or sad, but thankfully never does. Onscreen, Brooks and Reynolds do everyday things together, such as going to the grocery store, going to the zoo, or trying to use a picture phone. In these scenes, we recognize the quirky little things in life that, in hindsight, cause us either to smile with familiarity or fume with frustration.
