Mother

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Brooks introduces his film with a description of two types of mothers: the ones who think their children are perfect and the other kind. Beatrice Henderson (Reynolds) is the other kind. She accepts, not welcomes, her twice-divorced son, John (Brooks), when he moves back home. She shows her annoyance by dividing the refrigerator into two sides, and he plays on his mother's neuroses, inviting her to Victoria's Secret for a shopping spree. The nearly flawless screenplay defines not only the characters' personalities, but also the entire family history in pointed set pieces of constant bickering. Brooks should do this more often.