Motherhood (2009)

In Manhattan, a mother of two preparing for her daughter's sixth birthday party has no idea of the challenges she's about to face in order to pull off the event.

Director:

Katherine Dieckmann

Writer:

Katherine Dieckmann

Stars:

Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Uma Thurman	...	Eliza
Anthony Edwards	...	Avery
David Schallipp	...	Lucas
Matthew Schallipp	...	Lucas
Daisy Tahan	...	Clara
Alice Drummond	...	Edith
Stephanie Szostak	...	French Neighbor
Celina Vignaud	...	Her Daughter
Minnie Driver	...	Sheila
Dale Soules	...	Hester
James Lecesne	...	Annoyed Man
Marceline Hugot	...	Curious Tourist
Victor Colicchio	...	Roofer in Truck
Brian Tarantina	...	Opera Lover in Car
Kerry Bishé	...	Good Sharing Mom

Storyline

Eliza Kendall Welch (Uma Thurman), mother of, Clara, and Lucas, lives with her spouse, Avery McKendrik (Anthony Edwards), in an Manhattan apartment. Today is May 25th, Clara's 6th birthday, and she has to make arrangements for a party, as well as attend to day-to-day chores, including Blogging, and entering an online contest 'Motherhood', and looking after her invalid elderly neighbor and a dog. Things will slowly get out of hand after her car gets towed due to a film shooting; the tire on her bike gets punctured; she alienates herself from her friend, Sheila (Minnie Driver); Clara's name is misspelled on the cake; while Avery refuses to answer his cell-phone. After being assisted by a delivery man, Nikesh (Arjun Gupta), who finds her attractive, she concludes she has had enough, and decides not to return home.

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Plot Keywords:

pacifier | mother | birthday | birthday party | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

There are no time-outs in...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual references and a brief drug comment

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Uma Mãe em Apuros

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,081, 25 October 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$92,900, 15 November 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wells Productions,Killer Films,iDeal Partners Film Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Grossed $100,000 in the USA in 2009 and, in its UK opening weekend, took a total of £88 - equating to about 11 tickets sold, allegedly making this the lowest grossing film ever released in the UK.

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Goofs

At around 1hr 22 minutes When Clara was telling Eliza that it's raining outside. She replies with "All right" but she is not saying the words.

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Quotes

[reading from her 500-word motherhood-themed article for submission to a magazine prize contest]
Eliza: Motherhood is about accepting the limitations of time and energy which stretch beyond you, even though sometimes it feels they can consume you. Search for and hold on to your own true self. If you lose that, what kind of mother can you be? Things are always changing no matter how much we might want things to stay the same. You could take a picture of your kids every single day and every single day ...

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Connections

References The World of Strawberry Shortcake (1980)

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Soundtracks

Goodbye Cruel World
Written by Steve Ferrera, David A. Stewart (as David Stewart), and Siobhan Fahey (as Siobhan Stewart)
Performed by Shakespear's Sister (as Shakespears Sister)
Courtesy of Warner Music U.K. Ltd.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film and TV Licensing

User Reviews

An Exaggerated Take On The Day To Day Struggles Of A Mom In The City

Katherine Dieckmann's 'Motherhood' looks at the day in the life of city-dwelling mother Eliza Welch. Mothers could easily relate to Eliza's day-to-day struggles in being there for her family, in trying to find passion in life and in attempting to just make it through the day (although the film really does exaggerate these situations). Perhaps non-mothers, especially husbands and children who take their hardworking mothers for granted, could appreciate more of the effort and sacrifices mothers make. Many tend to see Thurman's Eliza as whiny and bitter but which mother hasn't had one of those days? Much of her frustration is also to do with the fact that she has just realized how fast her daughter is growing up and is trying to hold on to her childhood.

I did find the characterization of the Eliza's husband halfbaked. At first he appears to be this slacker jerk who doesn't do anything while the poor wife is working hard to make ends meet, then in the second half, the writer tries to make him this kind loving husband who cares about his wife and attempts to redeem him by the end twist (with the envelope). So what would have happened had he not received it? Would he have remained the frustrated jerk? It just felt forced as if the writer wanted to quickly round things up.

Uma Thurman does a decent job. She is supported well by the rest of the cast, especially Minnie Driver.

'Motherhood' does tend to be far-fetched at times. An example is the scene where Eliza tries to drive away. However, overall, it's not all that bad of a movie.