Happy Mothers Day! (What's the Last Movie You Took Your Mother To?)
Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 1:34PM Did you call your mother yet? I was just talking to mine. Before we hung up, apropos of nothing, she says...
I was watching Turner Classic Movies this week. Sometimes I think of you when I watch."
Which... well, from my mother that's like a huge bouquet of flowers and hugs since she isn't super verbally affectionate. When pressed about which movie(s) she couldn't remember. "You know... that actress"
Was it... Barbara Stanwyck? I asked, trying to help with the first name that popped into my mind. "No. But I've seen lots of her movies. I didn't used to like her but now I do."
Her current obsession is The Pirates of Penzance (1983) with 'that great new actor Kevin Kline' (new, mom?). She has apparently been buying up his filmography on VHS at garage sales and also likes French Kiss (1995) "except for the awful language!" Last time I visited she wanted to see Snow White and the Huntsman and then closed her eyes for half the movie.
What peculiar movie tastes does your mom have? What's the last movie you took her to?
Reader Comments (35)
Oy. I can't remember the last time I saw a movie with my mom. Maybe 'In The Mood For Love' since it's easier for my folks with the language barrier? It did not go over well.... like, at all.
I don't think I've ever seen a movie in a movie theater with my Mom! My dad was usually the designated movie-taker when we were kids. My mom and I were both watching Hello, Dolly! (Streisand version) on TCM the other week and texting each other during key scenes. Does that count?
My mother raised me on mysteries and musicals, which are among my favorite things to this day. The last movie we saw together was Mud with my dad, which we all thought was OKish, but the last movie that was just her and I was Les Mis. She loved it. It's also her Mother's Day present.
I think the last one might've been The Help. But doesn't everyone see that with their mother eventually?
The last movie I took my mom to was Life of Pi, as safe a choice as I ever made.
A great movie going experience I had with my mother was seeing Drive with her.
Glenn Close, Sharon Stone, Alfre Woodard, and Kathy Bates are her favorite film actresses. Her favorite movie of the 90's is Shattered—the movie where the wife's lover receives plastic surgery to look just like the husband they jointly murdered.
Lincoln (in theatres)
Hugo (home viewing)
My mom totally does the "close her eyes during half the movie too" but she insists she wasn't sleeping!
Oh wow, the last movie i took my mother to was Olympus Has Fallen.
She likes Morgan Freeman
Mine was also Les Miserables. She insisted that she wouldn't cry that much "Except for On My Own." She was bawling by the end of the first scene. Next to stone-faced me (worst emotional-movie-companion ever). My mother-in-law and I both had the same outcome with movie plans today (we are in different states though): to see The Great Gatsby, which was sold out. When I called my mom today we talked about Stoker and Starbuck--both GREAT mother's day-themed movies...
In a movie theatre: The Kids Are All Right.
At home: People Like Us.
We don't share a lot in movie taste... She's more into action movies (Steven Seagal fan, loves Taken, Michael Bay films)... And she confuses Almodóvar (my favorite director) with González-Iñarritu :/
But when we go to the moviesor rent something, we have a great time.
The last movie in Theatre was OZ The Great and Powerful. She liked it.
At Home was Looper she thought it was ok.
My mom hates Rom-Coms and love Action movies.
I think the last movie I watched at home with Mom was THE THREE STOOGES, which she's seen something like seven times. Both of my parents are binge-viewing types, seeing the same thing on repeat for at least a week.
The last time I went to the movies with Mom? We used to go at least once a year back when I lived there, but I don't think we've seen a movie together in a theater since A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. She goes to the movies all the time with her friends, though, especially for an action flick. I wish she'd write more about her views, because I don't know who else is going to defend COWBOYS & ALIENS ("Well, what did people expect?" she asks).
Just took my parents to see Promised Land. My mother really enjoyed it (she liked Frances McDormand's performance a lot).
@Fernando Moss - My mother has a weird taste for Steven Seagal too - when I was younger and living at home, and my dad was away travelling, we would spend the evenings watching 'Under Siege' or 'Fire Down Below'. Such violent taste for such a mild-mannered woman!
She also has a great anecdote about her own mother, who belonged to a church whose teachings were very anti-cinema (and anti-popular music, etc.). It was the mid-sixties, and when 'The Sound of Music' came out, my grandmother desperately wanted to see it. My mother and her sister persuaded her to go; they had to sneak her into the cinema, and she was worried the whole time that she was going to be caught in the act by a member of the congregation. Nevertheless, she loved it. It makes me so happy that something as seemingly square as ''The Sound of Music' can be rebellious in the right time and place.
walter -- that's great! let me guess... it had both cowboys and aliens in it.
fernando, melissa, and walter -- so many moms who love action?! who knew?
catbaskets -- les miz is one of the few movies my mom had heard of. primarily because i took her to the musical on stage ;) she does't get out much
The last time I saw my mom, we went to two movies in three days -- Lincoln (which she loved) and Les Mis (which she liked). She was on a roll with the Best Picture nominees at the time.
I actually can't remember the last movie I saw with my parents-something Oscar-y from last season (maybe Lincoln?-my parents are regular moviegoers, though, so it's not like it's a rare occurrence to go to the movies with them when I'm in town.) In honor of Mother's Day, though, I took my grandmother to Iron Man 3 (mostly because she, ironically enough, hadn't seen a movie in theaters since Cowboys & Aliens). She liked it much better, and was amazed by how long the credits went and only referred to RDJ as Robert de Niro once.
My mom generally likes comedy (ones that aren't too raunchy), dramas (ones that aren't too dark or depressing), musicals, romantic comedy and romantic dramas. She likes mysteries and thrillers ocasionally. She loves the movie French Kiss, and Kevin Kline is one of her favorite actors. A few of her other favorite actors are Meryl Streep, Kathy Bates, Morgan Freeman, and Denzel Washington. The last movie I went to see with her in theatres was 42. She thought it was great. I wasn't as impressed, but still thought it was good, and liked the performances.
I think the last movie I watched in a cinema with my mom was A Separation or Tintin. Probably the latter.
It was her first time with 3D and she loved it. Her weird taste is in that she likes movies most people like and that is weird for me because I don't. She is also curious each time to see the new Woody Allen movie which proves that 50-something-year-old people are the problem of the world.
And teens. And kids.
My mom doesn't really do American films, but likes to force my dad to drive her to New Jersey to watch contemporary Filipino romcom films much to my dad's displeasure.
In any case, I do like taking my parents to the movies from time to time, usually around the holidays. Last film I took them to see was THE IMPOSSIBLE. My mom liked Naomi's performance, of course.
John T - HA! I love when people get actors names wrong. so amusing.
My mom passed away but the last movies I recall seeing with her in theaters were Jurassic Park 3 and Amelie. lol
My mom has only recently been interested in going out to see movies. I think the last thing we saw together was Young Adult. Happy to say that she liked it!
I clearly remember watching the trailer of The Purple Rose of Cairo among some others and immediately saying "I wanna go see the one with people jumping of the screen". My father objected with a "No way, you're too young", but my mom replied "Nonsense!" and she took me the next Saturday.
I owe my mom a lot.
My mom has never been much of a movie goer and the few times I've gotten her there it's been a "I'm taking you to lunch/dinner & we're going to see this movie too" situation. That said the last was The Queen because she likes Helen Mirren, before that Gosford Park (Helen Mirren again) and then a long stretch back to The Mirror Has Two Faces!! So three movies in 16 years.
The Impossible... she cried all the way through
Mum's favourites are Ealing comedies and Jacques Tati - not bad for someone who rarely goes to the cinema and always says she's not that interested in movies.
My mom (now gone 7 years) loved movies and introduced me to some of her favorites: Gunga Din, Rio Bravo, Bridge on the River Kwai, Brief Encounter, Love Affair AND An Affair to Remember, Rear Window, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, and Houseboat. She was a huge Streep fan (Silkwood was her favorite Meryl performance, but had a soft spot for Falling in Love and Out of Africa), and loved Cher in Moonstruck. She also thought Jaws was awesome. The last movie we saw together was at home, an old VHS tape of The Milagro Beanfield War, another one of her favorites.
The first thing you need to know about my mom and the movies is that my mom has an extra tear duct. Most people have 2, she has 3. For whatever reason, this makes her really prone to crying at the movies (and only at the movies, I've never seen her cry outside of a funeral or a cinema). She even cried during Admission, which she rightly hated. She mostly prefers the light and breezy Oscar bait. Silver Linings Playbook, The Help, The Kids Are All Right (which she calls "The Lesbian Movie"). She also likes seeing movies if they take place in Hawaii - for example, 50 First Dates and Just Go With It to cherry pick from the Adam Sandler oeuvre. Her tastes, to say the least, are extremely erratic, but I can predict them from a mile away.
Our last movie-going experience was a rarity. I went to see Jurassic Park 3D by myself and loved it, so I decided to drag the whole extended family along. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles. My mom and my grandma were the least prepared, and had never seen a 3D movie before. My mom screamed during the Regal Cinemas roller coaster introduction when the popcorn burst and continued to scream throughout the whole movie. My grandma was so nervous she sweat through her shirt and swore so much my little cousin has a new vocabulary. Obviously, it was a fantastic movie going experience.
Lincoln in the theatres when I was over to visit at Chirstmas time. She liked Daniel Day Lewis.
Brady - you're comment made me actually laugh out loud! Hahaha.
me and my mom saw Barbara this year. as in the German movie. we both liked it a lot. it's a miracle she didn't sleep through it. she probably hasn't seen the end of 90% of the movies she's seen in her life.
My mom loves action movies, though not without a certain amount of embarrassment ("What's the matter with me?" is her stock refrain). The last movie we saw together was The Last Stand, the aborted Ahhh-nuld comeback movie. She loved it. We're seeing Star Trek later this week!
The last films I saw in the movie theater w/my Mom was a double feature of "Selena" and "The 6th Man" since after that she stopped going to theaters. I can remember her saying to my sister & I "If I buy you these two Pocahontas hand puppets, then no more movies in theaters, okay?"
The last time I took her to cinema was to see Titanic in 3D. She likes watching movies on Netflix on her spare time, but now she's really into Korean drama series and my Netflix recommendations are messed up.
My mother always complains that I choose such dreary movies to see with her, but I remind her that I'm just taking her to the Oscar-nominated ones!
The film that really put her over the edge was Precious. Try sitting next to your parents during an incestuous scene you didn't know was coming. Now, that's awkward!
To make it up to her, over the most recent holidays, we saw Les Mis (depressing but she actually picked that one) and The Guilt Trip, which is a film every guy should watch with his mom.