Make some popcorn and curl up with the family! These mom movies will make you laugh, cry and celebrate your special relationship.
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50 Best Mom Movies to Watch on Mother’s Day
Updated on Jun. 19, 2025
Mother’s Day
Released: 2016
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “My girlfriend is American, but she is desperate for our child to have a British accent. That’s all she wants. … All the other kids are watching Sesame Street. Our baby is sat down in front of Downton Abbey.”
Yes, this might be a little on the nose for Mother’s Day movies, but there’s nothing wrong with that! A romantic comedy and feel-good movie, Mother’s Day is one of the late, great Garry Marshall’s holiday ensemble films (which include Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve). It stars A-listers Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson and Jennifer Aniston in a series of vignettes as they explore different aspects of being a mom. While the critics weren’t fans of this film when it came out, you’ll still love watching its relatable and funny moments.
Terms of Endearment
Released: 1983
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “Grown women are prepared for life’s little emergencies.”
The Best Picture Oscar-winning drama Terms of Endearment stars Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger as a mother-daughter duo who love each other to a fault. MacLaine won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance as the controlling matriarch Aurora who can’t let her only child go. Winger is devastating as Emma, the free-spirited housewife and young mom still desperate for Aurora’s approval. Their intense love for each other is evident in every scene. Heads up: Have tissues handy, because this one’s a tearjerker.
Little Women
Released: 2019
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “When you feel discontented, think over your blessings, and be grateful.”
Little Women chronicles four very different sisters learning to make their way during the Civil War era. In this Greta Gerwig-directed adaptation (based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic), Laura Dern’s Marmee is the rock that holds the family together while her husband is off at war. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen play the sisters, while Timothée Chalamet, Bob Odenkirk, Louis Garrel and Chris Cooper round out the cast. You’ll laugh, cry and feel grateful for your relationships with the women in your life—especially your mom.
Postcards from the Edge
Released: 1990
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “I don’t want life to imitate art. I want life to be art.”
Written by Carrie Fisher and starring acting legends Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep as mother and daughter, Postcards from the Edge was based on Fisher’s novel of the same name. And yes, she drew on her own experiences growing up as the daughter of superstar Debbie Reynolds. Streep’s Suzanne, an actress struggling with drug addiction, reluctantly moves in with her mother, Doris, also an actress but with a squeaky-clean image. Despite the very specific circumstances of their characters’ lives, you’ll understand the mother-daughter tension and cheer for their perseverance.
Bad Moms
Released: 2016
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “That’s the worst part about being a mom. You don’t know whether or not you’re doing a good job until they’re fully grown.”
Grab your group of mom besties and settle in for Bad Moms, a raucous comedy and ode to rebellious motherhood. Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn each shine as moms struggling to hold it together in the face of everyday madness (that includes one louse of a husband). It’s all here—ultra-involved PTA meetings, soccer team tryouts and packing school lunches, sigh. Audiences made this women-centered funny movie a huge hit because it felt relatable and oh-so true.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Released: 2019
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Here’s something about Mom: she’s bad with annoyances, but great in a crisis. If a waiter doesn’t refill her water after she’s asked three times, or she forgets her dark glasses when the sun comes out, look out! But when it comes to something truly bad happening, Mom plugs into this supreme calm.”
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? tells the tale of a woman who refuses to let motherhood define her. Bernadette Fox, played to perfection by Cate Blanchett, is a former star architect with plenty of opinions and quirks. She’s the polar opposite of a bake-sale mom, but to her 15-year-old daughter, Bee (Emma Nelson), she’s an inspiration and a hero. When Bernadette suddenly goes missing, it’s up to Bee to follow the clues of her mother’s life and find out where she went—and more important, why she felt she had to leave to rediscover herself.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Released: 2022
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “Of all the places I could be, I just want to be here with you.”
Everything Everywhere All at Once is the quirky movie that swept the 95th annual Academy Awards in 2023. But take away the googly eyes and hot-dog fingers, and it just may be one of the best Mother’s Day movies. It stars Michelle Yeoh as an overwhelmed mom working to save her family business but instead gets caught up with saving the world after discovering an inter-dimensional rupture. At the heart of the story is the complex relationship between Yeoh and her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Despite discovering versions of herself in universes that are far more impressive than being a laundromat owner (think: kung-fu master and movie star), Evelyn wants to stay in her current life alongside her beloved daughter.
Snatched
Released: 2017
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “For 18 years, your mother is the most important person to you in your entire life. And then … and then … one day, poof! You’re gone. And then what are you supposed to do—like, just adjust? Just like that?”
Nothing screams “Mom bond” like a mother and daughter trying to escape a kidnapping plot gone awry! Snatched stars Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn as a mom and daughter on vacation in Ecuador. They end up being abducted for ransom, but the two women (accidentally) keep managing to escape their kidnappers. After Schumer’s character is rescued, she goes right back to Ecuador to find her mom. It’s a laugh-out-loud comedy packed with funny quotes, as the duo discover an inner strength they never knew they had.
Because I Said So
Released: 2007
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “God couldn’t be everywhere, so that is why he invented mothers.”
Because you’ve either uttered the titular phrase or heard it a million times. Because I Said So stars Mandy Moore in between her pop star and This Is Us eras. Her Milly is the youngest and only single daughter of Daphne (Diane Keaton). The overbearing-but-loving mom is determined to do something about that status, but, alas, Matchmaking by Mom does not go according to plan. Along the way, Daphne inadvertently finds an unexpected relationship of her own—and realizes her daughter can make decisions for herself.
Stepmom
Released: 1998
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “She doesn’t have to choose. She can have us both. Love us both. And she will be a better person because of me and because of you. I have their past. And you can have their future.”
The Stepmom in question is Julia Roberts’s Isabel, who disrupts the family dynamic between exes Jackie (Susan Sarandon) and Luke (Ed Harris) and the pair’s two kids. Isabel, you see, is young and fun and totally inexperienced about motherhood. Cue the comedy conflicts! But this moving and poignant film ultimately shows strong women supporting each other in tough times. Bonus: Jackie’s New York country house amid lush natural surroundings is gorgeous.
Troop Beverly Hills
Released: 1989
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “My troop and I were busy describing fall fashions to the blind.”
Beyond the easy laughs, the ’80s comedy fave Troop Beverly Hills illustrates the lengths that mothers will go for their daughters’ happiness. Shelley Long is a rich L.A. socialite who agrees to become a Wilderness Girl troop leader to appease her daughter. Though the odds are stacked against the spoiled gang on their trip (their idea of camping is sleeping on the floor of a suite at the Four Seasons), the troop manages to earn all their badges and discover that friendship and family are more important than money. Try to spot a young Tori Spelling!
Crazy Rich Asians
Released: 2018
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Finish everything on your plate, girls! Don’t you know there are children starving in America?”
Based on the novel by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians follows the wild and lavish lifestyles of some of the wealthiest people in the world. But the movie also strikes gold when it comes to its message about a mother’s protective nature. After Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) gets engaged to Nick Young (Henry Golding), she discovers he’s from one of the richest families in Singapore. Nick’s mother (Michelle Yeoh) doesn’t approve of her son marrying a middle-class Asian American and tries to stop their relationship. Rachel’s mother, (Tan Kheng Hua), meanwhile, does everything she can to protect her daughter. She even goes toe-to-toe with Mrs. Young.
Juno
Released: 2007
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: Vanessa: “Your parents are probably wondering where you are.” Juno: “I’m already pregnant. What other shenanigans could I get into?”
Juno is a coming-of-age film that follows Juno (Elliot Page), a small-town teenager who gets pregnant by her friend and decides to give the baby up for adoption. The love and support she receives from her father (J.K. Simmons) also makes this a perfect Father’s Day movie, but the most intriguing scenes are between Juno and suburban adoptive-mom-to-be Vanessa (Jennifer Garner). Vanessa’s deep longing to become a mother, after all, inspires Juno to choose her in a closed adoption. Despite some hiccups, Juno realizes her child doesn’t need a nuclear family to have the perfect life—a mom who will be there no matter what will do just fine.
Turning Red
Released: 2022
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “Some people are like, ‘Be careful. Honoring your parents sounds great, but if you take it too far, well, you might forget to honor yourself.’ Luckily, I don’t have that problem.”
The unconventional Turning Red focuses on a 13-year-old going through some major changes. Until now, overachiever Mei Lee (the voice of Rosalie Chiang) has done everything to make her strict Chinese-immigrant parents proud. But when she discovers she can turn into a large red panda when her emotions run high, her mother (the voice of Sandra Oh) ends up being the only one who can help her navigate the family secret. As with all teenage girls going through puberty, there are plenty of misunderstandings and fights between mom and daughter in this animated delight. But Mei Lee and her mother eventually learn to embrace their differences.
Mamma Mia!
Released: 2008
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Being a grudge holder makes you fat.”
Meryl Streep singing and dancing to ABBA tunes on a gorgeous Greek island? You know you are so there! The super-fun Mamma Mia! follows Streep’s Donna as she prepares for her daughter Sophie’s (Amanda Seyfried) wedding. Sophie wants her dad to be there too … only she isn’t exactly sure who he is. So she invites the three possibilities—all suitors from her mom’s past—to try to get to the bottom of it. Hello Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård, all singing the peppy hits you love. After you watch this flick, stream the sequel, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, for more ABBA-themed goodness.
The Kids Are All Right
Released: 2010
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “Sometimes you hurt the ones you love the most. I don’t know why. … You know, if I read more Russian novels …”
The Kids Are All Right shines as a testament to the strength of family, with Annette Bening and Julianne Moore portraying the mom couple at the center of the story. When their teenaged kids (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) want to find out about their sperm-donor biological dad (Mark Ruffalo), things at home get more than a little hairy. Bening’s Oscar-nominated performance anchors this critically lauded LGBTQ film, but everyone turns in engaging performances that capture the family’s stress, uncertainty and love.
Sounder
Released: 1972
Rated: G
Memorable quote: “The longing of Black men must have respect. Which means a man and a woman are human, and must be treated that way.”
Based on the acclaimed novel set during the Depression, the moving Sounder looks at a family of sharecroppers who endure untold injustices. Best Actress Oscar nominee Cicely Tyson displays palpable strength in her performance as a mom holding things together after her husband receives a brutally harsh sentence for a petty crime. This timeless film celebrates the courage of a Black family and the love and fortitude of the woman at its center, and it’s an absolute must-watch.
Erin Brockovich
Released: 2000
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “I don’t need pity—I need a paycheck. And I’ve looked. But when you’ve spent the past six years raising babies, it’s real hard to find somebody who pays worth a damn. Are ya getting every word of this down, honey, or am I talking too fast?”
If nothing else, Erin Brockovich gave us the mother of all no-nonsense hard workers. Oscar winner Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, a real-life legal activist who famously helped win a civil suit for citizens harmed by a corporation in an environmental disaster. Albert Finney gives a terrific performance as Erin’s grumpy boss, and Aaron Eckhart plays her kind-hearted, motorcycle-riding boyfriend. But neither man is a match for the mom of three who has no problem investigating corruption in high heels with a baby on her hip. Never underestimate the strength of single moms!
Freaky Friday
Released: 2003
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “I can’t believe you. You’re ruining my life!”
No matter your age, you love Freaky Friday. So you obviously know the story of a mother (Jamie Lee Curtis as Tess) and a daughter (Lindsay Lohan as Anna) who don’t understand each other and constantly butt heads. One night, they magically switch bodies and must navigate each other’s lives while they find a way to switch back. Of course, these events happen right before Tess is set to get married and rocker Anna needs to play a big gig (complete with electric guitar) at a local club. Good news: Curtis and Lohan will reprise their roles in the 2025 theatrical sequel Freakier Friday.
Lady Bird
Released: 2017
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “Money is not life’s report card.”
Lady Bird, written and directed by Greta Gerwig, broke the Rotten Tomatoes score records upon its release with a near-100% “fresh.” It remains one of the best Mother’s Day movies. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf turn in powerhouse performances as a daughter and mother in early-2000s Sacramento, California. It’s a coming-of-age tale, as Ronan’s Christine—who’s renamed herself “Lady Bird”—tries to figure out who she is and what she wants during her senior year of high school. But her turbulent, funny and relatable relationship with her working mother forms the core of the story. The last scene will move you to tears in a good way.
Mermaids
Released: 1990
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “See that woman right there? That’s my mother, and when I grow up … I want to be just like yours.”
In Mermaids, Cher plays the single mother to Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (a very young Christina Ricci). Cher’s character, Mrs. Flax, has an unconventional parenting style—ahem, to say the least—and it alienates her daughters. They eventually land in a small Massachusetts town and end up living right next to a convent. The town and the convent change mother and daughters in different ways: Charlotte starts fretting over her sexuality and believes everything is a sin, while Mrs. Flax leans into being the rule-breaker she was born to be. Eventually all parties meet in the middle, leading to a much more harmonious existence.
Akeelah and the Bee
Released: 2006
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “You know that feeling where everything feels right? Where you don’t have to worry about tomorrow or yesterday, where you feel safe and know you’re doing the best you can? There’s a word for that—it’s called love.”
Akeelah and the Bee illustrates the power of mother-daughter relationships and community. Keke Palmer’s Akeelah realizes her talent at spelling and tries to qualify for the National Spelling Bee against her mother’s wishes. During the competition, she’s confronted by both massive pressures on her to succeed and harmful prejudices, as well as a tough choice that leads to an empathetic decision well beyond her years. Superstar Angela Bassett plays the mother who (spoiler alert) eventually gets on board. As well she should!
Room
Released: 2015
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “When I was small, I only knew small things. But now I’m 5—I know EVERYTHING!”
Brie Larson’s Oscar-winning turn in Room packs a wallop, and with good reason. We find her character, Joy, kidnapped and held captive in a single room, where she is raising a son (Jacob Tremblay in his breakout performance). Now 5, her son has no knowledge of the world outside the room. After Joy enacts a plan to get them both to freedom, she struggles to acquaint him with a world that feels strange and unusual to both of them. Joy must also deal with her own parents’ conflicted reaction to her child. Just wow.
The Guilt Trip
Released: 2012
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “I have tried to live my life with no regrets. Because regrets will become guilt in some cases, and guilt eats away at your sanity.”
No doubt The Guilt Trip, starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, is an underrated and under-seen comedy gem. Rogen’s science-savvy entrepreneur prepares to embark on a cross-country road trip and invites his mother to tag along. Of course, a road trip between this mother and son is, well, a trip. Streisand’s Joyce keeps things interesting as she constantly comments on and intervenes in her son’s life in the way only a concerned mother can.
Away We Go
Released: 2009
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “Do you promise to let our daughter be fat or skinny or any weight at all? Because we want her to be happy, no matter what. Being obsessed with weight is just too cliché for our daughter.”
Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski are a comedy dream team in Away We Go, a film that shows how parents often try to make the perfect life for their child long before birth. When Verona (Rudolph) gets pregnant, she and her boyfriend Burt (Krasinski) decide they need to set down roots despite their financial straits. Along the way, they face external pressures to parent in a certain way while also dealing with disappointments from their own families.
The Joy Luck Club
Released: 1993
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “Isn’t hate merely the result of wounded love?”
Based on Amy Tan’s groundbreaking 1989 novel, The Joy Luck Club follows a group of older Chinese immigrant women in San Francisco who all have adult daughters. Together, they learn to navigate their identities and the push-pull between two cultures. The first Asian-led film made in Hollywood, it was a must-watch back in the day and remains one of the best Mother’s Day movies. After all, how many other mom movies can say they were inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”?
Baby Mama
Released: 2008
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: Kate: “I brought you some organic food. I thought you might want to start eating healthier food.” Angie: “Eh, that crap is for rich people who hate themselves.”
Baby Mama stars the always-hilarious Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, with Fey playing an uptight workaholic who decides to have a child with the help of an immature, bawdy-mouthed surrogate (Poehler). What starts as a scam turns into a miracle for both women, and a lifelong friendship is formed. It’s a laugh-out-loud film that proves anyone can be a good mother, no matter how prepared they are … or are not.
Bend It Like Beckham
Released: 2003
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Anyone can cook aloo gobi, but who can bend a ball like Beckham?”
Bend It Like Beckham is a winning teen movie that highlights the cultural differences between mother and daughter that can occur between first- and second-generation immigrants. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is the British daughter of Indian Sikhs, and despite her natural skills at soccer, her mother forbids her from joining the local girls team. Her mother eventually comes to terms with her daughter’s desires, realizing that her child’s happiness is more important than sticking to cultural norms. And hey, isn’t “bending” the rules what family is about?
Soul Food
Released: 1997
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “One finger won’t make an impact, but you ball all those fingers into a fist, and you can strike a mighty blow. Now, this family has got to be that fist.”
Soul Food celebrates the importance of family traditions—not to mention the challenges that come with moving on after losing a matriarch. Three sisters living in Chicago have gathered for dinner with their mom every Sunday. But after Mother Joe passes, family tensions bubble to the surface. As the sisters and their significant others navigate romantic tensions and local injustices, Mother Joe’s young grandson comes up with a plan to get them to work toward healing. Deep down, of course, everyone knows that’s what their mother would want. The amazing cast includes Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long and Vanessa Williams.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Released: 1974
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “Weird. Very weird. He’s even weird for Tucson, and Tucson is the weird capital of the world.”
Martin Scorsese directed Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a melodrama about a single mom (Ellen Burstyn) trying to make it on her own with a young smart-alecky son in tow. She ends up waiting tables at Mel’s Diner, where Kris Kristofferson shows up as a rugged musician offering a second chance at love. (If the plot sounds familiar, that’s because the movie later inspired the CBS sitcom Alice with Linda Lavin.) Burstyn won a Best Actress Oscar for her natural turn as a woman transcending her struggles. Look for a young Jodie Foster as the precocious pal of Burstyn’s son.
Mother
Released: 1996
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “We’re in the ’90s, mother. It’s fancy-jam time.”
There’s a lot to love about Mother—including a sublime Albert Brooks (also a co-writer and director) and the great Debbie Reynolds in her first major role in 20 years. Brooks plays a writer who, following his second divorce, starts wondering if he has some mommy issues. To arrive at the answer, he moves back in with his mother and into his old bedroom to find out how the relationship all went wrong. The premise is as funny as it sounds—especially when Brooks investigates his mother’s fridge. It’s also deeply touching.
Imitation of Life
Released: 1959
Rated: Not Rated
Memorable quote: “It’s only because of my ambition that you’ve had the best of everything. And that’s a solid achievement that any mother can be proud of.”
For the dazzling Imitation of Life, Lana Turner and Sandra Dee play a melodramatic mother-daughter team. Lora (Turner) is an aspiring Broadway actress who can’t quite help her narcissism. Annie (Juanita Moore) is her long-suffering friend, a Black maid who ends up taking care of Lora’s daughter, Suzie (Dee), alongside her own. Directed by Douglas Sirk, this classic takes a searing look at race relations and the social role of independent, single women, while also exploring the love between moms and daughters. The costumes glitter, and the performances sizzle.
Anywhere but Here
Released: 1999
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Be optimistic. Don’t be so grumpy. When the road gets bumpy, just smile, smile, smile.”
Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman are front and center of Anywhere but Here. In a bit of a role reversal, mom Adele (Sarandon) is freewheeling and carefree, while daughter Ann (Portman) is a down-to-earth planner. Tensions flare when the pair navigate a spontaneous move to Beverly Hills and have to deal with their diverging dreams. While Adele hopes her beautiful daughter becomes a famous actress, Ann wants to go to Brown University. It’s a film about sacrifice, as some mothers must put their dreams on hold for the sake of their child’s happiness.
20th Century Women
Released: 2016
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “Whatever you think your life is going to be like, remember—it’s not going to be anything like that.”
In the generation-spanning slice-of-life movie 20th Century Women, Annette Bening is a single mother struggling to connect with her teenage son in 1979 California. After she solicits advice from her 20-something tenant (Greta Gerwig) and her son’s best friend (Elle Fanning), she ends up getting more than she bargained for. The Golden Globe–nominated film explores romance, society’s perceptions of women and—you guessed it—the challenges of motherhood.
Georgia Rule
Released: 2007
Rated: R
Memorable quote: Rachel: “You don’t look evil.” Georgia: “Makeup helps.”
Georgia Rule is one of those Mom movies even Grandma will enjoy. The multi-generational dramedy is about a woman who sends her wild-child daughter to live with her strict—but good-natured—mother in a small town in Idaho. The performances from Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman and Lindsay Lohan are stunning: Lohan shines as an out-of-control teenager with a terrible secret, and Huffman is perfect as the mother who can’t figure out what’s wrong with her daughter. As the family uncovers Lohan’s issue, the women realize they must stick together amid the turmoil.
Yes Day
Released: 2021
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “Although having kids is the best thing that ever happened to us, ‘no’ became the new ‘yes.'”
Moms understand that telling their kids “no” comes with the job. But what if there was a day when you said “yes” to everything they asked? That fun (and admittedly semi-terrifying) scenario is explored in Yes Day, starring Jennifer Garner and Édgar Ramírez as parents who, for 24 hours, acquiesce to their kids’ requests. This funny family movie on Netflix, which also stars Jenna Ortega before her Wednesday fame, will have you laughing in no time. Just one warning: After viewing, your kids will inevitably want a Yes Day of their own.
Instant Family
Released: 2018
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “If you’re willing to love these kids, who need a mom and dad, and somebody has a problem with that, you just ask them how many goddamn kids they’ve adopted.”
Instant Family proves you don’t have to be blood to be family. It focuses on a couple (Rose Byrne and Mark Wahlberg) adjusting to a new life after agreeing to foster three siblings. At first, both the kids and the foster parents have a difficult time adjusting—and the oldest (Isabela Merced) goes out of her way to aggravate her foster mom. But they all find a way to work through the sticky parts. This is loosely based on a true story, and there’s a reason the film ends with a rousing play of the ’80s hit “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”
Steel Magnolias
Released: 1989
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “Honey, time marches on, and eventually you realize it’s marchin’ across your face.”
If you’re looking for a movie that takes on mother-daughter relationships and female friendship, Steel Magnolias is the one for you. It’s about a tight-knit group of women in small-town Louisiana navigating life’s trials and tribulations together. Sally Field and Julia Roberts play the mother and daughter of the group, giving us insight into a relationship that’s equally sweet and heartbreaking. (Please oh please give Roberts’s Shelby the juice!) Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine and Daryl Hannah also provide excellent performances in this fan favorite.
The Parent Trap
Released: 1998
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen you and I’ve dreamt of meeting you my whole life, and Annie felt the exact same way about Dad … so, so we sort of just switched lives. I hope you’re not mad because I love you so much, and I just hope that one day you could love me as me, and not as Annie.”
You may have grown up watching the original The Parent Trap, in which Hayley Mills played identical twins separated as infants after their parents’ divorce. In this modern reboot, Lindsay Lohan takes on the double role as Annie and Hallie. They meet for the first time at summer camp nearly 12 years after they were split up, and they soon realize their unique situation. Their plan is to swap places to get to know the parent they’ve missed—and hopefully reunite Mom and Dad. The whole family will be entertained by the hijinks as the girls scheme to make their parents fall in love again. Let’s get together, yeah yeah yeah!
Lion
Released: 2016
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “We wanted the two of you in our lives. That’s what we chose. Because we both felt as if the world has enough people in it. Have a child, couldn’t guarantee it will make anything better. But to take a child that’s suffering like you boys were. Give you a chance in the world. That’s something.”
Based on the incredible true story of Saroo Brierley’s quest to find his biological family 25 years after accidentally being separated from them in India when he was a child, Lion will send you on a roller coaster of emotions. Dev Patel stars as grown-up Saroo, who navigates life with his adoptive Australian parents (Nicole Kidman plays his mom) and his desire to understand what happened to him. The performances are pitch-perfect, and the fact that this drama really happened is an appealing draw.
Dumplin’
Released: 2018
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Loyalty means apologizing when you’re wrong, because of the trust you’ve built over time.”
Dumplin‘ is a Netflix film set to the music of Dolly Parton, yay. Willowdean “Dumplin'” Dickson (Danielle Macdonald) is a plus-size, Dolly Parton–loving teen who has a difficult relationship with her beauty-queen mom, played by Jennifer Aniston. (It’s her mom who gave her the nickname.) Willowdean signs up for a beauty pageant in an act of protest, further driving a wedge between her and her mom. But fear not! They both end up surprised by the results, and by each other.
Real Women Have Curves
Released: 2002
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Pretty dresses aren’t just for skinny girls.”
Not all movies about difficult mother-and-daughter relationships end with a repair to the rift. Enter the coming-of-age Real Women Have Curves, which is also one of our favorite Hispanic movies. That’s a teen America Ferrera as Ana, an 18-year-old clashing with her mother Veronica (Josefina Lopez) about her future. Veronica wants her to get married, have babies and work at the family’s small textile factory, while Ana dreams of college. Despite the fractured dynamic, the underlying message is one of body positivity and acceptance (stretch marks, cellulite and all). Now that’s a bonding topic.
Miss Juneteenth
Released: 2020
Rated: R
Memorable quote: “I’m gonna make sure she’s something that we ain’t.”
In Miss Juneteenth, a former beauty queen (Nicole Beharie) is trying to make the best of her life after an early pregnancy derailed her full ride to college. She hopes her 15-year-old daughter, Kai (Alexis Chikaeze), will also win the Miss Juneteenth pageant and follow the dreams she never had the chance to see through. Things don’t work out exactly the way she planned, but the film serves as a good reminder that when one door closes, another opens. Indeed, life usually has a way of working out.
Coda
Released: 2021
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “You know why God made farts smell? So deaf people could enjoy them too.”
Coda, which earned a Best Picture Oscar in 2022, tells the story of a family running a fishing business. The catch? The parents (Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur) and their older son (Daniel Durant) are deaf, leaving their speaking daughter Ruby (Emilia Jones) to be the interpreter. When Ruby discovers she has a talent for singing, she’s torn between pursuing a future at the Berklee School of Music and staying with her family. This is a beautiful tale about tough choices and the strength of sacrifice. And prepare to do some serious sobbing when Ruby performs her version of a Joni Mitchell classic.
Mildred Pierce
Released: 1945
Rated: Not Rated
Memorable quote: “You think just because you made a little money you can get a new hairdo and some expensive clothes and turn yourself into a lady. But you can’t, because you’ll never be anything but a common frump whose father lived over a grocery store and whose mother took in washing.”
Joan Crawford stars in Mildred Pierce as the original career woman. Mildred Pierce supports her unemployed husband with her awesome kitchen skills, but he can’t handle her independence, so they separate. Soon, Mildred is balancing single motherhood and running her own business. After her marriage ends, she follows her ambitions and soon establishes a successful chain of restaurants. And oh yeah, since this is a classic film noir, she’s also being investigated for murder. It’s truly a story about the tenacity of an independent woman. (P.S. Let’s not get into the fact that Crawford inspired the mother-from-hell in Mommy Dearest.)
Brave
Released: 2012
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. Our destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it.”
Brave is the ultimate feminist princess effort—and one of our favorite Disney movies. Merida is a princess in the Scottish highlands who’s a whiz with a bow and arrow and set to wed at age 16. But she defies expectations and instead runs away to the forest, where she asks a witch to “change” her stubborn mother (voiced by Emma Thompson). Unfortunately, the change is radical, and Merida realizes she will do whatever it takes to get her mom back in proper form. The lesson? Teen girls can be stubborn and defiant, but the love they feel deep down for their moms can never be broken.
Moonstruck
Released: 1987
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “Loretta, I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn’t know this either, but love doesn’t make things nice, it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren’t here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and die.”
The point of having a mother is being able to tell her everything, right? Right?! In Moonstruck, Cher plays Loretta, a widowed Italian-American living with her family in Brooklyn. Then, she, um, accidentally falls in love with her deceased husband’s brother (Nicolas Cage). Even though she’s engaged to someone else. Oops. Her mother, Rose (Olympia Dukakis), does not approve of the new arrangement but knows her daughter’s happiness is all that matters. Moms, they have your back!
Little Man Tate
Released: 1991
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: “[Mom] says I don’t have a dad. She says I’m the immaculate conception. That’s a pretty big responsibility for a little kid.”
Jodie Foster directed and stars in Little Man Tate, which centers on a working-class mother raising an extremely intelligent child prodigy. Dede (Foster) grapples with sending young Fred (Adam Hann-Byrd) to a school for gifted children versus trying to give him a “normal” upbringing, but she eventually decides to send him to the special school. When Tate collapses under the pressure and runs away, only his mother truly understands him and his needs, despite the fact that he’s infinitely “smarter” than she is. Moms really do know their kids almost better than they even know themselves.
Baby Boom
Released: 1987
Rated: PG
Memorable quote: “I can’t have a baby because I have a 12:30 lunch meeting.”
Accidental motherhood can be the best kind of motherhood. In the comedy Baby Boom, Diane Keaton stars as a busy, childless business executive who finds herself in charge of an infant after a distant cousin dies. She’s ill-prepared and ill-equipped—and her boyfriend leaves her over the arrangement—but she finds herself attached to the baby. Eventually, she starts an entirely new venture in Vermont that provides stability and happiness. Sure, there may be some outdated and sexist references in this mom movie (co-written by Nancy Meyers!), but its underlying theme is timeless: Women can do anything, especially when they’re moms.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Released: 2002
Rated: PG-13
Memorable quote: Sidda: “Me not loving Momma was never the problem.” Caro: “Her not loving you was never the problem either.”
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood explores the more complicated side of mothers and their daughters. This movie, based on the bestselling novel of the same name, puts the focus on playwright Siddalee Walker (Sandra Bullock). In a magazine interview, Siddalee claims she had an abusive and horrible childhood. Her mother (Ellen Burstyn) is so upset that she cuts her daughter out of her will and her life. With the help of her mom’s childhood friends, Sidda comes to understand the events of her mom’s life. The classic message: Moms and daughters can only truly understand each other when they take the time to know each other.
Additional reporting by Meghan Jones, Kelly Kuehn and Molly Pennington.
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