STACK #187 May 2020

FEATURE FILM

Seems like they resemble most modern mums; flawed, over- worked and hoping motherhood doesn’t spell the end of FUN. And, let’s face it, which mother among us wouldn’t want to wax Justin Hartley’s private parts? Together the trio represents the gamut of mumhood, from Bell’s stay-at-home mum-of-four pushover, Kiki, and Kunis’s working mum Amy, through to Hahn’s bawdy sex-mad single mum Carly. The 2017 sequel introduced

track, she demonstrates what it really means to be a mum, tough love and all.The mother we’d all love to have, Walters was knocked out to learn Prince Charles was also a big Mrs Weasley fan after he presented her with the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British

celebrates that there’s no right or wrong way to do motherhood – even if it does involve junk food, alcohol and threesomes! Being a mum is overwhelming andTheron brings her A-list clout to tell distressed mums that it’s OK to ask for help and perfection is an impossible

Empire) at Buckingham Palace in 2008. Best Mrs Weasley quote (to twins Fred and George): “Now you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve blown up a toilet, or…” MollyWeasley is always a hoot. 3 JOJO RABBIT - Scarlett Johansson (Rosie) It took becoming a mother in

goal. If Tully wasn’t a box office blockbuster then Theron’s raw honesty makes it a must-see for every sleep-deprived mum. 6 TERMS OF ENDEARMENT - Shirley MacLaine (Aurora) As hard-to-please Aurora, widowed matriarch MacLaine is in denial about her age, falling hard for Jack Nicholson’s

even badder grandmas, played by Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski and Cheryl Hines. 9 THE BLIND SIDE - Sandra Bullock (Leigh Anne Tuohy)

real life for Scarlett Johansson to deliver all the humour, strength and patience she imagined it might take to raise a boy during WorldWar II. In describing his award-winning film as a love letter to his own mother and single parents everywhere,

astronaut-next-door. When her adult daughter (Debra Winger) falls ill she must learn to put others before herself. Both actresses were Oscar nominated in 1983, but

Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for this 2019 biographical sports drama, portraying a woman who adopts Michael Oher, a homeless, traumatised teen, helping him become his best self; an All-American football player and first-draft NFL pick. Audiences warmed to this rags-

MacLaine snagged the gong. James L. Brooks’ directorial debut, the film won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture Oscars. Jack Nicholson – who also earned an Oscar – has the immortal line, “I was just inches from a clean getaway”, after Aurora declares her love for him before he boards a plane. Featuring a youthful John Lithgow, Danny DeVito and Jeff Daniels, it’s the self-involved Aurora who steals the show. 7 THE INCREDIBLES (1 & 2) - Holly Hunter (Elastigirl/Helen Parr) Surely one of the coolest

directorTaikaWaititi found his dream screen mum in Johansson. Striking just the right balance as Jojo’s quirky single mum Rosie, the actress recently told STACK , “She is emotionally responsible and isn’t sheltering him. She is teaching him to be empathetic and compassionate. I think you have to give your kids a healthy dose of reality so that can actually happen.” As funny and gorgeous IRL as she is on screen, Johansson is the real heart of this movie. 4 LITTLE WOMEN - Laura Dern (Marmee March)

to-riches emotional saga, although the film would be criticised for propagating a white saviour narrative in which this talented African-American boy is only able to overcome his past with the guidance of an adoptive white mother. After Julia Roberts passed on the role ofTuohy, Bullock took a pay cut to make the film, agreeing on a percentage of the box office, which proved a savvy move. PC or not, The Blind Side is a certifiable weepy. 10 THE CASTLE - Anne Tenney (Sal Kerrigan) A man’s home is his castle, even if it is a ramshackle perky mum-of-four Sal Kerrigan proves in this comic treasure about a working-class Melbourne family fighting City Hall after their beloved family home is condemned under compulsory acquisition. If Sal’s hapless hubby Darryl (Michael Caton) gets all the best lines, then it’s his wife who reminds us that behind every blowhard there’s a mother in the kitchen serving chicken casserole out of the freezer. If the Kerrigans hark back to a less sophisticated era then Sal remains a mother we can all recognise, supporting her family with simple comforts. eyesore built next to an airport runway. But it’s also a woman’s castle, as AnneTenney’s

Although Dern won this year’s Best Supporting actress Oscar for her role as a ruthless lawyer in Marriage Story , in Little Women she’s all about love and nurturing. Dern’s March matriarch abandons her own personal passions to focus her love on four very different

mums in animation history, Holly Hunter’s superhero mum Helen epitomises the adage that behind every man is a superwoman. When this superhero family is forced to go uncover – raising their trio of super-powered kids in

suburban Metroville – Helen must reawaken her mothballed Elastigirl identity to rescue her superhero hubby. If all mums require a level of elasticity while juggling a brood of kids, then Elastigirl is also a deft pilot with a keen sense of humour and flashy costume. Upon release of the sequel, where Elastigirl takes the helm from her hubby, Hunter told STACK , “To me it was just really fun. I think it’s purely luck of the draw that it happens to dovetail with #MeToo and #TimesUp. But obviously, time is up, okay?!” In both films, the key message endures: All mums are superheroes. 8 BAD MOMS and BAD MOMS 2 - Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell (Amy, Carla and Kiki) OK, so nobody would go see a movie called Good Mums, right? But were this trio really all that bad?

daughters portrayed by Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen. All the young actresses insisted Dern felt like a real mother on set, always taking care of them and bringing in home-baked goodies. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, the story has been adapted five times for the big screen, although Greta Gerwig’s 2019 interpretation brings a fresh feminist twist to its authentic 19th century setting, shedding new light on previous colourless versions of Mrs March. It also boasts a dream cast including Meryl Streep, Timothée Chamalet and Chris Cooper. 5 TULLY - Charlize Theron (Marlo) Theron’s struggling mum-of-three forms an unlikely bond with the eponymous night nanny hired to help with her newborn baby as she suffers through postpartum depression.This dramedy

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