The main reason why "Mother's Boys" didn't fell into obscurity is due to the fact queen horror Jamie Lee Curtis plays against type and this time she's the antagonist in this thrilling,
bizarre and slightly decent film. The unnatured mother of three boys decides to retur home to them and her hubby (Peter Gallagher) after years of unexplained absence and she wants to reunite
the family. Problem is that the man is already committed with someone else, a young school principal assistant (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) and they're all doing pretty great and that's what makes
Jamie's character creating plans and attacks to get her wishes fulfilled. Your typical 1990's thriller with plenty of tension, danger and some sexy scenes as well since Curtis tries her best
to seduce Gallagher.
I won't extend too much about it (I usually do) since I don't feel the need to and I'll just go straight-forward. I enjoyed plenty of things from this movie, specially the acting and all the scenarios created since it reveals how a sociopath works, the level of manipulation involved in order to get things done or escape blame thinking they're the victims when they are everything but.
The acting by Curtis is a whole new level, and the typical good girl makes an extraordinary turn as the seductive villain who can do crazy things to accomplish her goals. Also deserving of credit is the young Luke Edwards, as the eldest son, and the key conflictive figure of this whole mess since he gradually changes from a contempt state against the one who abandoned him to later on becoming more acceptive to her and later on falling for her tricks. I had seen in the amazing "Guilty by Suspicion" where he has a small part as Robert De Niro's son, but here he's more at the center showing great dramatic skills.
The movie has plenty of qualities, an excellent pacing and great development from one sequence to another that really makes you at the edge of your seat for everything, and that's a rare quality in movies. But, when it finally got the most dangerous parts such as the unbelievable trial game where the kids take control of the situation, it stopped being the class act thriller it was going and becomes unreasonable. It's well-made but it was hard to believe. Might work for some.
But that's not the key issue that reduces its values. If we have to look at the overall message of the film, when it comes to showing a mother's love, care and devotion for her children, this is quite a messy movie that seems to support the notion they are allowed to do anything since in the eyes of society they're more respected than fathers (usually it's the case), and when they showed the man's lawyer (Paul Guilfoyle) never being helpful or supportive of their case against the mother I was like 'Nope', because we had seen cases where the father gets the custodity for less things than the ones she causes at that point in their first exchanges. That whole inbalance kills the movie, along with with a conclusion "borrowed" from "The Good Son" but reversed.
It gets a lukewarm thumbs up from me. Entertaining as hell, I had a great evening while watching it but the discourse is flawed, strange and it can give dagernous insights in some disturbing minds since it makes 90% of its scenarios in a quite realistic manner. 6/10.
I won't extend too much about it (I usually do) since I don't feel the need to and I'll just go straight-forward. I enjoyed plenty of things from this movie, specially the acting and all the scenarios created since it reveals how a sociopath works, the level of manipulation involved in order to get things done or escape blame thinking they're the victims when they are everything but.
The acting by Curtis is a whole new level, and the typical good girl makes an extraordinary turn as the seductive villain who can do crazy things to accomplish her goals. Also deserving of credit is the young Luke Edwards, as the eldest son, and the key conflictive figure of this whole mess since he gradually changes from a contempt state against the one who abandoned him to later on becoming more acceptive to her and later on falling for her tricks. I had seen in the amazing "Guilty by Suspicion" where he has a small part as Robert De Niro's son, but here he's more at the center showing great dramatic skills.
The movie has plenty of qualities, an excellent pacing and great development from one sequence to another that really makes you at the edge of your seat for everything, and that's a rare quality in movies. But, when it finally got the most dangerous parts such as the unbelievable trial game where the kids take control of the situation, it stopped being the class act thriller it was going and becomes unreasonable. It's well-made but it was hard to believe. Might work for some.
But that's not the key issue that reduces its values. If we have to look at the overall message of the film, when it comes to showing a mother's love, care and devotion for her children, this is quite a messy movie that seems to support the notion they are allowed to do anything since in the eyes of society they're more respected than fathers (usually it's the case), and when they showed the man's lawyer (Paul Guilfoyle) never being helpful or supportive of their case against the mother I was like 'Nope', because we had seen cases where the father gets the custodity for less things than the ones she causes at that point in their first exchanges. That whole inbalance kills the movie, along with with a conclusion "borrowed" from "The Good Son" but reversed.
It gets a lukewarm thumbs up from me. Entertaining as hell, I had a great evening while watching it but the discourse is flawed, strange and it can give dagernous insights in some disturbing minds since it makes 90% of its scenarios in a quite realistic manner. 6/10.