Albert Brooks' new film, "Mother," is an entertaining but ultimately disappointing work that marks his first directorial effort since "Defending Your Life" (1991). Brooks stars with Debbie Reynolds in this examination of the complex dynamics that underlie familial connections.
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Mother At Showcase |
He traces this problem to his awkward and unsupportive relationship with his mother, Beatrice, played by Reynolds. Henderson decides that the solution to his romantic woes hinges on improving relations with his mother. Determined to "recapture a feeling" and figure out where their association went awry, Henderson moves back in with his mother.
In carrying out his "experiment," Henderson even appropriates his old room, decorating it with Hendrix posters, a lava lamp and other assorted possessions of his youth.
As actors, Brooks and Reynolds develop a comfortable and easy chemistry. Brooks' sarcasm and impotent rage are the perfect foils to Reynolds' gently chiding nature. Both are a true delight to watch. Unfortunately, Brooks' script is rather weak and undisciplined in terms of structure, and he allows the crucial scenes between Henderson and Beatrice to meander. Also, his resolution of the tension between the two characters strikes one as superficial. And the film's overarching message that mothers are people with real concerns, ambitions and desires comes off as nothing less than trite.
As indicated above, the acting saves the picture somewhat. Reynolds is a particular standout, returning to film after a 27-year absence. She endows Beatrice Henderson with a combination of warmth and shrewdness, both maintained beneath a placid, congenial facade. The screen positively lights up with her presence.
Brooks, on the other hand, has always been a little too subtle as an actor to grab one's attention. While his fans find humor in his every utterance, those who are unacquainted with his work are often left wondering whether what just happened was supposed to be funny. He is so low-key that he virtually disappears.
As a comic writer, Brooks' strength has always been cracking life's most banal and inane moments wide open. He specializes in performing a reductio ad absurdum on habitual, mindless behavior and reactions. "Mother" does contain some classic scenes of this sort.
There is an extended scene in which Beatrice offers Henderson food that has resided in her freezer for years. She pulls forth a giant hunk of frozen cheese and offers Henderson orange sherbert covered with a layer of "protective ice." Brooks' fans will relish this kind of closely-observed humor, but it's not for everybody.
Rob Morrow, of "Quiz Show" and "Northern Exposure," is excellent in a supporting role as Henderson's brother, Jeff. The estranged character of the relationship between the two brothers also becomes a subject of the film, though it is not very believable or well-handled by Brooks, the director/screenwriter.
Though Morrow superbly plays up his character as a whiny mama's boy, it's difficult to buy into Brooks and Morrow as brothers. And Brooks' failure to resolve the rift between the two characters seems like more of an oversight than an attempt to sustain dramatic tension.
There is little reason to attend to "Mother." It's probable that even if you liked such Brooks classics as "Real Life," "Modern Romance" and "Lost in America," you will be disappointed by "Mother." In his previous work, Brooks maintained an appropriate satirical distance from his subject. In "Mother," one detects a creeping sentimentality that undermines Brooks' comic intentions.
Albert Brooks and Debbie Reynolds try to discover Victoria's Secret.
Rob Morrow is happy to be alive.