In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to show my appreciation by compiling a list of the greatest movie moms that we’ve grown to love. As is the case with any list, there must always be winners and losers. Let me preface the top 5 countdown by acknowledging the honorable mention moms (but don’t worry, we still love you). Honorable Mention: Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor (Terminator 2), Patricia Clarkson as Rosemary Penderghast (Easy A), Frances McDormand as Elaine Miller (Almost Famous), Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest), and Renee Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd (Jerry Maguire). And the top 5 movie moms are …
#5 Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins (Changeling)
Uh oh ... if I remember correctly, my son's circumcised
Move over octo-mom, the constantly adopting Angelina Jolie is quite the mother in real life. Perhaps, that’s why the gifted actress was so memorable in her Changeling role as Christine Collins, a distraught mom whose 9 year old son disappears. But months later when the LAPD claims that they’ve found the boy, Jolie discovers that the kid isn’t hers. Going against the strange pressure put on by the 1920’s LAPD, Jolie fights tirelessly until her true son is found.
#4 Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
She's sassy, but we love her anyway
Winning an Academy Award for her matriarch role in The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock plays a wealthy woman who convinces her family to take in a homeless African American youth named Michael Oher. With the love of his new-found mother figure, Oher accomplishes great things in the world of football and finds himself a first round draft pick in the NFL. The Blind Side is a remarkable true story that succeeds because of Bullock’s excellent work on screen.
#3 Sally Field as Mrs Gump (Forrest Gump)
Mama said they'd take me anywhere
In the 1994 classic hit Forrest Gump, Sally Field instantly became cinema’s most quotable mom. Through the lovable woman’s guidance and fantastic quotes about chocolates, her mentally deficient (but overly capable) son Forrest captures all of our hearts. Sally Field was phenomenal in the role and flawlessly demonstrates what unconditional love really means.
#2) Betsy Palmer as Mrs Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th)
You see, Jason was my son, and today is his birthday...
Cue the boos. I decided to go against the grain with this one and think outside the box. But, in all honesty, who can refute the motherly love of Mrs Voorhees in the original horror masterpiece Friday the 13th? Through the fabulous work of actress Betsy Palmer, the audience gets a firsthand glimpse into the loyalty and protective instincts of a mother. Willing to go the distance and kill for her son, who can argue against Mrs Voorhees as a loving and caring mother? Not I.
#1 Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts as Jackie Harrison and Isabel Kelly (Stepmom)
It takes two to make a thing go right
Attempting to stay as true as possible to the list, our winners come in the form of the duo played by Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts in the 1998 tearjerker Stepmom. The film follows a terminally ill mother who has to come to terms with the new woman in her ex-husband’s life. Sarandon illustrates an admirable amount of compassion and trust on screen. And most importantly, the tandem leaves you feeling that the children involved are going to be just fine.
That concludes my list, and a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL YOU MOMS OUT THERE!
Writer MCDave can also be found at Movie Reviews By Dave