Stream Selected Films About Mothers and Daughters
Mildred Pierce 1945 Based on the novel by James M. Cain. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Psychologically oriented noir. Told in flashback after a murder. Mildred (Joan Crawford-Best Actress Academy Award) works her way up from waitress to owner of a successful restaurant chain in an effort to give materialistic, social-climbing daughter Veda (Ann Blythe) a life above their economic level and background. Early days of low level jobs elicit only derision from the ungrateful girl.
Mildred gets involved with playboy Monte Bergeron (Zachary Scott) in part to acquire real estate. Veda secretly marries rich Ted Forrester for money and position. When his mother objects, the girl blackmails his family. Horrified, Mildred throws Veda out, but takes her back discovering the girl’s been “reduced” to singing in a sleazy nightclub. Mildred then marries Monte for the same reasons Veda seduced Ted. The liaison leads to murder. With Jack Carson and Eve Arden.
Crawford campaigned for the lead role which most lead actresses eschewed because of the implied age as mother of a teenage daughter. She then exerted sufficient control to have the character hardly change appearance over the years. Curtiz never wanted her, as a result of which they were often at odds on set. Rent on Amazon Prime.
Mommie Dearest 1981 Adapted from the autobiography of Christina Crawford. Directed by Frank Perry. A caricature portrait derided by critics but flocked to by audiences for its camp appeal. Joan Crawford is played by Faye Dunaway as compulsive/obsessive, narcissistic and manipulative; as having adopted children to soften her public persona then being distant and cruel to the children; as being monumentally insecure. Wildly over the top. With Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest, Howard Da Silva.
According to Dunaway, producer Frank Yablans promised her in the casting process that his intention was to portray Joan Crawford in a more moderate way than in Christina Crawford’s book. HA! Dunaway manipulated the director to deprive other actors of screen time and required members of the cast to turn their backs when not in the shot so she’d have no audience. In 2016, the film’s star expressed regret over taking the role and blamed it for causing a decline in her Hollywood career. Rent on Amazon Prime.
Mermaids 1990 Based on the novel by Patty Dann. Directed by Richard Benjamin. A Dramady with quirky characters set in the early 1960s. Each time flamboyant Rachel Flax (Cher) ends a relationship, she packs up embarrassed daughters Kate (Christina Ricci) and Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and moves. We find them in Massachusetts. Obsessed with Catholicism, particularly sin, teenage Charlotte becomes involved with Joe Poretti (Michael Schoeffling), the 26-year-old caretaker of a next door convent. She’s so naive she visits an obstetrician after they kiss.
Meanwhile Rachel starts seeing sweet, local shoe store owner Lou Landsky (Bob Hoskins) who wants to marry her but is not divorced. Relationships are volatile. Charlotte runs away, jealousy is misplaced, Joe and Charlotte have sex, Kate nearly drowns, reputations change, roles adjust, Rachel becomes a bit more maternal. Well written, well acted. Free on Amazon Prime.
The Joy Luck Club 1993 Based on the novel by Amy Tan about relationships between Chinese American women and their Chinese immigrant mothers. Directed by Wayne Wang. In San Francisco, four Chinese immigrant women meet regularly to play mahjong and discuss their daughters. We see their histories, that of their adult daughters, communication and adjustment issues.
Stories present Asians in a much less cliché light than prior to this film. The women are interesting, culture illuminating. Voice-overs compress the original story without altering the plot. There were no known Hollywood movies with an all-Asian cast at the time, and making a film with Chinese protagonists was risky because Asian actors were not familiar to American audiences. Free with Amazon Prime.
Because I Said So 2007 Directed by Michael Lehmann. Romantic comedy. Overbearing mother Daphne (Diane Keaton) is concerned that Milly (Mandy Moore), the youngest of her three daughters, is neither in a long term relationship nor married (like the other two). She secretly places a personal ad for Milly screening candidates in person. Men find this a bit odd, but charming.
Daphne choreographs a “chance” meeting between her pick, a businessman named Jason (Tom Everett Scott), arming him with information about Milly’s tastes. At the same time, however, her daughter meets Johnny (Gabriel Macht), a musician her mother had previously rejected as unsuitable.
Undecided, Milly juggles both men with Daphne interfering. Eventually she discovers how Jason came into her life. Meanwhile, Daphne unexpectedly finds someone of her own. Bright and cheerful. Rotton Tomatoes called it “over-reliant on caricatures,” but sometimes a warm bath is what’s needed. Rent on Amazon Prime.
Mothers and Daughters 2016 Directed by Paul Duddridge. A large, mostly recognizable ensemble cast creates sometimes overlapping stories of mothers and daughters. Becca was raised by a mother who turned out to be her grandmother. Rigby, who is single, avoids visiting a mother who has dementia then gets pregnant changing her perspective. Georgina is being sought by a now grown child she gave up as a teenager. Millie hasn’t seen daughter Gayle in two years despite trying on a regular basis to breach the gap with more than money. Layla doesn’t want to ask her influential mother for help in her secretly pursued profession…
Men of all types are secondary. Trying to fit in as much variety as possible makes the piece dense, but there are many satisfying acting turns and relatable stories. Everyone is good looking. Featuring, in part, Selma Blair, Eva Amurri, Susan Sarandon, Mira Sorvino, Sharon Stone, Courteney Cox, and Christina Ricci. Free with Amazon Prime.
Terms of Endearment 1983, Steel Magnolias 1989, Postcards From the Edge 1990 can all be found in Stream Shirley MacLaine.
Stella Dallas 1937 can be found in Stream Selected Films of Barbara Stanwyck.
Pinky can be found in Stream Leading Ladies (When There Were Leading Ladies) IX: Jeanne Crain, Jean Simmons.
Gypsy can be found under Stream Selected Films of Natalie Wood
Top photo: Bigstock
