Mother
reviewed Sun, 19 Jan 1997
My
brain hurts. So I'm not going to be able to come up with a real
clever
review for Albert Brooks' new movie, Mother, which is a
shame,
because it's a very funny movie. Brooks is a lot like Woody
Allen:
when he's on, he's one of the funniest men on the planet, but when he's
not, he's just whiny and neurotic. Fortunately, he's on
throughout
most of Mother. He plays a 40-year-old science fiction
writer
who decides to move back in with his mother to determine why he has so
many problems with women. He and Debbie Reynolds, who plays his
nitpicking,
obliviously cruel mother, play off each other terrifically -- the
script
(which Brooks also co-wrote) is sharp and clever, and both actors have
wonderfully expressive faces. Rob Morrow and Lisa Kudrow reprise
their TV roles as, respectively, a neurotic and a ditz. Ever hear
of typecasting, kids?
The big failing in the movie is the resolution of their
relationship.
It all wraps up in a neat, facile, completely unbelievable package that
undercuts the rest of the movie. But up until the last ten
minutes,
it's a funny, snappy joy.
***********************************
"It's the '90s, Mother. It's fancy jam time."
--Albert Brooks, in Mother
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