Mother’s Day 2022: From Freaky Friday to Secret Superstar, here are 10 movies we recommend to watch with your mom
Since today is Mother’s Day, give your mom the gift of ‘quality time’. Grab a bowl of popcorn and your favorite blankets, get cosy, and pick from the best movies we recommend:
- Brave
Brave takes you on a journey with Merida, who defies age-old traditions and is determined to carve a path of her own. Her mother, Queen Elinor is adamant on finding a groom for Merida. Brave shows the contrast of perspectives between the mother and daughter duo and displays the need for open communication between the two.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
- Freaky Friday
Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis), a single mother, and her teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) couldn't be more different, and it’s driving them insane. After a weird encounter at a Chinese Restaurant, they somehow end up switching bodies. They eventually learn to see each other’s life from a different perspective. With commendable acting and mild sexual undertones, Freaky Friday makes for an undeniable humorous watch.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
- The Joy Luck Club
Let’s go a little back in time. Now a little more. We stop in China in the 1930s. The world then was a contrasting place from today. A place where women were valued very little. Based on a book by Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club is the name of a group of four older Chinese women who meet up every week to play mahjong. They narrate troubling, sometimes hilarious stories of their journeys from pre-revolutionary China to their comfortable homes in San Francisco. Each of these stories offers a vivid portrait of the mother-daughter relationship; the expectation, the pain, the misunderstanding, and the lack of direct communication.
Where to watch: Peacock, iTunes, Vudu.
- Dumplin
Dumplin tells us the story of Willowdean (Danielle Macdonald), who is rather chubby when compared to her mother Rosie (Jennifer Aniston), a former beauty pageant winner. Due to circumstances, Willowdean impulsively joins the beauty pageant with three other unlikely candidates. With a lot of mascara and glitter, this movie teaches us to embrace ourselves and let go of our internal misogyny. The film’s strength lies in the beautiful evolution of the mother-daughter relationship.
Where to watch: Prime Video
- Secret Superstar
Dreams come true Bollywood style in this next pick. The film revolves around the life of a 15-year-old girl, Insiya who dreams of becoming a singer. Her father, the man of the house is arrogant, abusive, and controlling. He undermines the presence of his daughter over his son. The film moves forward with how Insiya, tackles obstacles and proves herself with her mother’s support.
Where to watch: Netflix
- Goodnight Mommy
One for the chills. Goodnight Mommy is an Austrian horror film that focuses on three main characters: a mother (Susanne Wuest) who returns home from having facial surgery and twin sons Elias and Lukas (Elias and Lukas Schwarz). From the moment she returns home it becomes apparent that something about her is not right. Unlike before, she is now distant and forgetful with her head completely wrapped in bandages. The disturbing consequences of their mother’s lost affection for the twins steer the movie ahead.
Where to watch: Vudu, Google Play, Hulu Plus
- Boy Erased
Jared is bright, handsome, and very popular at his school in Arkansas. After a turn of events, he starts to question his sexuality as a man. When he reveals that he is attracted to men, his father, the local preacher, sends him off to a conversion program. With unsettling scenes at the conversion center and startling tension between his family, Boy erased shows the struggles of a gay teen, his mother’s inner turmoil, intuition, and love.
Where to watch: Google Play, Apple TV
- The Wrong Daughter
Kate and Joe’s life topple when Danica, a child Kate gave up 17 years ago, comes to live with them. The catch; She’s not their real child. She's an impostor who has escaped from a psychiatric hospital for the mother's love she never had.
Where to watch: Vudu
- Lady Bird
Lady Bird is a coming-of-age film on Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson as she’s re-christened herself. She lives with her father Larry, mother Marion, brother Miguel and his girlfriend Shelly. The film’s plot is pretty simple, following Lady Bird throughout her senior year. She bickers with her mom Marion, giggles with her best friend Julie, loses her virginity, and dreams about her future.
Where to watch: Prime Video
- Yes Day
After being labelled as a dictator, Allison (Jennifer Garner) and her husband Carlos (Edgar Ramirez) decide to try yes day. The idea of the day is to say ‘yes' to anything the kids ask for. Katie (Jenna Ortega), Nando (Julian Lerner), and Ellie (Everly Carganilla) propose all sorts of activities that Allison would have otherwise refused to. As the family bonds throughout the day, Allison and Katie learn more about each other. While yes day is filled with laughter and fun, beware your kids might ask for their very own yes day.
Where to watch: Netflix