An excerpt from Reals’ script review for Netflix’s The Mother (2023) which will be available 05/29/23:
Hello, everyone! Hope you’re all having a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend!
With Hank out for a few weeks, it looks like 3Way, The Captain, and I are in charge, which means ALL HORROR REVIEWS ALL THE TIME!
It’s going to be WILD!
No, but seriously, we’ll try to keep the train on the tracks while Hank is away.
As proof of that, today I’m taking a look at the script for the action film The Mother which recently dropped on Netflix and stars Jennifer Lopez.
The logline for The Mother reads: A military-trained assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter she’s never met from ruthless criminals gunning for revenge. (Logline taken from Netflix)
The logline from IMDB reads: While fleeing from dangerous assailants, an assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter she left earlier in life.
I have several issues with both of these loglines, even before taking a look at the script, so let’s talk for a moment:
First, it seems like, even today, studios are looking to the success of Taken and are trying to emulate that same formula by taking an older star, or at least a star not known for action roles, and transforming them into an action hero.
This has had very mixed results in the past – for every Nobody with Bob Odenkirk, we have several films like 3 Days to Kill with Kevin Costner. Does anyone remember that one? I had to look it up to confirm it was a real movie.
(Fun fact, and neither here nor there, but both Nobody and 3 Days to Kill costar Connie Nielsen as the wife of the main character. Sounds like she needs a new agent. Though, maybe she just really likes those roles, no judgment here.)
Secondly, what is the appeal of Jennifer Lopez? I’ve never really understood it, and she isn’t exactly a star that can carry a movie on her name alone. I’ve just never heard anyone saying:
“Oh, I have to go see the new J.Lo movie! She’s such a talented actress who really disappears into her roles.”
Third, speaking of J.Lo, is anyone going to believe that Jenny from the Block is a “military-trained assassin?” I’ll suspend my disbelief only so far, movie!
Fourth, didn’t we just see this movie? It was another Netflix original titled Lou, which I reviewed HERE.
It just seems like Netflix took a big bet by greenlighting the same film over-and-over again, with only a few minor changes, and a different lead actress.
Fifth, and this is blending a bit with the “What Needs Work” section of this review, but the title is terrible for several reasons:
A: It tells me nothing about the story, the plot, or the genre of the film.
B (And perhaps more importantly): There have been so many movies named Mother, The Mother, Mother’s Day, or some variation on the word.
In fact, when I was looking for the film on Netflix, I came across multiple options, many of which sounded more interesting than this one.
Specifically:
I Am Mother (2019) – Humanity is on the brink of extinction, but a robot raises a girl on a remote base to give humans a second chance. However, the arrival of another human leads to doubt for the girl and everything she believes in.
And
Mother’s Day (2023) – When the son she’s never known gets kidnapped, former special agent Nina dusts off her deadly skills to bring him home — no matter who gets in her way.
I want to focus on Mother’s Day (2023) because this Polish action flick has a nearly identical plot to The Mother, but it appears to be a far more brutal, believable, and well-shot version of this story.
This is all to say that titles matter, especially when you are pitching something as generic as a basic revenge story with few twists or surprises.
I did notice, however, that there are three credited writers on IMDB – Misha Green (who is the only writer listed on the current draft), Andrea Berloff, and Peter Craig. This likely means the script went through some major rewrites, which I can only hope added more to this paper-thin plot.
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