Critic Reviews
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Nina Caplan, Time Out
I wouldn't care if she was at the epicentre of the movement for global peace: she's a happily married mother who looks like Uma Thurman, and my reserves of sympathy are limited.
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Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times
Whiny and self-involved, Thurman's mother of two sees judgment around every corner and believes the universe has conspired against her because the bakery misspelled her daughter's name on a birthday cake.
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Michael Phillips, At the Movies
Motherhood gives upper-middle-class whining a bad name.
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Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Unfortunately, nothing here digs too deep.
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A.O. Scott, New York Times
The humor is soft, the dramas are small, and the movie stumbles from loose and scruffy naturalism to sitcom tidiness.
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Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com
Uma, overload. Overload, Uma.
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David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
Filmmaker Dieckmann has infused Motherhood with a meandering sensibility that immediately sets the viewer on edge...
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Ellen E Jones, Total Film
Motherhood is neither insight nor escapism. It's a yummy-mummy newspaper column splurged onto celluloid, like baby sick on your best cashmere sweater.
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Anna Smith, Empire Magazine
An authentic account of stressed-out parenting, but anyone sans sprogs will find limited appeal in this one-trick pony.
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Wendy Ide, Times [UK]
This whiny drivel makes me ashamed to be a woman.
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Catherine Shoard, Guardian [UK]
Few vanity projects can be as ill-conceived as this laughless, goggingly slow Uma Thurman vehicle.
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, Daily Telegraph
If you ever wanted to spend an entire movie in the company of a frazzled, childcare-juggling Uma Thurman on a singularly bad hair day, Motherhood could well be manna from heaven.
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Tim Evans, Sky Movies
A light, cheery metropolitan take on what it's like to be left holding the baby.
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Jeremy Aspinall, Radio Times
It's a well-meaning movie, but the attempts to provide amusing insights into the everyday life of a full-time mum are hamstrung by the 24-hour time frame.
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David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
It's hard to see why the target audience would want to sacrifice two precious hours watching their own soul-sapping routines played out on the big screen.
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Anthony Quinn, Independent
This I-Don't-Know-How-I-Do-It schtick may appeal to the martyred-motherhood brigade, but it won't do anything for people who turn up to a comedy expecting laughs.
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Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
This enjoyable but simplistic comedy feels more like a mother's tired rant than an ode to motherhood
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Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Disappointing, faintly patronising comedy-drama that's light on both laughs and drama.
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Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com
There's nothing much here on the wonders of parental obligation to reinforce the mood, only ineffective flecks of comedy and abrasively broad performances to help sell an unwelcome foray into me-me-me individuality.
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Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
Were it not for the presence of the 'big name' stars, this would have straight-to-Hallmark-Channel written all over it.
Read all 22 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Being a full time Dad and doing 90 mpercent of daily work I can relate with this movie and the 1000's of Moms who are home doing it alone. 4 STARS
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I think the story has many truthful moments and the script delivers some wise and funny lines.
Uma Thurman is wonderful as Eliza Welsh, a mother of two who lives in the verge of a nervous breakdown - but it's not a regular one, it's a pretty chaotic 24 hour marathon in… More
I think the story has many truthful moments and the script delivers some wise and funny lines.
Uma Thurman is wonderful as Eliza Welsh, a mother of two who lives in the verge of a nervous breakdown - but it's not a regular one, it's a pretty chaotic 24 hour marathon in which several significant events converge, being the most important of them the celebration of her lovely daughter's sixth birthday. In the supporting roles, Anthony Edwards is excellent portraying the extremely unfocused husband, Minnie Driver looks smart and sparkling in the role of the best friend and Daisy Tahan portrays the part of Clara (Eliza's daughter) with a surprising and overwhelming naturalism.
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Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver, Daisy Tahan, Vincent James Russo
DIRECTED BY: Katherine Dieckmann
In Manhattan, a mother of two preparing for her daughter's sixth birthday party has no idea of the challenges she's about to face in order to pull off the… More
Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver, Daisy Tahan, Vincent James Russo
DIRECTED BY: Katherine Dieckmann
In Manhattan, a mother of two preparing for her daughter's sixth birthday party has no idea of the challenges she's about to face in order to pull off the event.
I am fully aware at how hard it is to raise children and what it takes. I am also aware that it's a full time job. I don't have any children, but I do have custody of my niece, so I am fully aware as to what it takes to care for a child. This movie did touch on some things that I relate to. But mostly it was a mother bitching non-stop about being a mother and what it has taken away from her and her life. She continues throughout the movie to pity herself and blog about why things can't be a certain way for mothers and so on. Then there is this paper she is writing for some magazine which she continues to write as her daughters birthday party is going on. It just seemed like more of a movie bitching about being a mother and what things you are unable to do and what you missed out on. But in reality that is what happens when you decide to have a child. But she had two, so guess all those things didn't matter at the time. Being a parent is all about sacrifices.
This movie also singled itself out for only a pacific audience. Cause this movie is only going to speak to mothers and no one else. There is nothing in this film that is possible for someone with no kids to relate to. It said that this film is a comedy. Didn't seem like much of a comedy. Not funny at all really. Well... actually the only person I found amusing and entertaining in this film was Minnie Driver. Her character has a good time in a bubble bath with her child's motorized toy, which I found disgusting but a bit funny. This movie is just not worth the hr and a half I spent watching it (felt much longer). But hey, if your a mom and a fan of Uma.. Then this might be a film for you.
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Uma Thurman's performance is the best reason to watch this film. Minnie Driver also provides solid support. The film needed a rewrite. The film felt more like a bad tv sitcom brought to the big screen. A lot of the situations in the film reminded me of Over the top situations… More
Uma Thurman's performance is the best reason to watch this film. Minnie Driver also provides solid support. The film needed a rewrite. The film felt more like a bad tv sitcom brought to the big screen. A lot of the situations in the film reminded me of Over the top situations that I would see in sitcoms like Seinfeld. Also I thought Anthony Edwards was miscast as Uma's husband. They didn't have any on screen chemistry in my opinion. I did like seeing Jodie Foster make a cameo appearance in the film.
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A cute movie about the busy life of being a mom and trying to balance it with having free time to fulfill your dreams. I only have have two qualms: there were way too many random scenes that didn't really go anywhere such as when the random handsome Indian man came and started… More
A cute movie about the busy life of being a mom and trying to balance it with having free time to fulfill your dreams. I only have have two qualms: there were way too many random scenes that didn't really go anywhere such as when the random handsome Indian man came and started dancing with her to music. The other is that the ending didn't really tie up all the lose ends and left the movie undone.
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An irritating plea for a little more 'Me' time....
Uma Thurman plays Eliza, a harried Manhattan stay at home mom who struggles to juggle her young son and a distracted husband (Anthony Edwards) while planning her daughter's sixth birthday, maintaining her… More
An irritating plea for a little more 'Me' time....
Uma Thurman plays Eliza, a harried Manhattan stay at home mom who struggles to juggle her young son and a distracted husband (Anthony Edwards) while planning her daughter's sixth birthday, maintaining her mommy's blog (In it she poses rhetorical and obvious musings like, "Must a woman's soul wither and die simply because she has children?") and writing an essay for a parenting magazine before the fast-approaching deadline. It sounds simple enough as all she has to do is write 500 words answering the deceptively simple question, "What Does Motherhood Mean to Me?
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On this particular day her physical energy is drained from keeping an eye on her two-year-old and avoiding the traffic wardens prowling outside her Manhattan rent stabilized home as she tries to get her car moved to the other side of the street to avoid a ticket. She's also trying to make peace with her best friend (Minnie Driver) after blogging one of their intimate conversations, coping with a misspelled name on the birthday cake and a young man in a store line who criticizes her manner for talking too loud on her cell phone. It's amazing she doesn't just collapse in a heap given the cumulative impact of all these irritations and mishaps. After a kind-hearted and handsome messenger boy (Arjun Gupta) helps her carry her packages to her apartment, Eliza invites him in and is pleased by his attention when she tells him about her writing. In addition he compliments her appearance and she feels flattered and even gets rid of some stress by dancing to a favorite tune.
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My thoughts: The film is filled with incidents about ordinary things that can drive people crazy. Unfortunately, the incidents are so contrived; it only casts aspersions on the entire population of New York City. I believe that the filmmakers intended for us to empathize with mothers trying to hold on to some semblance of self-identity as they plow through yard-long to-do lists. Full time mothers have the toughest job in our society, and the most important but being a mother can, and should, be wonderfully rewarding despite all the work and frustrations. The heart does not swell with empathy as Eliza muses about the "benefits of 9/11" when it comes to cell-phone coverage. She has healthy sweet children, enough money to live well and her loving but absent minded husband Avery (Anthony Edwards) who is the family's sole breadwinner manages to find a job that allows him flexible hours so that he can come home during the day to help Eliza tend to their kids. Instead Eliza comes across as being selfish and self-absorbed.
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Read all 6 featured audience ratings
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