Larry H Movie Reviews

Mother

Released: September 15, 2017

My mother would not have liked this movie. Mothers are sweet, loving and insightful. Not crazy, explosive, frenzied and frantic. But, I guess you, too, might be unbalanced and unhinged if married to Javier Bardem’s character referred to in the lineup as “Him.”

And some of the other character names are: Man, Woman, Younger Brother, Oldest Son, Philanderer, Bumbler, and my favorite – Fool. Oh, I forgot to include Mother played by the super-talented, Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence. Please don’t blame J Law for this debacle.

Who should we blame, Larry H? Darron “I’ve Also Directed The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010) And I Know A Thing Or Two About Movies So Trust Me On This One” Aronofsky. He wrote this bizarre screenplay and then directed an all-star cast who apparently bought in on the premise that his inexplicably weird tale of family - ten steps beyond dysfunction and believability would be entertaining at a level justifying the star power of Lawrence, Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The acting was not a problem. The failure to deliver any semblance of resolution and vision for the ticket-buying public was the problem. I waited the entire movie for the payoff. No payoff. If there was a payoff, it was under the Hollywood table because I sure as heck didn’t see it on the screen.

Aronofsky smoked one too many doobies and before he came down, he attempted to capture his hallucination and trick me into buying a ticket to see four of the outstanding actors currently in Hollywood perform scene after scene that were meaningless and without entertainment value.

While I agree, there are a few memorable vignettes in this mindless stream of Aronofsky’s unconsciousness, the overall package was damaged goods. Thanks goodness the popcorn was good. Rock ‘n Roll.

Grade 74. Larry H.