Super Frat

I’ve always been a huge Albert Brooks fan, but I somehow missed this movie. I heard it was great and I never got around to renting it back when renting a tape or a DVD was still a thing. Finally, this movie reached the point where it just happened to be on Netflix, so I watched it. It was pretty good.

Brooks plays John, a twice divorced writer whose life has gone into a spiral. Determined to find out where his life went wrong, he moves back in with his mother, played by Debbie Reynolds. Rob Morrow plays his younger, more successful brother. Brooks doesn’t go for the huge laughs, as you might expect from a more recent comedy. It hovers in the realm of reality which makes the movie realistic, but maybe not as funny as it could be.

I related to the movie somewhat because Brooks plays a writer. Ultimately, his character discovers more about his mom than himself and that revelation “cures” his writer’s block. The movie is solid, but not hilarious. It moves steadily, but seems almost slow in comparison to more recent comedies. I would say the movie will be liked by older movie fans because it’s more amusing than hilarious.

I give Mother a thumbs up. It’s now playing on Netflix. Worth a watch.