2019 Directed by Kestrin Pantera
When Joy Pride, a groovy 70s burn-out on the caboose of the flower power movement learns she has weeks to live, her estranged children come together to do right by a mother who always did them wrong. It's based on the premise that no matter who dies, we always find a way to make it all about us.
Mother's Little Helpers (2020)
USA
South by Southwest Film Festival
USA
USA
“Are you joking, or do you wanna be burried in the crocs?”
Typical bratty kids/narcissist parent dysfunctional faire, but there was some potential. I do enjoy exploring grief.
The biggest issue for me wasn’t that it was mostly handheld extreme close-up montage, it was that the mom character was not only suuuuper uneven, but also the worst actor of the bunch by a mile.
A horrendously edited 90-minute acting reel (the bad kind). Low B for effort, D for execution. Gets more insufferable as it goes along; avoid at most costs.
Dysfunctional adult siblings, a dying mother, and a handful of revelations come together for a pretty okay movie.
great bit alert: trying to coverly fuck in a car while keeping your ankle monitor in range of your mom's house because you're under house arrest
All too typical dysfunctional family dramedy that really has nothing new to say that has pretty bad production in most categories. There are a couple of ok performances, like Melanie Hutsell, and Breeda Wool, but are restricted by the stereotypical way they were written (the cautious black sheep of the family, the free spirit mother, etc.) so they can't really rise above that. I'll admit, it opens up a little bit towards the last 20 minutes or so which forces the family to re-evaluate the situation, and childhood, but it happens far too late, especially for a film that didn't hold my attention at the slightest for the first hour and more.
I love dysfunctional family flicks
All the dialogue was so natural. These people existed.
The director had this great statement during her Q&A,
"If you have a bunch of funny people in a room, what they're going through could be amazing or it could be heartbreaking. But either way, it will definitely be hysterical."
A lot of heart, a lot of laughs, and a few tears... MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPERS accomplishes everything it sets out to do.
