Mother's Boys (1994)

Director:

Yves Simoneau

Writers (WGA):

Bernard Taylor (novel)
Barry Schneider (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 March 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

She left them three years ago. Now she's coming back... Whether they like it or not.

Plot:

Jude Madigan leaves her husband Robert and her three children without any explanation. Three years later...

Plot Keywords:

Handcuffs | Incest | Injury | Psychopath | Tied To Chair

Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Judith 'Jude' Madigan
Peter Gallagher	...	Robert Madigan
Joanne Whalley	...	Colleen 'Callie' Harland (as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer)
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Lydia Madigan
Luke Edwards	...	Kes Madigan
Colin Ward	...	Michael Madigan
Joey Zimmerman	...	Ben Madigan
Joss Ackland	...	Lansing, Jude's Attorney
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Mark Kaplan, Robert's Attorney
J.E. Freeman	...	Everett, Principal
John C. McGinley	...	Mr. Fogel, Teacher
Jill Freedman	...	Nurse
Lorraine Toussaint	...	Robert's Associate
Ken Lerner	...	Jude's Analyst
Mary Anne McGarry	...	Planetarium Woman

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

CBS Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: Jude fastens her seat belt in the tunnel when she lets Kes drive, but when he starts driving she stands up and yells.

Quotes:

Michael Madigan: He's full of it, he was too little to remmber here
Ben Madigan: [Defensively] Was not... Callie saw her too, she asked if i knew her i said no
Michael Madigan: [Sarcastically] Why did you say no?
[Ben shrugs]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Anus Magillicutty (2003)

A nice psycho thriller worthy of VHS

As some people view this movie as "horriable" because it doesn't compare to blockbusters such as Scream - which is excusable, seeing as to who is the sociopath here - let's view this on its own merits, and not compare it to the "good" movies which score a 7 out of 10 on IMDb anyway.

The story is deliciously freaky. Jamie Lee Curtis as a sociopath mom who returns after three years, and tries to squirm her way into the life of what used to be her family. With plenty of Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot moments, such as the forehead-scene and the bathtub scene, people who will look no deeper than the superficial outer layer will, as clearly demonstrated before, mistake this movie for a flick of the same level as Nemesis III. The trick to understanding what it is about, is paying good attention to the actors, which brings me to my next point.

Acting is nice. Luke "Kes" Edwards, gives a great performance, writing whole books with his eyes. His behavior throughout the movie is excellent. The bath-scene shows how uncomfortable he is being lured in by his mother. Colin Ward and Joey Zimmerman are kids. They don't act as good as the teenagers/adults do, but hey, at least it's not Jake Lloyd, right? Jamie Lee Curtis. Let's set her apart. Let's not make remarks about "how she was better in movie x" or how bad blonde looks on her. Let's talk about how she performs in this movie specifically. To be short: her sociopath role bleeds out of her. She's doing just fine. In the beginning she's appearing a little odd at best, but as the movie progresses, she's just getting creepy, in a way you're looking for in this movie.

Atmospheres are set fine by the lighting and camera-work. The "creepy" parts are set by dark blue lighting and closeups, so you can read the maniacal tension from the eyes. One scene where the boys are secretly conferring among each other, is put down quite nicely as well. On their height, and up close, as if the viewer is part of the select group. These little touches make it nice. The music doesn't have a lot other than scary music. What's there is good, but it's not much, and that's something one can certainly miss.

In short, if you feel like being freaked out over someone's behavior, this is a nice movie to see. The ending consists of something unexpected in the plan of the bad girl, which gives it a nice twist, although the final part of the ending is a little anti-climactic. The final shot does it, though. It's those eyes again that will leave it up to your fantasy what will happen in a few years.

Even though the story is well acted out, it is still kind of old, and you just know how it's going to end. Nevertheless a nice movie to rent if you coincidentally to bump into it.