Sunday, May 12, 2024

Give Thanks...Albert Brooks's Film "Mother"

People have holiday traditions, especially when it comes to entertainment. It's tradition for some families to go see a movie on Christmas, Memorial Day, Valentines Day. This year in our house we decided to pull up Albert Brooks's incredible slice-of-life dromedy Mother, starting Brooks and Debbie Reynolds.

If you haven't seen it, you definitely should. I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Without giving too much away, newly divorced writer John Henderson (Brooks...) decides to move in with his widowed mother (Reynolds...). Together, they work side-by-side, albeit not always smoothly, to figure out life's questions and to find peace. If you're familiar with Brooks's work, you'll recognize his comedic genius in the writing, and the performances. It's a great film.

This year, Mother's Day has been different for me. It's the first year I have knowledge of my birth mother and her incredible family. We met in person last month. When I first saw pictures of my birth mother, I was shocked at how much she resembles Debbie Reynolds.

Perhaps you would agree.

I've watched Mother several times, but just as this Mother's Day is different, watching the show was different. From what I've learned about my birth mom, I doubt she and the character Reynolds portrayed on the film were similar. Still...watching the beautiful actress on film and thinking about the beautiful woman in the photos, it struck me different this year.

I'm thankful for the past six months I've had. I'm thankful I found her and her family. I'm thankful for Mr. Brooks's talent and his bravery for making the film. 

I think we have a new Mother's Day family tradition.

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