Mother (1996), Mother (2008), mother! (2017)'s Day, Hooooooo!
Three “Mother” movies, each with a wine pairing to match their wildly disparate tones and styles.
No the title of this post is not calling anyone's mom a ho. Get yourself some CULTURE. Mrooww.
This week I watched THREE movies each named “Mother” (well one is technically “mother!” - all lowercase and with the “!”) I’m going to let you know if you should watch any of these with your own mother on Mother’s Day, and, if so, what kind of wine you should bring to treat both her and yourself ;)
SPOILER: Only watch one with your mother. Ffs, watch the other two on your own!!!
MOTHER (1996) by Albert Brooks
I originally saw Albert Brook's MOTHER in the theater way the eff back in 1996. I'm pretty sure I also watched this with my own mother on a Mother's Day after the fact. Brooks, of course, was an old(er)-school, established comedian on the movie scene, but he was new to me. This was my first Brooks movie, and Brook's fifth (of seven!)
He brought back the incredible Debbie Reynolds, herself long missing from the movie scene though she had been creeping back in with roles in THE BODYGUARD and Oliver Stone's HEAVEN & EARTH. He originally wanted Nancy Reagan, then Doris Day, but it was Brook's friendship with Reynold's daughter, Carrie Fisher, that got him access to Reynolds and who ultimately said yes.
(Fun fact: Fisher also used her relatinship with ex Paul Simon to ask if Brooks could use a custom rewritten version of "Mrs. Robinson", titled instead "Mrs. Henderson". It's actually a fully rewritten version of the song, that plays in full in the movie, and I was pretty gobsmacked to hear it! Now that I know how insane such a ask would have been!)
This is such an endearing Mother's Day movie. Reynolds and Brooks bounce beautifuly off each other. He's the estranged son, Reynolds is the sweet-sounding hyper-critical matron always ready with just the right barb, and together the two dig deep to discover the source of their dysfunction. In the most hilarious ways possible, of course.
Brooks' style rests somewhere between Woody Allen and Mel Brooks - part indie satire, part complete send-up, but it works. Props also go to composer MArc Shaiman (First Wives Club, Patch Adams, North) - the music is wholly memorable, reminding me that movie music was a class all its own in the 80's ad 90's, in ways that seem largely lost now.
Watch With Mom?
This is a perfect Mother movie to watch with your motther.
PAIR WITH: Domaine Bardet & Fils Irancy Rouge 2022
You want something dynamic, yet fesh and light on its feet. It has an edge, a weight, but nevertheless easy enjoyment. According to the website shopsauergrapes.com (Buy Irancy HERE!)
Irancy may be one of the least-seen French appellations. This rural town is far removed, both geographically and culturally, from the famed red Burgundy villages to the south. In fact, Irancy didn’t even get its own appellation until 1999. This is true cool-climate viticulture, where winter snow and spring frosts are a regular occurrence. The same Kimmeridgian limestone responsible for Chablis’ profound minerality runs through Irancy. And for a long time, it was almost more helpful to think of Irancy as a high-acid, low-tannin red version of Chablis. You drank it well-chilled and quickly, if you drank it at all. But in recent years, with seemingly every vintage warmer than the last, the Pinot here has taken on more heft and aromatic complexity. Those who cut their teeth on the more structured and earthy–not to mention more affordable–red Burgundy of yesteryear will find plenty to love in modern-day Irancy.
In 2018, Philippe Bardet’s son Damien purchased a small one-hectare plot of Irancy, and the plot included a few rows of the extremely rare “César” grape, an ancient variety known for deep color and robust tannins. We don’t see much of the Bardet wines stateside, as well over 90% of their production is consumed greedily by locals, but wines like today’s Irancy are wonderfully unadorned expressions of place. Just a few hundred cases were made, and only a precious few are here and ready for your enjoyment.
Irancy’s signature tension is still in play here, though with a little air, the nose unfurls into some beautiful Burgundy classicism. Morello cherry, crushed raspberry, and purple plum flesh fruit lead into black tea and tobacco, violet petals, mushroomy earth, and potting soil savoriness. The palate is medium-bodied, with moderate tannins providing a fantastic frame for more flavors of deep red fruit and earth. The acidity at play here is a little higher than you find in most modern Burgundy, and it’s totally welcome; this truly feels like the sort of Burgundy we drank a decade or more ago. It’s refreshing, complex, and full of pleasure now, but we strongly suggest stashing away a little Bardet for future exploration; this is going to unfurl into something pretty special. Thankfully, it’s priced reasonably enough to do just that.
If you can’t find this somewhat small production wine, aim for a “Morgon” Beaujolais, a slightly more robust, meatier version of a wonderfully light and fruity red. Something that can take a bit of a chill, if it’s hot where you’re at.
Mother (2008) by Bong Joon-Ho
The film that Bong Joon-Ho made after his international hit sensation THE HOST. I love Bong, but had slept on seeing this particular film for far too long, as so many seemed disappointed with it following his bigger sci-fi sensation.
While Albert Brook's 1996 MOTHER was about a dysfunctional relationiship between mother and son, Bong's MOTHER is about an OVERLY FUNTIONAL mother and son relationship, and how such a thing can go horribly awry.
The story follows small town mother and her mentally challenged adult son, in a rural Korean town, when said son is accused of murdering a local girl. He signs a confession, but it all seems stupidly pat as plainly he wasn't equipped to understand what he was signing. So the audience then expects the mother to go on a fix-it spree - helicopter parenting to the rescue!
But no; or rather: yes; BUT: this is ENTIRELY about mothering gone WRONG.
As the film spins deeper and darker into the morass of the town's secrets, there soon proves to be nothing redemptive in the offerring. This is Bong Joon-Ho, after all. The man who brought us PARASITE and MICKEY 17. Don't go in expecting anything but bleak, darkly comedic horror and resolutions that leave everyone worse than they began.
Watch With Mom?
Hell, no. What is wrong with you? Is your mother super into the twisted and dark side of humanity? No? Then keep this one to yourself. And don’t you watch it unless you’re ready for some debbie DOWNER’ing.
Oh, your mother IS into this?
Check, please.
PAIR WITH: Cieck Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG
Honestly, drink something bright. A crisp Sauvignon Blanc or Gruner Veltliner, perhaps an Italian Erbaluce or Arneis would do wonders in keeping your spirits bright while digging through this film's dirt. It'll also keep the alcohol low so you can stay fresh through the 2+ hour runtime.
I’ve had and can vouch for the Cieck Erbaluce di Caluso - 100% Erbaluce, an indigenous grape of Italy’s that almost went extinct before it’s popularity started to rise again.
This is a beautifully clean, linear white. “Like drinking a melted glacier,” as one of my fave reviews stated. Seek it out!
mother! (2017) by Darren Aronofsky
This is a movie that defines the term "thought-provoking". It provokes oodles of thoughts. The first third threatens to kindle nothing but obnoxious art house vibes with little weight, but its second and third acts swiftly segue into outright absurdity, and an obscene volume of meaning comes hot and heavy.
Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play a couple, recently moved in to the man's family house. It's in disrepair, so She does the work while He meanders about, trying to write a new work (He's a writer) but inspiration isn't coming to Him.
Soon a strange man, played by Ed Harris, arrives, looking for a place to stay, and seeming to be familiar with the husband's writing. Then Harris' wife (played by Michelle Pfeiffer!) arrives, then their two adult but homicidal sons in turn. And this is only the beginning.
Throughout it all, Lawrence's character is ignored, her concerns swept aside, all the while a baby is growing within her.
My thoughts while watching this movie:
—This is what happenes when neither side in a relationship communicates
—Only one partner thinks of the other (Her) without being asked.
—Fame / the life of an artist taking away privacy, their significant other swept up in the chaos. But the artist needs and thrives on the chaos.
—After the birth: complete isolation, but then gifts from the world. The artist refuses to stop pleasing others. Only interested in his baby for the attention it might bring him.
—I've been reading recently how men need to return to being protectors, rather than predators. But here, what the men tend to protect is the status quo, heirarchies, new life is food for those already in power, those who grant artists their own fleeting power, project to project.
—Father (Him) feigns outrage over the death of His and mother's baby, he feigns shock, but has no right to be this emotion.
—Father preaches forgiveness, a way forward without challenging power structures.
These were all excellent thoughts. I really enjoyed this movie for most of its runtime. But then...that ending. Yuck.
SPOILER: At the end, its just about "creating". Leaving your previous love behind to mine the next. Another filmmaker obsessed with the "power" of "creating". Another filmmaker making a tortured, tortuous metaphor for the process of making something, because they are oh-so-important.
God, I am so bored with this shit.
Great, you create shit. Be proud, be happy, be motivated. Don't wax poetic on how important, apocalyptic, comparative-to-literal-birth your fucking screenplay is. Get. Over. Yourselves. Filmmakers. You aren’t precious. You aren’t important beyond basic entertainment and artistic flexes. If I watch ONE MORE film about the fucking POWER of fucking MAKING THINGS like a fucking EGOMANIAC I’m going to buy a ticket to a movie just so I can show up and scroll Instagram on my phone the whole fucking runtime. Seriously.
Also, someone take the CGI keys away from Aronofsky. Between The Fountain and this, he should have all CGI licenses revoked.
Watch With Mom?
Great film with a crap, navel-gazing ending. Not really about mothers or motherhood, so I say save this one for a rainy non-mother-centric holiday. Or a theatrical screening where you can show up to scroll Instagram on your phone the whole runtime.
Pair With: 2016 Paolo Bea IGT Umbria Bianco “Arboreus”
A splurge of a wine - at $50 - $80 / bottle! You need something layered, rich, complex, and DEEP. Something that’s going to challenge the tastebuds in a good way. And that wine is a 2016 (that’s the CURRENT/LATEST vintage!) of this outstanding, tree-grown Italian wine held back for years until it was ready.
This brilliant “white” (truly an AMBER wine if I ever saw one! —Dave) from the legendary Paolo Bea estate is made from a regional version of Trebbiano called "Spoletino." The wine spends 29 days on the skins and four years on the lees, giving it a golden hue and fleshy complexity. Dry, full-bodied, and with striking minerality, here the vines are trained high off the ground (in trees, with trellis wires stretching them from tree to tree, I’ve only ever heard of one other wine made frorm grapes like this, wild Pais grapes or Pais Salvaje from Chile, grown wild in the trees of the forests there! —Dave) This tree trellised technique was meant to leave room to plant other crops underneath. The wine takes his name from the Italian word for tree, "albero."
Okay, whew, that’s all the “Mother(s)” I can take for one week!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY. Congrats to all the new mothers out there, respect to all the older mothers out there, and pretty much straight up worship to all the mothers in their twilight years. You deserve more than a day, but such is life. So take your day.
Watch something amazing, drink something amazing, and celebrate life and living. Cheers, everyone.
