A Mother's Love

I thought this would be a love story especially when the guy at Blockbuster told me he loved it and he was truly a hopeless romantic. Little did I know that the love story would be more about the love between a mother and her daughter. I have a daughter who I love more than life itself and I cannot wait for her to watch this movie - maybe it will help her understand me a little better.

The movie is set on a letter to Princeton University - it is an essay on my hero - and of course, it is Christina's mother, Flora. They move from Mexico to Los Angeles when Christina's father leaves. Flora does not let her daughter see her cry and wants to raise her to be strong. In Los Angeles, Flora takes two jobs to support them. By age twelve, when Flora witnesses a boy dancing with her daughter touch her derriere, she decides she can no longer work nights. So she seeks out a job which will pay sufficiently so she doesn't have to work nights. She lands a housekeeping job at the Clansky's. Deb (Tea Leoni) is the neurotic housewife of John Clansky (Adam Sandler). Deb's mother (Cloris Leachman) lives with them and adds to the dysfunction of this family. Flora is confused by some of the actions of this family but she does her best to fit in. When the family rents a house in Malibu and has Flora and Christina move in with them for the summer, they all learn a lot about each other. Deb gets Christina a scholarship to the private school that her children go to and continues to grow closer to Christina. Flora decides to quit the job at the same time that Deb confesses to John that she has been having an affair for the last 11 weeks. It is at this point that Flora confesses to John that she loves him. But the next day, she quits her job. Though Christina did not understand it her mother refuses to let them have space between each other.

This movie is actually really funny. Tea Leoni and Cloris Leachman will leave you rolling on the floor. Adam Sandler plays a serious role and does it well but he will also throw in a few laughs for you.

I watched this movie with my 42 year old husband. We both really enjoyed it. We laughed and we really followed the story. I love dramas and my husband loves comedies - this movie gave us enough of both so we were both satisfied.