Movies & Mom

I considered doing a spotlight of memorable movie Moms - Baby's Mom, Dumbo's Mom, the Mom in E.T., Norman Bates' Mom - But, for me, Mother's Day is about MY Mom, instead, I've decided to talk about some of my late Mother's favorite movies, and/or films that I particularly associate with her.

1. Somewhere in Time -  This Christopher Reeve/Jane Seymour  time travel love story was probably my Mom's all-time favorite film, and I will always have a soft spot for it for that reason. The film is quite good in it's own right, if admittedly sappy in some places (to it's credit, it never claims to be anything but a sappy love story). Less than six months after my Mom's serious stroke, when she was having trouble thinking and processing a lot of what was being said to her, I told her I was interviewing Jane Seymour for my TV series Slicc Fliccs, and she smile and said "From Somewhere in Time?". I told Seymour that, and she cried, then told me about her own mother's stroke. We spent several minutes of what was supposed to be an interview to promote her latest film talking about out Moms.

2. Superman II - No, it's not at all a coincidence that the first two title feature Christopher Reeve. he was my Mom's favorite actor and all time screen crush. No small part of why Superman became pretty much casred in the Gibbs family, and this was widely accepted as the best of the series. We saw this what must have been at least five times at the Redwood Drive-In, and to this day if I go to a drive-in, I want to be seeing Superman. I'm so grateful that I got to see Superman Returns with my Mom just before her stroke, and have a hard time with the idea that I won't get to see the new one with her.

3. The Indiana Jones Series - Mom took us to see Raiders of the Lost Ark several times, and I have vivid memories of every time (including one time when she took just Patrick and me, because each kid got one "alone thing" activity with mom and we chose to combine ours and see Raiders for the umpteenth time). This movie began my movie obsession, and my Mom always support the filmmaking pursuits of Patrick and me (even going along with naming our Home School "Covenant Academy"). The Villa Theater, where we saw the first three movies, became almost a holy place for the Gibbs family (my Mom had loved going to movies there as a child). Again, I'm grateful I got to see The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with my Mom, even though her health had declined considerably at the point and she didn't fully comprehend it. It made me cry on so many levels when, months later, she saw it again at the nursing home and, not remembering the earlier experience, she immediately called to let Patrick and me know there was a new Indiana Jones movie and we had to see it.

4. The Terminal -  This was one of the last movies i saw with my Mom, and one of the last films she called one of her favorites. It was the epitome of the kind of movie she loved. Sweet, funny, hopeful, and with a lovable, good-hearted protagonist. I love this movie, but I haven't yet been able to watch since my Mom passed away.

5.That Darn Cat/Snowball Express - My Mom had a particular fondness for live-action Disney comedies, and these were two of her favorites.They also are movies that demonstrate that these live action Disney comedies were much better and funnier then their reputation sometimes suggests.

I could go on considerably longer with this, but I think I'll end it here for now. I love and miss my Mom, and I hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day.