Mother dearest

For Mother's Day, I have compiled a list of great movie moms, good or evil, from cinema history. I tried to avoid some obvious choices like Mother in Psycho, Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment or Sally Field in Steel Magnolias and Forrest Gump. I went with some fringe choices representing movie moms that made an impression on me over the years. As you will probably deduce from the following list … I have serious mommy issues.

Mandy Cohen (Terry Jones) in Life of Brian (1979): Whether she was taking her kid to a stoning, blowing centurions so she could buy food, or just giving her son a hard time as he's getting crucified, Mandy is the ultimate movie mom. Maybe she got a little out of hand when she scolded a naked, post-coital Brian (Graham Chapman) in public (“He's not the Messiah … he's a very naughty boy!”), but she did take her kid to the Sermon on the Mount. Not a lot of moms managed to do that.

Mum (Elizabeth Moody) in Dead Alive (1992): I'm going to have to go ahead and call this movie mom the worst ever. In addition to not letting her son date freely, she eventually eats her own ear and tries to put her kid back in her womb. This is a mom who simply isn't willing to just let go. She also ate her son's girlfriend's dog, which is generally frowned upon.

Coral (Elizabeth Perkins) in Finding Nemo (2003): The voice of Perkins made a beautiful impression before her clownfish character got eaten by a barracuda in this Disney classic. The mom dying here was in the tradition of other Disney cartoon moms dying in the likes of Bambi, The Fox and the Hound and Cinderella (mom notably dead when film starts). For all of you thinking Dumbo’s mom died too, you are wrong. She survived until the end of the movie. She was a trooper.

Fantine (Anne Hathaway) in Les Miserables (2012): Say what you want of Anne Hathaway, but she's a killer screen mom. She gets a seriously bad haircut live on screen, she gets consumption, and she delivers “I Dreamed a Dream” in one, teary take after sleeping with a yucky sailor so she can provide for her daughter. Now that's a mom!

Mother Sister (Ruby Dee) in Do the Right Thing (1989): Mother Sister watched over that street in Brooklyn like a guardian angel, then screamed mightily as Sal's Pizzeria burned to the ground, a victim of Mookie's (Spike Lee) justifiably vengeful garbage can. I'm not sure who exactly she was mom or sister to, but she definitely had a strong mommy vibe.

Edwina (Holly Hunter) in Raising Arizona (1987): Well, she was an adoptive mom of sorts, but a mom all the same. She and Nicolas Cage kidnap a boy from a couple with quintuplets. (“They got more than they can handle!”) The moment in the car when she cries, “I love him soooooo much!” is the ultimate depiction of a mom's sometimes touched-in-the-head affection for her son, and it's not even really her son.

Mother Mary (Sinead O'Connor) in The Butcher Boy (1997): In what has to be the greatest all time cinematic depiction of the Virgin Mary, Sinead O'Connor gave the young, insane protagonist in this film foul-mouthed motherly advice that must've enticed many a priest to throw tomatoes or grenades at the screen.

Missy (Amy Stock-Poynton) in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989): In one of the most uncomfortable mom situations in cinema history, Missy, a former classmate of Bill's (Alex Winter) marries Bill's dad, making her his stepmom. This, of course, brought about Ted's infamous line, “Remember when I asked her to the prom?” Shut up, Ted! Missy would, of course, go on to marry Ted's dad in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.

Will Ferrell’s Moms in Talladega Nights (2006), Step Brothers (2008) and Wedding Crashers (2005): Will Ferrell has had some great screen moms. Jane Lynch in Talladega, going shopping while her young son takes the car for a joy ride. (OK, Ferrell’s character was being played by a younger person in a flashback, but Lynch still counts as his mom in the movie.) Mary Steenburgen in Step Brothers, shocked that her own child uses a bicycle as a weapon. And then, there would be the off-screen mom to his Wedding Crashers character Chazz Reinhold. “Hey Mom … can we get some meatloaf!”

Mother (Mabel King) in The Jerk (1979):When Navin (Steve Martin) is feeling a little blue at his birthday party because he doesn't quite fit in (“You mean I'm gonna stay this color?”), she fixes him his favorites: tuna fish sandwich with mayonnaise with a Twinkie. Then she hugs the crying Navin as he flails away with his snapping fingers, unsuccessfully trying to find the rhythm. She's awesome.

Kelly (Collette Wolfe) in Hot Tub Time Machine (2010): I know it's customary to name Lea Thomson of Back to the Future as cinema’s great time travel movie mom, but I’m going to give a shout out to Kelly, who winds up having raunchy sex in front of her future, time traveling son Jacob (Clark Duke). In this moment, Jacob witnesses his own conception, and he’s not pleased.

Amanda Grayson (Winona Ryder) in Star Trek (2009): How cool was Spock's mom? She did that whole, relatively calm stare thing into her son's eyes right before the ground fell out from under her and she cashed in her chips. If you haven't seen the film, that's a spoiler. You've had enough time to see the movie, so you can only blame yourself.

Stands with a Fist (Mary McDonnell) in Dances with Wolves (1990): While I can't remember if Stands with a Fist actually has a kid in this movie, I am including her only because I got in trouble with my own mother for taking her to see this film. She deemed it too violent—most notably during the scene where Robert Pastorelli is brutally shot with arrows and scalped—and ditched me at the theater. I stayed behind to watch the rest of the movie, of course. She was being a real jerk.

Nora Walker (Ann-Margret) in Tommy (1975): All I really remember about this was being very young, seeing the hot Ann-Margret covered with beans and chocolate while humping a hot dog-like throw pillow and feeling very confused in my pants.

Rupert Pupkin’s Mom (Catherine Scorsese) in King of Comedy (1982): One of the all time great “off screen voice” moms, telling Rupert (Robert De Niro) to turn down his audition tape. Rupert's responsive screams of “Mom!” are epic. We should also give props to the moms Mrs. Scorsese played in Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino.

Ellen Brody (Loraine Gary) in Jaws: The Revenge (1987): When this lady's son gets eaten by a shark, she travels to the Bahamas and ultimately drive's a boat's prow through the bastard's heart. Oh yeah, she was in the original Jaws and Jaws 2 as well. But she didn't drive any boats into sharks in those movies!

Helen (Sissy Spacek) in Blast from the Past (1999): Sneaking snorts of alcohol, occasionally screaming in secluded rooms, but dealing with the chores of motherhood while confined to a bomb shelter with ultimate grace. One of the great, underrated Spacek performances.

Marietta Fortune (Diane Ladd) in Wild at Heart (1990): Diane Ladd played her real-life daughter's (Laura Dern) mom in David Lynch's bizarre road movie. Lots of puking, lots of lipstick smeared on the face, and not a lot of motherly love. She was deplorable, but a very memorable mom, all the same.