- Mother (1996 film)
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Mother
Theatrical release posterDirected by Albert Brooks Produced by Herb Nanas
Scott RudinWritten by Albert Brooks
Monica JohnsonStarring Albert Brooks
Debbie ReynoldsMusic by Marc Shaiman Cinematography Lajos Koltai Editing by Harvey Rosenstock Studio Scott Rudin Productions Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) December 25, 1996 (Limited)
January 24, 1997Running time 104 minutes Country United States Language English Box office $19,145,198[1] Mother is a 1996 comedy-drama film directed by Albert Brooks, and was co-written by Brooks with Monica Johnson. The film stars Brooks and Debbie Reynolds.
Contents
Plot
John Henderson (Albert Brooks) is a successful science fiction writer who is finalizing his second divorce. Perplexed by the issues he has with women, John decides to initiate a project that will help him understand what went wrong in his relationships—he moves back in with his mother (Debbie Reynolds), occupying the same bedroom he had as a child.
Cast
- Albert Brooks as John Henderson
- Debbie Reynolds as Beatrice Henderson
- Laura Weeks as Karen Henderson
- Rob Morrow as Jeff Henderson
- Isabel Glasser as Cheryl Henderson
- Danielle Quinn as Jill Henderson
- Spencer Klein as Josh Henderson
- Paul Collins as the lawyer
- John C. McGinley as Carl
- Vanessa A. Williams as Donna
- Lisa Kudrow as Linda
- Anne Haney as Helen
- Billye Ree Wallace as Alice
- Peter White as Charles
- James Gleason as a waiter
- Ernie Lively as the man at the rest stop
- Matt Nolan as a Gap salesman
- Harry Hutchinson as a pet store salesman
- Kimiko Gelman as a saleswoman at Victoria's Secret
- Richard Assad and Joey Naber as TV installers
- Rosalind Allen as the woman at the gas station
Production
Brooks wanted a famous actress from the 1950s to play the role of Mother, and originally offered the role to retired actresses Nancy Reagan and Doris Day. Day refused; Reagan loved the script and considered coming out of retirement for her first acting role in more than 40 years, but decided instead to stay home and care for her husband, Ronald Reagan, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Brooks then asked his good friend Carrie Fisher if she could send the script to her mother, Debbie Reynolds, who accepted the part.[citation needed]
Filming
Mother was filmed on location in and around the Sausalito, Greenbrae, and Tiburon areas, with additional shooting in San Francisco.
Reception
Critical reception
Mother received mostly positive reviews from critics and currently holds a 90% rating on review aggragator Rotten Tomatoes based on 41 reviews.[2]
Box office
Mother became the highest-grossing Brooks-directed film to date, with a total of $19.1 million earned at the box-office.[3]
Accolades
It also won the most awards of the films which Brooks has directed. Brooks and co-writer Monica Mcgowan Johnson won the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay. Debbie Reynolds won a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
References
External links
- Mother at the Internet Movie Database
- Mother at AllRovi
- Mother at Box Office Mojo
- Mother at Rotten Tomatoes
Films directed by Albert Brooks Real Life · Modern Romance · Lost in America · Defending Your Life · Mother · The Muse · Looking for Comedy in the Muslim WorldCategories:- 1996 films
- American films
- English-language films
- 1990s comedy-drama films
- American comedy-drama films
- Films directed by Albert Brooks
- Films about dysfunction families
- Films about writers
- Films set in California
- Films shot in California
- Films shot in Los Angeles, California
- Films shot in San Francisco, California
- Paramount Pictures films
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