This Mother’s Day, indulge Mom with these 30 films dedicated to all she does and the many faces and feelings that come with being a mother. Turn to moms of the silver screen for plenty of relatable reasons to laugh and cry, sometimes even simultaneously.
Watch With Family of Any Age
1. The Sound Of Music (1965, G). From the moment this movie starts, you will cheer for Maria to say no to the nunnery and yes to seven mischievous children and their handsome father.
2. Mary Poppins (1964, G). Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious fun for a family desperately in need of some magical attention.
3. Brave (2012, PG). “What became of this precious daughter I once knew?” Disney brings us the classic mother-daughter conflict story willful-princess-style, without a suitor in sight.
4. Freaky Friday (2003, PG). Young ; Lohan holds her own opposite a veteran actress like Jamie Lee Curtis in this mixed-up mother-daughter remake.
5. The Incredibles (2004, PG). Holly Hunter is Elastagirl, just your average suburban mom with superpowers trying to cheer on her spouse, raise her kids, and save the world from mass destruction.
6. Little Women (1994, PG). You won’t find a better mother than Marmee, played by Susan Sarandon. She encourages her daughters to become who they are meant to be despite challenging times.
7. Secretariat (2010, PG). It’s a long shot for any horse to win the Triple Crown, but Penny Chenery, played by Diane Lane, is just the person who can make it happen.
8. Parental Guidance (2012, PG). Old-school parenting collides with new-school parenting with entertaining results. Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei bring believability to Billy Crystal’s touching comedic riffs.
9. Places In The Heart (1984, PG). During the Great Depression, Sally Field, a widow, struggles to keep her small cotton farm going after her husband is accidentally killed.
10. You Again (2010, PG). Kristin Bell is Marni, a total geek in high school with an archenemy named Joanna. Imagine her surprise when she finds out her seemingly all-together mom shared similar struggles on the eve of her brother’s wedding.
11. Baby Boom (1987, PG) A working woman inherits a baby girl during her yuppie days and gets schooled by the babe as to what matters in life.
Watch With Tweens & Up
12. Steel Magnolias (1989, PG). Sally Field plays mom to diabetic newlywed Julia Roberts in this heartfelt story of a big-time friendship sprung from small-town Louisiana life.
13. Motherhood (2009, PG-13). For every mom who has ever tried to throw a birthday party to beat all birthday parties while also trying to squeeze out an iota of time for self-expression, this Uma Thurman film is for you.
14. Now & Then (1995, PG-13). Four grown women and best friends look back at the 12-year-old girls they were in 1970 as one of them prepares to deliver her first child.
15. Mother (1996, PG-13). Albert Brooks is a grown man trying to figure out why he can’t have a successful love life while pointing fingers at his mother, Debbie Reynolds.
16. Parenthood (1989, PG-13). It is an ensemble comedy focusing mainly on Steve Martin’s character but offers terrific mom performances from Mary Steenburgen, Diane Wiest, Harley Jane Kozak, Eileen Ryan, and Martha Plimpton.
17. Mamma Mia! (2008, PG-13). It is a lighthearted musical that reprises ABBA tunes to tell the story of a young woman’s desire to find out about her real father.
18. Anywhere But Here (1999, PG-13). Susan Sarandon is Nathalie Portman’s eccentric, pushy mother, who is on the verge of driving her daughter crazy.
19. The Help (2011, PG-13). Skeeter, an Ole Miss college graduate, comes home to help care for her ailing mother in the 1960s. To be taken seriously as a writer, she decides to write a tell-all book from the local maids’ point of view, reminding her of the woman who raised her.
20. The Blind Side (2009, PG-13). At her insistence, Leanne Tuohy’s typically conservative family takes in a homeless teenager. “Big Mike’s” presence turns into a boon for the family as they rally around him to succeed against steep academic odds.
21. Joyful Noise (2012, PG-13). Two mothers, Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, need to overcome their small-town rivalry if they want their church choir to have a shot at winning the national championship.
22. Bend It Like Beckham (2002, PG-13). A soccer career is not exactly what Jess Bhamra’s mother has in mind for her Indian daughter, especially when she bends the rules to reach her dreams.
23. Home For The Holidays (1995, PG-13). Holly Hunter plays Clyde, a 40-something single mom who finds returning home to see her family has a way of making her act the same age as her teenage daughter.
24. Hope Floats (1998, PG-13). You had me at Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. fall in love again.
25. Juno (2007, PG-13). It’s a great way to kick off a discussion about some serious topics you might prefer to avoid. This film sheds light on teen pregnancy, divorce, and adoption with dignity and humor.
26. The Guilt Trip (2012, PG-13). A road trip movie with Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen stays in the funny lane with a touching ending you won’t see coming.
27. What To Expect When You’re Expecting (2012, PG-13). Five couples are pregnant, and not much is happening the way any of them expected. If you had a difficult pregnancy, this is the one to appreciate.
28. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991, PG-13). It is a captivating tale of an older woman who has outlived all her friends, only to make a new irreplaceable one in a housewife badly in need of a life makeover.
29. Stepmom (1998, PG-13). Trying to sort out the challenges of divorce and re-coupling makes for a moving story of transformation for the whole family.
30. The Divine Secrets Of The Ya Ya Sisterhood (2002, PG-13). Any woman with a trying relationship with her mother will enjoy the antics of Sandra Bullock vs. Ellen Burstyn and her girlhood Ya-Ya tribe.
Author, journalist, and writing coach Christina Katz loves to celebrate motherhood, Hollywood-style, in all of its glorious complexity, preferably with a nice big bowl of freshly popped popcorn and a glass of Canada Dry ginger ale.
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