Mother Knows Best

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.

We open with the statement, "Although fictionalized, the following dramatization was inspired by actual events." The credits run over some forthcoming scenes, which seem to give away too much of the plot, but really make up for some lack of action during the early running (and give up nothing important). Until the drama picks up excitement, you can revel in the somewhat psychotic performance of perfect mother Joanna Kerns (as Celeste). A wealthy and socialite, Ms. Kerns has just won a "Woman of the Year" award for her charitable and charming good will. She worries about her desirable daughter's lack of manly attention, and places a "personal ad" for pretty blonde Christine Elise (as Laurel Cooper)...

At first Ms. Elise thinks her mother's idea will match her up with a "serial killer," but she goes out on a blind date with the respondent anyway. Elise is thrilled when the man turns out to be handsome entrepreneur Grant Show (as Ted Rogers). Coincidently, Mr. Show reveals his mother encouraged him to answer the personal ad. Elise and Show hit romance head on, and plan to marry. But, mother Kerns has decided Show is unfit for her daughter. He has his own business, but is an automobile mechanic. So, Kerns decides she must break up the young couple, by hook or by crook...

If this really happened, as revealed in the opening and closing, more than a little dramatic license must have been taken. It doesn't matter as this is one of the most fun (and suspenseful) TV movies from the "Lifetime" production team. Everyone is as perfect as Kerns' décor, with hired gunman Sherman Augustus (as Dick Cutler) and soundtrack contributor Patrick Williams standing out. Especially stick with it for Kerns' indignant comeuppance.

******* Mother Knows Best (4/12/97) Larry Shaw ~ Joanna Kerns, Christine Elise, Grant Show, Sherman Augustus

My favorite genre of movies is true crime and this one captures beautifully the reason I enjoy watching them so much. I have seen it many times and could still watch it over and over.

Joanna Kerns plays the role of an overbearing society mother to perfection. The character she plays, Celeste Cooper, has a sense of entitlement and feelings of superiority that leads her into believing she has the right to do anything she wants. Even while plotting the most deceptive and evil schemes, she holds herself with grace and dignity. It's an excellent example of how money and status can warp a person's perception of reality.

The other actors also give quality performances but Kerns is the reason you are likely to never forget this show. I recommend it to everyone, even if you're not a true crime story fanatic like me.

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.

I loved this movie. It was extremely entertaining, and featured an excellent cast. Joanna Kerns was wicked as Celeste, and Christine Elise was also great as the innocent daughter. If you don't know the plot of this story, here it is.

Joanna Kerns plays Celeste, a rich woman who feels that it's time for her daughter to have a serious relationship. So she places a personal ad in the paper. When a guy, played by Grant Shaw of "Melrose Place", answers the ad, it's love at first sight for him and the daughter, played by Christine Elise. But mother isn't impressed with daughter's new boyfriend, because he is a mechanic, and not a lawyer or a doctor. So she arranges for him to be murdered!

A Great little thriller. I Highly recommend it.

My rating: 8/10