While gifts, poems, and wishes might conquer the heart of your mother, Mother’s Day movies will occupy her mind for an hour or two. Since movies have a purpose in mind, only a select few seem to fit the motherly theme. A Mother’s Day movie can touch upon many different themes, from long-lasting friendships to the hardships of motherhood. However, plenty of the best Mother’s Day movies have similar elements.
This type of movie should firstly be heartwarming and somewhat optimistic. When looking for great movies to watch with your mom, it’s hard to beat the 1993 classic Mrs. Doubtfire. The film grabs the heart, pulls all the emotional strings, and highlights the beauty of how powerful of a figure a mother is. However, Away We Go is a mother movie that shows the hardships of motherhood. It explores the struggles that the parents face before the child is even born. Both are some of the best Mother’s Day films you should watch with your mother.
Unlike the best movies we have compiled before, these touch upon the theme of motherhood. So, instead of searching the whole web for them, we have compiled a list below that might be what you are looking for. With so many motherly movies, be sure to upvote the ones that seemed most interesting to you. On the other hand, if you have anything to share about it, do so in the comments below.
#1 Mrs. Doubtfire
1993 | 2h 05m | Directed by Chris Columbus
Starring Robin Williams, Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan
Robin Williams might have portrayed one of the best motherly figures, and this movie proves it. Everybody wants a controlling, nurturing mother figure like Mrs. Doubtfire. This timeless comedy demonstrates that anybody with a large heart and some comedic skills can play a brilliant mother.
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#2 Brave
2012 | 1h 33m | Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell
Starring Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson
Nothing says family like risking your life to save your mother. This movie, which can be watched with children and mothers, focuses on the tale of Merida. She is a princess who must use her bravery and archery to save her mother, Queen Elinor, from a horrible curse. As far as Disney and Pixar movies go, this one is the most filled with motherly love.
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#3 Thelma & Louise
1991 | 2h 10m | Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Harvey Keitel
Friendship and motherhood are closely linked, so it’s not a wonder why Thelma and Louise’s duo is perfect for any mother to enjoy. If your mother is looking for a partner in crime, you should watch this movie with her. Let’s hope that if the film inspires you to go on a road trip, it won’t end on the same note.
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#4 Little Miss Sunshine
2006 | 1h 41m | Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Starring Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear
Going on a road trip across the country so the youngest member can attend a beauty pageant is a task any family would take up. This movie, full of brilliant comedic and drama actors, focuses on a problem-riddled family and their cross-country journey to reach a beauty pageant so that Olive can compete.
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#5 Forrest Gump
1994 | 2h 22m | Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise
Forrest Gump was a strange child and adult who might have had a mental disability, but this situation didn’t deter his mother from loving him. She took care of him as he grew up in Alabama and suffered from bullying. Their relationship was open and beneficial for both of them — a true example of motherhood.
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#6 Turning Red
2022 | 1h 40m | Directed by Domee Shi
Starring Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh and Ava Morse
Here at BoredPanda, we know how wonderful and magnificent pandas are, so it’s not a wonder why this movie is on this list. This touching movie is about a teen who, when the emotions inside her reach their peak, becomes a giant red panda. It also revolves around the close bonds that mothers and daughters share.
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#7 The Guilt Trip
2012 | 1h 35m | Directed by Anne Fletcher
Starring Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen and Julene Renee
There is nothing better in the world than going on an unplanned road trip with your mother, cause after all, she took care of you when you were a baby, so how bad can several days with her in a car be? This movie’s plot centers on that premise as Andrew Brewster starts his unplanned road trip from New Jersey with his mom.
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#8 Steel Magnolias
1989 | 1h 57m | Directed by Herbert Ross
Starring Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Sally Field
A group of women living in a small Southern town band together and deal with the passing of one of their own in this emotional 1989 Herbert Ross movie. This movie explores the themes of motherhood, womanhood, and friendship by focusing on these women and looking into their problems and relationships.
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#9 Freaky Friday
2003 | 1h 37m | Directed by Mark Waters
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan and Mark Harmon
Mothers and daughters might not always have the best relationships, as it’s hard to understand how the other goes through their days. So what would happen if they switched bodies? This premise gets explored in this movie, which sees Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan’s characters switch their bodies and both see how much the other struggles.
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#10 The Parent Trap
1998 | 2h 08m | Directed by Nancy Meyers
Starring Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson
There are two versions of this movie, but we believe the newer one is more relatable to our understanding of motherhood. After all, who wouldn’t want to see Natasha Richardson acting as the mother of Lindsey Lohan’s character? As far as twin films go, this one is full of motherly and fatherly love.
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#11 Little Women
2019 | 2h 15m | Directed by Greta Gerwig
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson and Florence Pugh
Motherhood has been a subject of many works of literature before movies were a thing, and one of the best works out there inspired this film. The movie is a semi-biographical take on four women living in the mid-1800s and touches upon the journey that a woman in that period had to endure from childhood to adulthood.
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#12 Bad Moms
2016 | 1h 40m | Directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring Mila Kunism, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell
Even the best moms can break from time to time due to taking care of themselves, the house, and the children. This movie of true motherhood focuses on three overworked and under-respected mothers who get pushed just a bit over their limits. This event leads to them ditching their responsibilities and enjoying the forgotten freedom.
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#13 Akeelah And The Bee
2006 | 1h 52m | Directed by Doug Atchison
Starring Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne and Keke Palmer
When you have Angela Bassett in the movie, you know that the motherhood journey portrayed will be a heartwarming one. In the film, she portrays the mother of Akeelah, played by Keke Palmer, as the duo tries their best to live in their current situation while also preparing for a national spelling bee.
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#14 Mamma Mia! The Movie
2008 | 1h 48m | Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Amanda Seyfried
When you have ABBA involved, you can be sure your mom will love the movie. This star-studded musical movie, led by Meryl Streep, depicts a daughter’s search for her father. Featuring the best tunes of ABBA as the soundtrack, you can be sure that the movie will strike a happy note in you.
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#15 The Sound Of Music
1965 | 2h 52m | Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Eleanor Parker
Music is the best way of capturing the overflow of emotions, good or bad, that might come from unexpected motherhood. The film follows a young Austrian postulant that, in 1938, is assigned to the home of a former naval officer and widower to serve as the mother figure to his seven children.
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#16 20th Century Women
2016 | 1h 59m | Directed by Mike Mills
Starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig
Some mothers in this world have to struggle alone to raise a child, but luckily, Dorothea Fields, played by Annette Bening, had some close friends by her side. An adolescent boy’s connection with the people who nurture him, especially his free-spirited single mother, is explored in this odd, Oscar-nominated movie.
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#17 Otherhood
2019 | 1h 40m | Directed by Cindy Chupack
Starring Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette and Felicity Huffman
Nothing shows a maternal bond more like surprising your children with a sudden and unannounced appearance. Three moms and their adult sons are the subjects of the grounded, heartfelt, and joyful comedy Otherhood. The movie focuses on the later stage of life, which might interfere with motherhood.
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#18 Riding In Cars With Boys
2001 | 2h 12m | Directed by Penny Marshall
Starring Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn and Adam Garcia
Motherhood isn’t always full of sunshine and positive feelings, and sometimes it can ruin the plan you created for your life. This movie touches upon this aspect of motherhood in the best way possible. Starring Drew Barrymore as a 15-year-old girl, she planned to go to New York City but soon had to change that after getting pregnant.
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#19 Bird Box
2018 | 2h 04m | Directed by Susanne Bier
Starring Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes and John Malkovich
A mother will do everything to secure the safety of her children, even in an apocalyptic world filled with dangerous “creatures.” This movie focuses on a mother and her two kids as they attempt to go to a safer place five years after an evil invisible force causes a big part of society to do horrific things to themselves.
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#20 Life As We Know It
2010 | 1h 54m | Directed by Greg Berlanti
Starring Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel and Josh Lucas
Some of us are blessed to have two sets of parents — biological and religion-based ones. Eric Messer and Holly Berenson, who can’t stand one another, are the main characters in this film. However, after one of their friends passes away due to a car accident, the unusual duo must work collaboratively to look after their goddaughter.
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#21 Yes Day
2021 | 1h 26m | Directed by Miguel Arteta
Starring Jennifer Garner, Edgar Ramírez and Jenna Ortega
Kids are not always the brightest people in the room because they have some ideas that are not entirely grounded in physics and social norms. Luckily, parents are there to keep them grounded, and this movie shows what happens when some freedom is given to them. This movie is fun to watch with your mom and dad.
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#22 The Blind Side
2009 | 2h 09m | Directed by John Lee Hancock
Starring Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw
A mother figure can rise from basically anywhere, and biology is not the main factor. Sometimes, true motherhood can come from adopting a child and helping him in life. This movie focuses on the tale of Michael Oher, who, with the aid of a kind woman and her family, went on to play All-American football and be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
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#23 Philomena
2013 | 1h 38m | Directed by Stephen Frears
Starring Judi Dench, Steve Coogan and Sophie Kennedy Clark
Nothing gets a tear out of a person’s eye like a true story of a mother that tries to find her long-lost son. The movie focuses on a world-renowned journalist and a mother whose son was taken from her by a covenant. The actual account of Philomena Lee’s 50-year search served as the movie’s inspiration.
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#24 The Farewell
2019 | 1h 40m | Directed by Lulu Wang
Starring Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina and X Mayo
Your mothers are not the only people that should get your attention because you have grandmothers too, and this movie is best watched with them. A funny comedy and emotional drama all at once, this movie focuses on a Chinese family that tries to host a wedding before their grandmother passes.
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#25 The Joy Luck Club
1993 | 2h 19m | Directed by Wayne Wang
Starring Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao and Kieu Chinh
Four elderly Chinese immigrants from San Francisco get together frequently to play Mahjong, dine, and swap tales. These women all have adult daughters who are Chinese Americans. The film explores the secret histories of the ladies and their daughters and how the cultural clash between Chinese and American influences their lives.
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#26 Everything Everywhere All At Once
2022 | 2h 19m | Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Starring Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis
The theme of motherhood reaches its peak in this movie, as it plays an important factor in saving the world. As unusual and perplexing perils in the guise of a daughter appear from several different worlds, an immigrant mother is overwhelmed and must decide the fate of the Earth.
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#27 Mermaids
1990 | 1h 50m | Directed by Richard Benjamin
Starring Cher, Bob Hoskins and Winona Ryder
The 15-year-old Charlotte Flax lives in 1963 Oklahoma with her 9-year-old half-sister Kate and her carefree single mother Rachel, who moves them whenever she finishes a romance. Charlotte, who struggles with anxiety and feels ashamed of her outgoing mother, is troubled by Rachel’s parenting style, which is more like friendship than mothering.
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#28 Mother’s Day
2016 | 1h 58m | Directed by Garry Marshall
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson and Julia Roberts
Four A-list actors add a lot to the theme of motherhood in this movie. Director Garry Marshall, the creative drive behind Pretty Woman, used the four great actors to the best extent. As the name suggests, the story of this movie focuses on motherhood and mothers and how different generations handle this task.
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#29 Coda
2021 | 1h 51m | Directed by Sian Heder
Starring Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur
One can’t imagine the emotional pain that comes from choosing between your future or your parents. This movie focuses on Ruby, the only child of two deaf parents with the ability to hear, who gets torn between leaving for college and taking care of her parents, as their fishing business is at risk.
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#30 My Big Fat Greek Wedding
2002 | 1h 35m | Directed by Joel Zwick
Starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and Michael Constantine
When a wedding is the focus, you can be sure that every mother would want to see it. This movie, which has one sequel out already and another in the works, examines the part that heritage and nationality play in a wedding. It encapsulates perfectly the meddling that comes from other family members.
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#31 Baby Boom
1987 | 1h 50m | Directed by Charles Shyer
Starring Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard and Harold Ramis
It’s hard to be a businesswoman and a mother, even when your character gets portrayed by the brilliant Diane Keaton. In this well-known Golden Globe-nominated movie, businesswoman Diane Keaton experiences the most unexpected event of a lifetime when she gets to take care of a fourteen-month-old baby.
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#32 Georgia Rule
2007 | 1h 53m | Directed by Garry Marshall
Starring Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan and Felicity Huffman
The idea of motherhood changes over the years, so it’s important to look back at the previous generations to learn from them and maybe not repeat the same mistakes. While concealing a secret that can potentially split the family apart, a disturbed young woman has to spend the summer living with her grandmother.
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#33 Lady Bird
2017 | 1h 34m | Directed by Greta Gerwig
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts
When it comes to growing up and stepping into the big unknown world of adulthood, a mother can encourage you while anchoring you to reality. This coming-of-age movie is funny and dramatic as we see the strained relationship between the rebellious Lady Bird and her more careful mother.
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#34 Because I Said So
2007 | 1h 42m | Directed by Michael Lehmann
Starring Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore and Gabriel Macht
Hollywood keeps throwing motherly roles at Diane Keaton, and she keeps hitting home runs with them. In this movie, she portrays a meddling and slightly authoritative single mother who wants her daughter to date a nice person so as not to follow the same mistake-filled path as she did herself.
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#35 If Beale Street Could Talk
2018 | 1h 59m | Directed by Barry Jenkins
Starring KiKi Layne, Stephan James and Regina King
Pregnancy and detective work don’t always go hand in hand, but this movie proves otherwise. Regina King earned an Oscar for her heartfelt portrayal of a mom who would do everything to protect her family. This movie teaches us that love, even the strongest, can’t conquer everything, as said by society.
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#36 Troop Beverly Hills
1989 | 1h 45m | Directed by Jeff Kanew
Starring Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson and Betty Thomas
A motherhood bond can also form between some girl cub scouts and a soon-to-be divorced socialite who promised herself to become their den mother. When Shelley Long’s character, a Beverly Hills socialite, becomes the leader of her daughter’s girl scout unit, she connects with her maternal side.
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#37 Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood
2002 | 1h 56m | Directed by Callie Khouri
Starring Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn and Fionnula Flanagan
When you have Bullock, Burstyn, and Flanagan in one movie, you know it will touch upon the themes of motherhood and friendship between mothers. Siddalee and Viviane, daughter and mother pair portrayed by Bullock and Burstyn, have a strained relationship that is the focus of this movie.
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#38 Serial Mom
1994 | 1h 35m | Directed by John Waters
Starring Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston and Ricki Lake
Not every child can say that their mother would make people “disappear” for her children to be happy and safe. The mother from this movie, portrayed by the brilliant Kathleen Turner, goes that extra step by taking care of the household and her children while also “taking care” of some people.
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#39 Stepmom
1998 | 2h 05m | Directed by Chris Columbus
Starring Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris
Motherhood has its lows and highs, but at the end of the journey, it will end on a sad note. The movie, with Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, and Julia Roberts in the cast, centers on a terminally sick lady who must deal with her ex-husband’s new partner, who will eventually become their children’s stepmother.
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#40 Mothers And Daughters
2016 | 1h 30m | Directed by Paul Duddridge and Nigel Levy
Starring Christina Ricci, Courteney Cox and Selma Blair
The best way to capture and appreciate the stages of motherhood is through photos, especially if the photographer herself will soon be a mother. This movie focuses on the unexpected pregnancy of a photographer who learns the true meaning of parenthood as she documents many moms and their offspring on camera.
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#41 Mother
1996 | 1h 44m | Directed by Albert Brooks
Starring Albert Brooks, Debbie Reynolds and John C. McGinley
When your spouse divorces you, you can be sure that the most important woman in your life will always be there for you. In this movie, a writer returns to live with his mother after his second divorce to understand why none of his relationships with women have worked out. This movie highlights the beauty of the son and mother relationship.
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#42 Fried Green Tomatoes
1991 | 2h 10m | Directed by Jon Avnet
Starring Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy and Mary Stuart Masterson
That motherly love can come from a friendship with a much older woman, and there doesn’t always have to be a blood relationship. In this film, a housewife befriends a woman in a nursing facility and becomes fascinated by the stories she recounts about the people she once knew, learning from their mistakes.
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#43 Soul Food
1997 | 1h 55m | Directed by George Tillman Jr.
Starring Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox and Nia Long
Traditions play a vital role in the relationship between mothers and their children. The plot surrounds the struggles of a large American family, held together by enduring family customs that start to wane as major issues take center stage. The family in the movie was modeled on Tillman’s household.
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#44 The Kids Are All Right
2010 | 1h 46m | Directed by Lisa Cholodenko
Starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo
This movie plot is unique, focusing on two children looking for their father and the bond they share with their two mothers. Each of the mothers had the same sperm donor, so both children only have to find one single person. It’s an emotional journey that the movie executed perfectly in an emotional way.
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#45 Lion
2016 | 1h 58m | Directed by Garth Davis
Starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara
The much-praised movie is based on the actual account of a person who tracked his biological parents using Google Earth, an interesting technology for such a task. Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel received Oscar nominations for their heartfelt portrayals of a son and the woman who adopted him.
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#46 Stella Dallas
1937 | 1h 46m | Directed by King Vidor
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles and Anne Shirley
The 1925 original was so good and impactful that King Vidor decided to film it again in 1937, and the quality stayed the same. The movie focuses on Stella Dallas (no surprise) and her relationship with her daughter. Even when the mother is partying and dancing around, she still thinks of her daughter and how to provide her with a good life.
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#47 Away We Go
2009 | 1h 38m | Directed by Sam Mandes
Starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph and Allison Janney
To some people, the hardest part of motherhood starts even before there is a baby to worry about. Away We Go tries to capture those feelings of waiting and explore them in the best way possible. Verona, portrayed by Maya Rudolph, together with her husband, are looking for a place where they could settle down and call home.
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#48 Miss Juneteenth
2020 | 1h 39m | Directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples
Starring Nicole Beharie, Liz Mikel and Marcus M. Mauldin
It’s only normal to want your child to reach the same or even higher achievements in their lives, especially in the area where you dominated too. In this endearing movie, single mother Turquoise Jones attempts to assist her disobedient daughter to win the same pageant she did as a teenager.
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#49 Terms Of Endearment
1983 | 2h 12m | Directed by James L. Brooks
Starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson
This movie gets universal love from moms and critics alike, and five “big” Oscar category wins prove this to be right! With a star-spangled cast, the movie examines a mother and daughter’s complex relationship for 30 years. With a talented cast behind it, this movie perfectly captures the theme of motherhood.
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#50 Dumplin’
2018 | 1h 50m | Directed by Anne Fletcher
Starring Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston and Odeya Rush
A rebellious child can open a mother’s eyes and force them to change. Willowdean, whose nickname is Dumplin, the plus-size adolescent daughter of a previous beauty queen, enters her mother’s Miss Adolescent Bluebonnet pageant. The competition and their tiny Texas community get revolutionized in the process.
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