Helicopter Mom

"Helicopter Mom" is a film that boggled my mind as I watched. I couldn't help thinking that perhaps Nia Vardalos was tired of being a celebrity and simply did this film to destroy her career...her performance and character were both THAT bad. Now she was wonderful in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as well as in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding II"...but here she is simply someone I hated with every fiber of my being...and I am actually shocked I completed the movie. I assume it's because when she wasn't on the screen, the picture was actually pretty good...but that wasn't often enough.

Vardalos plays Maggie, a single mother whose every thought and action is about her teenage son, Lloyd (Jason Dolley). She constantly embarrasses him and behaves in a way like no mother on the planet...and is extremely cruel and self-centered throughout this. For instance, she HOPES that he's gay because that way no other woman will come between them...and then publicly outs the boy at school and signs him up to compete for a gay scholarship. There is, by the way, no evidence that he's gay...none. She just hopes he is for her own deranged and selfish reasons. She doesn't stop at embarrassing him for this...it's pretty much constant. To say this is a one-dimensional and broadly written character is a HUGE understatement!!

When the camera is NOT on her, the film is rather nice. Dolley is very good as her meek son and his scenes with his girlfriend are very sweet. I'd actually like to see more of this actor...just never, never, never in the same film as Vardalos.

Overall, a difficult movie to like and one I hope never to see again.

Stupid movies come out all the time. There are bad films on gay related subjects. But this one had the imprimatur of the Points Foundation which is a group that gives scholarships to deserving LGBT youth. Very important because there are a lot of gay kids still subject to bullying which tends to stifle education. Believe me I know.

There could probably have been made a serious film on that issue, but the producers of Helicopter Mom opted for a truly bad, not only bad, but insulting comedy. In a plot borrowed somewhat from the 80s Soul Man, this overbearing Mom played by Nia Vardalos decides that her son Jason Dolley has to get a scholarship from somewhere to afford college in the East. So what to do, but out him with some of the usual results gay kids face. She even tries to find him dates.

In point of fact the kid is in the category of questioning. We all develop our sexuality at our own pace. A topic that also could have been handled better.

Here in my city I support the Embrace WNY group and it's annual brunch which among other things also provides scholarships for deserving LGBT youth. I think the talent there among those who sponsor and participate could come up with a better film.

They couldn't do much worse.

The writing felt like this could have been a script written by a non-film major in a screenwriting class at a local community college. It is riddled with some of the worst dialogue I have ever heard in a film. And then you have Nia Vardolos; she was so over-the-top that one has to wonder if she was binging on drugs or alcohol during the filming of this. I was in utter disbelief at how bad and rotorless this film was.

Greetings again from the darkness. Just when it seems everything we say or do is offensive to someone and most every topic is considered politically incorrect, a movie shows up that seems to say it's OK to be offensive if you are trying to make a worthy point. It's kind of like someone defending their actions by saying "I'm not a racist – I have an African-American friend."

Helicopter parenting is defined as an overly involved parent who thinks they are best serving their kid by staying involved in every detail of life – from homework to activities to love life. As sad as this phenomenon is, this movie from director Salome Breziner and writer Duke Tran is so exaggerated, a more appropriate title would be Chainsaw Mom. Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) stars as the clueless and relentless single mom obsessed with her son … especially the uncertainties of his sexual orientation.

Ms. Vardalos seems to have patterned her approach to the role after some of the wide-eyed over-the-top characters of Keenan Thompson from SNL. This is beyond caricature and it's also beyond annoying. The character is not believable in any sense, and is fortunately offset by more grounded performances from Jason Dolley, who plays her unfortunate son, and Mark Boone Junior, who plays her ex-husband and his father.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking on a topic like teenage sexual ambiguity/confusion with a comedic approach; however, much of this comes off like a cheesy sitcom. The only thing missing is the laugh track … and maybe Vardalos hiding behind a potted plant while wearing Groucho glasses and mustache. I say maybe, because it's possible the latter occurred during one of the many segments where I was rolling my eyes or shaking my head in disbelief.

Fortunately, there were some genuine father and son moments between Dolley and Boone. In fact, Boone's performance is so good, it's like someone changed the channel every time his character appears. Dolley and Skyler Samuels (The Duff) also have some very sweet and believable scenes together. It's just a shame that a moment as poignant as the confused son asking his father "When did you know you were straight?" is offset by mom publicly humiliating her kid and herself in yet another unimaginable display of inappropriate and cartoonish behavior.

The supporting cast also includes Kate Flannery (TV's "The Office"), Gillian Vigman (The Hangover), and Dallas' own Hockaday girl Lisa Loeb – who has a role as a teacher, and wrote the song for the opening credits.

Confusion over sexual orientation in teenagers is certainly a topic worthy of film treatment, as is the cultural phenomenon of helicopter parenting. The slapstick comedy approach seems to overwhelm the first message, while the 1980's sitcom style destroys any commentary on the second. The only person who thinks a boy's best friend is his mother is Norman Bates. And Hitchcock showed us how that turns out.

Hands down, one of the worst flicks ever. Nia Vardolos is a gifted writer and actress and I adored her in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." But someone steered her wrong in "Helicopter Mom."

Overview: Financially pressed single mom Maggie has some reason to wonder about her son's sexual identity. A sensitive type boy who hasn't had a relationship despite being pursued by girls at his school, especially pretty cheerleader Carrie, the boy finds himself attracted to both boys and girls. Maggie assumes he's gay and attempts to set him up with various males. She takes it upon herself to submit an application for him for a gay student college scholarship, forcing her son to play along with the deceit. From there it just keeps getting dumber.

This is worst than a bad sitcom. It's offensive, relies on poor stereotype jokes, and Nia is simply not her best in this. This flick is beyond idiotic!