Mordmotiv: Mutterliebe

So I caught this movie today on Lifetime, on a rainy Saturday morning. For once, I'm grateful for the bad weather! When I saw the title "Mother Knows Best", with Joanna Kerns no less, I figured it would be some Lifetime movie about a mother taking off her apron and having to deal with obnoxious bratty children. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

Celeste Cooper is my idol! Joanna Kerns did an excellent job shedding her "everywoman" image. I was laughing out loud as soon as she placed the ad in her daughter's name. Grant Show and Christine Elise have some chemistry but I found their characters to be stale. Kerns steals the show here, that's for sure! It's funny how the only Lifetime movies that I like are always on at 11am on Saturdays. And those are the Lifetime movies that still run on the channel.

This was tense, it's about an obsessed mother who hates her son-in-law only because he isn't what she wanted him to be. She couldn't face the fact her daughter Laurel was in love with a man who wasn't filthy rich and upper crust. Laurel loved him for who he was and not what he was earning. This film is good to watch on a rainy afternoon. It could've done without the silly background music, because the film is serious and not a comedy.

Viewing this was probably the most enjoyable two hours of my life.

I saw this a while back on Channel Five, and couldn't wait to get a copy, but sadly it's not been released on DVD or VHS, so I've hit a dead end. However, next time it's shown, I'll be sure to tape it! It's about a dominating mother who answers an advert in the paper from a boy who wants to find a date, and makes her daughter go out with him. What she doesn't know is that he's got a poor job (by her standards) and so, she sets out to split the two up, leading to inexplicable consequences.

Honestly, if you ever get the chance, give this one a look. You won't be disappointed.

A friend had seen this flick a while back and recommended it, and I happened to see it listed for a rerun on "Lifetime" today.

Glanced at the prior comments here, and after viewing this opus, would agree with their positive viewpoints.

Joanna Kerns' evil mom was as delightfully and completely selfish, obsessive and wicked a character as one is likely to encounter. "Mother-in-law-from-Hell" is almost too mild an adjective. Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction," and Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets" could qualify to become trainees as mental health workers, comparing their problems relative to Joanna's personality disorders.

Sonny Corleone would exert more deliberation and examination of possible alternatives, before ordering somebody whacked, than this overbearing mother did in engaging a hit man.

However, overall, this was a relatively "quiet" flick, given the nature of the story and plot. I found this appealing, and there was little yelling, and no raucous knife-wielding climax, common to so many "Lifetime" offerings. This made it a better viewing, and the Kerns' character was all the better for her steady, unfailing, almost low-key way by which she portrayed her evil character's persona.

A worthwhile two hours' entertainment.

This is one of my favorite Lifetime movies! I would highly recommend it, if you like suspense thrillers. Christine Elise (Emily from 90210) and Grant Show (Jake from Melrose Place) both star in this movie and they are both excellent in it, as is the mother (I forget her real name). This movie has an excellent twist as well! A must-see!