I am a huge, huge Netflixer. That's right, I've turned it into a verb. I love movies. I love most all movies. I love the power behind the medium, how a film is able to transcend all cultural boundaries, how it's able to be a singular, shared experienced by all those sitting in a crowded theater, no matter where they come from or what their income bracket may be or whether they're red or blue. It's an amazing feat that films accomplish.
Having said this, I will Netflix almost anything that draws my interest, whether it's an original story line or a film I've read quite a bit on, or if it should star an actor that I respect and have enjoyed in the past. So if I come across a "chick flick" or "chicklit" or whatever label you want to throw on it, I really don't think twice about renting it if it looks promising, or if it stars great actors.
I am a pretty big Uma Thurman fan. I've liked many of her performances, even if they were contained within the walls of a sub-par film. I thought she was great in JENNIFER 8, which was one of her earlier works and of course in PULP FICTION, for which I still think she was robbed of the Oscar. She's great in light hearted comedy like THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS and in deeper, thought provoking sci-fi like GATTACA. Her crowning achievement, naturally, is the KILL BILL series. She was flawless and amazing. I'm also a fan of Minnie Driver (underused, underrated) and Anthony Edwards.
So, when I was browsing the new releases and saw a title that read MOTHERHOOD, and which starred the 3 actors I named above, I hit "add" without hesitation. I had read some fairly bad press a few months earlier, but I also knew that the studio had financial woes and like when Yari Film Group folded, sending a handful of their theatrical releases straight to DVD, I figured I would give it the benefit of the doubt.
I am sorry to say that I, the one who nearly likes everything he sees, despised this movie. What were they thinking? It is so sloppy in every sense of the word. It looks as if it were filmed on a Flip Cam, and the editing is so choppy that you don't even figure out when once scene is taking place before another one starts. The script is lazy and the direction is non-existent. There is definitely a great story in there somewhere. We follow allong one harried mother during her adventurous day of running errands and prepping for her child's 6th birthday and trying to re-discover the writer that rests within her tired frame, but in the end, it's an exhausting experience, for all the wrong reasons.
The filmmakers do their best (and with much success) to make the luminous Uma Thurman look like she just rolled out of bed after a 3 night bender. She is completely wasted in this piece, BUT, she must take some of the blame as well. Her performance is pieced together and instead of making us feel sympathy for this unappreciated woman, she just makes the audience feel uncomfortable. There was such an air of uneasiness while watching the film that I almost felt creeped out when it ended.
It is a shame, because there was much talented that was wasted here. Thankfully for Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver, they appear to have much more prestigious work coming to a theater near you.
Uma will star opposite Christina Ricci and Robert Pattinson in BEL AMI and has KILL BILL vol 3 on the horizon for 2014. Minnie will be seen in this fall's Oscar bait-y CONVICTION opposite Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Melissa Leo and Juliette Lewis.
We can't win everytime, so all is forgiven...but I will have to say that MOTHERHOOD, in the case of this film, needs to be brushed aside.
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