gce2308 OMG. How did some people rate this movie highly? This old (1996) movie was shown on daytime TV today and since I'm home sick with flu I watched it. Maybe being sick has made me especially cranky, but I found this movie to be one of the most annoying things I have ever watched. It was nothing but a constant, unrelenting whinge-fest. And Albert Brooks - aaaaargh!! Just shut the hell up, ffs!!! I wanted to shout those words at the screen several times throughout. I kept hoping it would get better but it just got worse. And Debbie Reynolds, whom I have always liked in just about anything she has been in, had none of her usual warmth - in fact I found her character quite cold and, oddly, even a bit cruel. Maybe that's why the 2 sons were both so whiny. OK, I think I've said enough so I'll just finish by saying, please, please, please don't bother watching this pile of crap, find something else to do because it will just leave you feeling annoyed. A real dud of a movie.

Mr-Fusion Though I haven't seen all of Albert Brooks' films, this is definitely my favorite, so far. Written and directed by Brooks, he's made a movie that is relatable to just about everyone. Brooks stars as a struggling writer who, after just completing his second divorce, decides to move back home and examine his relationship with his mother (Debbie Reynolds) as an attempt to iron out his love life. The decision is met with confusion by his mother, and jealousy by his brother (the favored son, played by Rob Morrow).Anyone who's ever had a mother can appreciate the frustration Brooks encounters, whether it's his mother's penchant for nervously telling complete strangers about his troubled love life, or her indecisive driving (I can certainly relate, although mine tends toward the reckless). Their relationship is all about pushing each other's buttons; Mother as she picks apart everything in his life, and Brooks as he blames her for being the root of his lady problems. A terrific scene (one that sets the tone for all of their scenes to follow) involves Brooks being flabbergasted by his mother's food stock; the wilted lettuce in her salad, the three-year-old block of cheese, the freezer-burnt "sherbert" (housed beneath the "protective ice"). I've never met someone who can't relate to something akin to this, and it's symptomatic of a well-written "slice of life" screenplay. It also doesn't hurt that the two leads are extremely well-cast. Brooks is all about the miserable neurotic, while Reynolds embodies (with radiance) everything about the irritating mom who judges but doesn't listen. And when the two finally discover the root of their dysfunction in the film's climactic scene, it feels entirely heartfelt and not contrived. There's development to Reynolds' character; she's someone well-rounded, with hilarious results.8/10

timboytx If I enjoy a film enough to purchase it, then it means I KNOW I can enjoy repeated viewings of it, and that is certainly the case with "Mother". The story is character-driven, and the comedy is clever and often subtle, rather than being filled with broad, gag-oriented laughs--so it won't appeal to everyone. Debbie Reynolds is wonderfully understated, and does a great job of shedding the glamorous persona we're used to seeing from earlier films and TV roles. Albert Brooks is his standard but enjoyable self, and though his screen characters are known for their complaining, I never found it irritating. Lisa Kudrow has a small but funny role as one of the women Brooks dates early in the film.

paul2001sw-1 Albert's Brooks' comedy 'Mother' is frequently hilarious, with some cracking dialogue, and highly perceptive: few viewers will fail to recognise some aspect of their relationships with their family in its portrayal of its eponymous central character and her middle-aged son, played by Brooks himself. But in taking their interaction as its principal subject, instead of using it as a backdrop to a wider story, the film chooses to pursue limited ambitions, and there's a level of contrivance necessary to support this narrow focus: while, at a micro-level, the film is perfect, the overall plot makes less sense, and the ending is a little pat. Not a great film; but one guaranteed to make you smile.