Motherhood DVD Review

Are you sick of the television and film “perfect moms” who put real mommies to shame with their perfect hair and stainless clothes? Not Motherhood! This film gives it to you straight.

Motherhood is a comedy written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann. This movie stars Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver and a few other lesser known actors. Shot on location in New York’s West Village, Motherhood focuses on the dilemmas of being a mom, dealing with the ups and downs of marriage, figuring out the whole “work” thing, and trying to maintain some semblance of self. All this happens in one slow starting day.

I think Motherhood gives, “A Day in the Life of Mom,” a realness. I appreciate the movie starting off in silence as mom drinks her coffee and gets things ready for the day. I did however feel like the silence dragged on F…o…r….e…v…e….r. Also, another thing that bothered me was the two apartment situation, which came up during the opening scenes. Maybe it’s because I’m not from New York city, but I didn’t really catch on until much later in the movie that the family had two apartments to live out of. So personally this wasn’t a necessary piece to the movie’s plot if you ask me.Obviously once the two children and dad wake up everything is in fast forward. Remind you of your life?? In Motherhood, we meet Eliza, mild mannered mom, disheveled, frantic, forgetful mom, (but hey, how many have us been there, right moms?) Eliza is a mommy blogger (check), who has two children (almost check,) who’s trying to get only about a million chores done, including two very big ones, celebrate her daughter’s 6th birthday, and enter and hopefully win a mom blogger contest based on the question: “What does Motherhood Mean to You?”

Throughout her day in New York city, Eliza deals with her car being towed, being yelled at and put down by random strangers, hanging out with great mommy friends, running errands, and confiding in people she’s never met. Sounds like a typical day right?

I adore the scene when the moms get together for a sample sale, chatting about life and making do with being a mommy. Minnie Driver, who plays the single and pregnant mommy friend divulges a hilarious secret. Being in a large moms group this is so true to the real thing, us moms really need great friends who we can tell anything to and just have them laugh and not judge. After all once your a mom you automatically have something in common with another mother.

I won’t give all the ups and downs of this movie away. But in all I really enjoyed Motherhood and loved taking the ride with Eliza to figure out what Motherhood meant to her, and realizing what it means to me. This is definitely not a family movie and is rated PG-13 for language, sexual references, and a brief drug comment.

Check out the great bonus features: Interviews with director Katherine Dieckmann, Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, and Minnie Driver.

Between, the blogging frantic mom, the single and pregnant making-it-work mommy, the nutty-crunchy earth momma, and the living life happy-go-lucky dad character, I think most parents will be able to relate to this film or these characters in one way or another.