With Mother’s Day just round the corner, it’s time we sat back and spared a moment for the one who brought us into this world. There’s no Mum cooler than your own, but how about those that the big screen has made legendary?
From
La Cage Aux Folles to
Mrs. Doubtfire, depictions of maternal figures have always caused a stir if not a smile, so here we present the Escapade Magnificent Movie Mothers Top 5 List...
5. Helen Parr / Elastigirl (The Incredibles, 2004)
Voiced by Holly Hunter, Elastigirl manages to balance a demanding domestic schedule with life-threatening feats of heroism. The allegory of her super-freakish ability to be stretched in all possible directions is most assuredly not lost on any Mother who has had to deal with what their children command at any time. When Disney get it right, they REALLY nail it.
FUN FACT: In the film’s tense scene where Helen Parr and her children narrowly escape a plane that explodes, Helen Hunter’s use of aviation jargon is actually completely accurate and researched terminology!
http://youtu.be/pq8XbUdSZUs
4. Mrs. Bates (Psycho, 1960)
Ask someone to do an impression of a filmic stabbing motion and they’ll most likely accompany it with the now legendary score / sound from this Hitchcock tour de force of gruesome suspense and horror. Ok, so perhaps we’re bending the rules with this one (not to give away the film’s conclusion), but Mrs. Bates was one hell of a Mother to have influenced her son to such a bloody degree.
FUN FACT: Maybe not so much of a ‘fun’ fact, but interesting nonetheless - with the story based loosely around real life psychopath & multiple murderer, Ed Gein, the film’s screenplay author Josepth Stefano was undergoing therapy about his own mother at the time of writing!
http://youtu.be/I9mJ2oBONug
3. Sarah Connor (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991)
Making an incredible and noticeably muscular return in what could be argued to be one of the better sequels Hollywood has ever produced, the first Terminator’s near-victim / only-just-survivor takes more of a pro-active stance as the Mother of the potential saviour of mankind. Linda Hamilton’s performance from the film’s very beginning is as tough as nails - no fawning vestal Mary here.
FUN FACT: In the scene where Sarah Connor is confronted with the T-1000 robot who has taken her mirror form, director James Cameron hired Linda Hamilton’s twin sister Leslie to avoid using a split screen shot!
http://youtu.be/kgmxrjxUe60
2. Mrs. Robinson (The Graduate, 1967)
For perhaps all the wrong (or maybe right?) reasons, here’s an example of a Mother you might hope to meet - so long she’s not your own! This iconic film gave rise to the catchphrase of describing someone as a ‘Mrs. Robinson’ type before the regrettably crass ‘MILF’ tag became popular. Ann Bancroft put Mothers on the map for many (alongside the music of Simon & Garfunkel) in this early Hoffman classic.
FUN FACT: Unofficially credited as one of the most mistake-ridden films in continuity history, it’s worth watching purely for the sake of moving props, visible camera crews and rain machines alone!
http://youtu.be/-3lKbMBab18
1. Morticia Addams (The Addams Family, 1991)
Never mind Elvira (and you can forget Lily Munster), you gotta hand it to the true temptress - Morticia. Brought back to life and played with such glorious indulgence by a smouldering Anjelica Huston, director Barry Sonnenfeld pulled out all the stops to ensure that Mama Morbid was lit throughout in the manner of the film noir legends. Despite being the anti-type Mother that secretly a fair few kids might have wished they really had, she also cuts quite the figure as one seriously alluring wife... if you like that sort of thing.
FUN FACT: In the realm of the ‘could have been’ considerations, whilst Tim Burton had been scheduled to direct this 1991 feature length adaptation of the cult series, one of the serious contenders for the part of Morticia was bookshelves-for-cheekbones pop queen, Cher!
http://youtu.be/zIC2aMlqEZk
ESCAPADE’S STAFF PICKS:
How more revealing can it be when asked to provide their opinion on their favourite celluloid Mothers? Find out who has Mummy issues amongst a selection of our very own party specialists:
- Andre (design & office management):
Goodfellas - Tommy’s Mother (Catherine Scorsese)
- Daniele (Italian content & customer service):
La prima cosa bella - Anna Nigiotti (Stefania Sandrelli)
- Luke (shop management):
Aliens - Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)
- Tatjana (German content & customer service):
Monsters University - Mrs. Squibbles (Julia Sweeney)
- Skye (shopfloor):
Brave - Elinor (Emma Thompson)
- Alfee (customer service):
Mean Girls - Regina George (Amy Poehler)
- Raees (finance):
Ghar - Aarti Chandra (Rekha)
- Ally (shopfloor):
Steel Magnolias - M'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field)
- Nick (office management):
Throw Momma From The Train - Momma (Anne Ramsey)
- Neil (shopfloor):
Friday The 13th - Mrs. Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer)
- Hal (marketing):
La Reine Margot - Catherine de Médicis (Virna Lisi)
