11 Movies to Watch This Mother’s Day
From a filmmaker who almost missed out on becoming one…
I never thought I’d be a mother. Culture informs women what their goals are: get married, have babies, in that order. Frankly, I was too infatuated with filmmaking to think I could ever be good at it, but after three years of marriage and one too many loaded dinner party questions, I caved. “Fine. Let’s make a baby.”
Everyone warned me that my life would be over, but they were wrong. The day my son was born was the day my life really began. So, who better than a filmmaker-turned-mom to give you the ultimate Mother’s Day movie list? Whether you’re curled up with your mom, celebrating your own motherhood, or honoring the memory of a mother who’s no longer here—press play. Have the tissues ready. Maybe some wine, too.
1. Steel Magnolias (1989)
With Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and Julia Roberts, this is the gold standard of mother-daughter movies. Set in a small Louisiana town, it’s a story of love, friendship, loss, and the unbreakable bonds between women. Fair warning: remove your mascara before pressing play. You will not regret watching this one.
2. Terms of Endearment (1983)
This Academy Award-winning classic follows the complicated, funny, and deeply emotional relationship between a mother (MacLaine) and her daughter (Debra Winger) across decades of life. It will make you laugh, then absolutely destroy you. In the best way possible.
3. Little Women (2019)
Greta Gerwig’s stunning adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel follows the four March sisters and their remarkable mother, Marmee as they navigate love, ambition, and womanhood. As someone who spent years choosing career over everything else, I relate to Jo March on a cellular level. A gorgeous film, full stop. (Image credit: “Little Women” 2019 - Cr. Sony Pictures Releasing)
4. Lady Bird (2017)
Greta Gerwig, again, because the woman understands mothers and daughters like no one else. This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film captures the push and pull of a mother-daughter relationship with such raw honesty it’s almost uncomfortable. Almost. It’s also very funny, and very true.
5. Mamma Mia!: The Movie (2008)
If you need a palate cleanser after crying through the first four picks, here you go. Meryl Streep, ABBA, Greece, and a daughter trying to figure out which of three men is her father before her wedding. It’s pure joy. The “Slipping Through My Fingers” scene will still get you, so don’t think you’re safe just because it’s a musical.
6. Stepmom (1998)
Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon play two women who couldn’t be more different. One is the polished ex-wife and devoted mother, the other is the new girlfriend who never planned on being a mom. Sound familiar? What starts as rivalry becomes something much more moving. This one hits differently once you’re a mother.
For all kinds of mamas out there…
7. Room (2016)
This is not an easy watch, but it is one of the most powerful films ever made about a mother’s love. Brie Larson won the Oscar for her portrayal of a young woman who raises her son inside a single room, creating an entire world for him out of almost nothing. It will remind you of what love actually looks like when it has no other choice but to be everything.
8. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Based on Amy Tan’s novel, this film follows four Chinese American women and their mothers, weaving between past and present across two continents. It’s about sacrifice, silence, cultural expectation, and the things mothers carry so their daughters won’t have to. I did not expect it to hit me the way it did the first time I watched it. Or the second.
9. Miss Juneteenth (2020)
Turquoise (Nicole Beharie), a former Miss Juneteenth, is determined to make up for a life that didn’t turn out quite as planned as she prepares her rebellious teenage daughter, Kai, for a run at the title—whether Kai wants it or not—and a better future than her own. Writer-director Channing Godfrey Peoples’ feature debut dives deep into a complicated South and the journey of a Black woman determined to survive and thrive. (Image credit: (L-R) Nicole Beharie as Turquoise and Alexis Chikaeze as Kai in the drama, “MISS JUNETEENTH,” a Vertical Entertainment release.” Photo Courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.)
10. Brave (2012)
Yes, it’s animated. Yes, it’s Pixar. And yes, it will make a grown adult cry in front of their children. Brave is a rare animated film that centers not on romance, but on a mother-daughter relationship—messy, loving, and ultimately transformative. Put it on for the kids. Stay for yourself. (Image credit: “Brave” Cr. Pixar)
11. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
I bet you didn’t expect that one on my list, especially since I produced Swiss Army Man with the Daniels before they went on to make their Oscar-winning movie, but leave it to me to close a Mother’s Day list with a film about a laundromat owner who discovers she can access the skills of her parallel universe selves. But beneath all the chaos and hot-dog fingers (you’ll understand once you watch it), this masterpiece is, at its core, about a mother’s love for her daughter and what it means to choose connection over everything. It is the most surprisingly moving film about motherhood made in the last decade. Watch it and argue with me. (Image credit: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Cr. A24)
Whether your mom is sitting right beside you or watching from somewhere else, these films are a reminder that motherhood—in all its messy, overwhelming, irreplaceable glory—is the greatest story ever told. I used to think that was the movies. I was wrong. And congratulations to all the mothers-to-be!
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