The (Dead Mothers) Club

This purported to be an exploration of what it is like to lose your mother when you are young. The headliners are Jane Fonda, Rosie O’Donnell, and Molly Shannon. Fonda’s mother slit her own throat when Jane was twelve. When Rosie was eleven her mother died of breast cancer. Shannon’s family was in a terrible car wreck when she was four. Her mother, younger sister, and cousin were killed. We also see some of the lives of three “ordinary” people who lost their mothers. But this film really, really lacks focus. It took forever for these other women to get to their stories, as we are treated to scene after scene of daily life. And the celebrities are barely there. I’m sorry, but I’m a lot more interested in them and their stories. That’s just the way it is. About halfway through I completely lost interest. There was a good movie to be found in this material, but these documentarian women didn’t find it.