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| Scene from Mommie Dearest |
Welcome to Alternative to What: a weekly column that tries to find a great alternative to driving to the multiplexes. Based on releases of that week, the selections will either be thematically related or feature recurring cast and crew. The goal is to help you better understand the diversity of cinema and hopefully find you some favorites while saving a few bucks. At worse, this column will save you money. Expect each installment to come out on Fridays, unless specified.
THIS WEEK:
Mommie Dearest (1981)
- Alternative To -
Bad Moms (2016)
Let's be honest. This is a great time for women in cinema, even if the internet would have you believe otherwise. A few weeks ago marked the release of Ghostbusters, and it seems like things are only perking up after the Democratic National Convention - where women came out to support each other and embrace motherhood. But of course, there's the other side of the equation. I'm talking about the bad mothers who deserve just as much credit as the good. In fact, it feels novel to make a movie about women letting loose and doing reckless things like their male counterparts. Bad Moms wants to do just that, and all the more power to it. Go ahead and proudly declare your womanhood and desire to be a buffoon. Just know that there's a whole lot of better things that you could be doing.
For instance, if one wants to watch quality bad mother movies, one probably should turn to the film that pretty much is synonymous with this style of film. I'm talking about Mommie Dearest: which is a film that suggests that Joan Crawford was one of the worst mothers ever. It is likely that you know the phrase "No more wire hangers." It is likely that you know about the disturbing child abuse. Well, if we're talking about mothers being bad, you might as well see them acting bad instead of merely doing reckless stuff that adds up to no catharsis. In fact, it is likely not going to add weight to the characters to see the comedy play out in lewd detail.
It is true that Mommie Dearest is one of those "acquired tastes" of cinema. It's a so-bad-it's-good film that actually has a lot of passion underneath its crass surface. It's a story about a mother bound by success and desperate to have her child represent perfection. When she goes against this, things don't go well. There's abuse and it's played so over the top that you either love its campiness or are disturbed by its text. Even then, this is a story that captures the essence of bad moms better than Bad Moms is likely to. You wish better for them because you can sense that while they are incompetent in raising children, there's some desire to be better. As bizarre as Faye Dunaway could be, she does come across as someone who is clinging to success with hope for her family's better future. The only issue is that the Crawford legacy is immediately undermined by the pettiness of childhood.
I'll admit that this is one of the more unorthodox recommendations. I don't know that this film will click with everyone. In fact, there's a sense of cult status about it that precedes anyone who sees it. Yet, there is that effort that was put into the film that does make for something wholly satisfying if you're in the right mood. It is shocking that Crawford was such a bad mother. However, it's also sort of hilarious how this may have been a bad attempt at being a prestige picture. There's a lot that strides the line between good and bad tastes. It's exploitative for sure. However, it does make sense if you want to see a movie about bad moms to see a movie that actually has a mother acting bad.
Bad Moms may be a fantasy comedy that seems older women acting reckless for the sake of their sanity. However, does that make them bad MOMS? Probably not. They're not even bad girls. They're just bad people. In order to be true to argue that women can be bad moms, you have to see them be bad in a way that hurts the child. Mommie Dearest is about as close as you'll get to seeing this depicted in a realistic way - if very over the top. Once you see Crawford act bad, you'll reconsider Bad Moms and think "Yeah, but are they really acting BAD?" Not really. Don't fall for the imitation brand. Get the real thing and do it right.
For instance, if one wants to watch quality bad mother movies, one probably should turn to the film that pretty much is synonymous with this style of film. I'm talking about Mommie Dearest: which is a film that suggests that Joan Crawford was one of the worst mothers ever. It is likely that you know the phrase "No more wire hangers." It is likely that you know about the disturbing child abuse. Well, if we're talking about mothers being bad, you might as well see them acting bad instead of merely doing reckless stuff that adds up to no catharsis. In fact, it is likely not going to add weight to the characters to see the comedy play out in lewd detail.
It is true that Mommie Dearest is one of those "acquired tastes" of cinema. It's a so-bad-it's-good film that actually has a lot of passion underneath its crass surface. It's a story about a mother bound by success and desperate to have her child represent perfection. When she goes against this, things don't go well. There's abuse and it's played so over the top that you either love its campiness or are disturbed by its text. Even then, this is a story that captures the essence of bad moms better than Bad Moms is likely to. You wish better for them because you can sense that while they are incompetent in raising children, there's some desire to be better. As bizarre as Faye Dunaway could be, she does come across as someone who is clinging to success with hope for her family's better future. The only issue is that the Crawford legacy is immediately undermined by the pettiness of childhood.
I'll admit that this is one of the more unorthodox recommendations. I don't know that this film will click with everyone. In fact, there's a sense of cult status about it that precedes anyone who sees it. Yet, there is that effort that was put into the film that does make for something wholly satisfying if you're in the right mood. It is shocking that Crawford was such a bad mother. However, it's also sort of hilarious how this may have been a bad attempt at being a prestige picture. There's a lot that strides the line between good and bad tastes. It's exploitative for sure. However, it does make sense if you want to see a movie about bad moms to see a movie that actually has a mother acting bad.
Bad Moms may be a fantasy comedy that seems older women acting reckless for the sake of their sanity. However, does that make them bad MOMS? Probably not. They're not even bad girls. They're just bad people. In order to be true to argue that women can be bad moms, you have to see them be bad in a way that hurts the child. Mommie Dearest is about as close as you'll get to seeing this depicted in a realistic way - if very over the top. Once you see Crawford act bad, you'll reconsider Bad Moms and think "Yeah, but are they really acting BAD?" Not really. Don't fall for the imitation brand. Get the real thing and do it right.
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