Art of the Matter Salutes Mothers

Happy Mother's Day! To celebrate the woman in our lives who gave us life, taught us how to apply mascara, and to please drag a comb through your wadded-up hair, I've compiled a list of my favorite moms in film and TV. These three women exemplify some of my favorite qualities: crazy, colorful and kooky. They are devoted and often delirious, but you can't deny that they love their children.

Let's get crazy out the way first, OK? 1956's thriller The Bad Seed questions the nature of evil when it is seen in a seemingly pure form: a little girl. Nancy Kelly plays Christine Penmark, mother of the murderous Rhoda Penmark, who kills a classmate over a penmanship medal. Creepy? Absolutely. But Christine loves Rhoda and tries to protect her from discovery, realizing that Rhoda is crazy because of Christine's killer mother (takes mommy dearest to another level, huh?). Overcome with guilt, she tries to do whatever she can to save her little girl, and the consequences are diastrous. This cult classic is dark, but it leaves viewers spellbound and thankful for their own families.




My mother guessed that Lorelai Gilmore would make the list, and, of course, she was right. Probably the coolest, funniest mom in TV history, Lorelai (played by Lauren Graham) brought a new face to teen motherhood long before MTV created umpteen reality shows on the subject. The series began when Lorelai was 32 and her daughter Rory was 16, and viewers got to know the Gilmore Girls through ups and downs, many boyfriends and lots and lots of cups of coffee.


Auntie Mame from 1958 is proof that a woman doesn't have to give birth to be a spectacular mother. Oozing fabulousness from every pore in her body, Mame's party lifestyle is put on hold when her nephew Patrick is orphaned and sent to live with her. Mame's joie de vivre gives the sad boy a new lease on life, and they become partners in crime. Rosalind Russell is a delight, and her performance makes me want to don a kimono and do the Charleston.

So, here's to mom's everywhere, onscreen and off, who kiss our scraped knees, sing us our first songs and love us in spite of ourselves.







images from here, here, and yep, here