Trading Mom
| Trading Mom | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tia Brelis |
| Produced by | Raffaella De Laurentiis |
| Screenplay by | Tia Brelis |
| Based on |
The Mommy Market by Nancy Brelis |
| Starring | |
| Music by | David Kitay |
| Cinematography | Buzz Feitshans IV |
| Edited by | Isaac Seyahek |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $319,123[1] |
Trading Mom, also known as The Mommy Market, is a 1994 American fantasy/comedy film written and directed by Tia Brelis, based on her mother Nancy Brelis' homonymous book. It stars Sissy Spacek and Anna Chlumsky, and features the final acting role of André the Giant, who died a year before it was released.
Plot
Elizabeth, Jeremy, and Harry Martin are three children who have had up to here with their nagging mother...a widowed strict workaholic who rarely spends quality time with, or even speaks to, them - except to criticize or scold them ever since their father had passed away. Following a disastrous last day of school (Principal Leeby finds Elizabeth holding - but not smoking - a friend's cigarette; he then busts Jeremy for defending Harry against Ricky Turner, the class bully, who gets off scott-free; he also busts Harry, who hasn't done anything wrong, and even schedules a home visit), they are unfairly grounded for the entire summer vacation with no camp, allowance, TV, or anything by their infuriated mother. Then they meet Mrs. Cavour, a mysterious woman who works as a gardener. She tells them of an ancient spell which will make their mother disappear...along with all their memories of her.
That evening, the kids recite the incantation...which indeed works overnight. The next morning, however, Principal Leeby shows up at their house. He demands that Mrs. Martin come in for a chat regarding the trouble at school yesterday. When the kids (for obvious reasons) can't explain what has happened to her and instead making up a story that she had left early for an emergency, he becomes suspicious and contacts social worker Dr. Richardson - who threatens to put them in separate foster homes unless their mother is located. So Mrs. Cavour tells them of a place in town called the Mommy Market, where practically any breed of mother imaginable can be found. Their policy, however, is that every customer (or party of customers) receives three tokens...each of which is good for taking home one mother at a time. If said customer does not find a suitable mother before running out of tokens, that customer can never return again. The kids select (in order): a wealthy-but-snappish French woman; an attentive-but-monotonous nature-hiker; and a fun-but-wild circus performer. Each set various standards, which the kids can't possibly live up to. Suddenly, they recognize their mother...who herself has been made available at the Mommy Market.
When the kids rush in and beg her to come home, chaos ensues and they are ejected from there forever. As Principal Leeby had called the police to put them in three separate foster homes since he is unable to contact their mother, they seek out Mrs. Cavour, who explains that the spell can be broken and their mother will return - but only if they collectively recall something about her. They do so and happily bring her breakfast in bed. She tries to remember why she grounded them yesterday, but can't. She then tells them that Principal Leeby is coming over to visit. They are now ready to dismiss everything which happened as a bizarre dream. Outside, Principal Leeby drops by to speak with Mrs. Martin about the problems the kids (supposedly) caused at school. He is snared by an animal trap which the nature-hiker showed Elizabeth how to make.
Cast
- Sissy Spacek as Mrs. Martin/Mama, the snappy French woman/Mom, the nature-hiker/Natasha, the circus performer
- Aaron Michael Metchik as Jeremy Martin
- Anna Chlumsky as Elizabeth Martin
- Asher Metchik (Aaron's real-life brother) as Harry Martin
- Maureen Stapleton as Mrs. Cavour
- André the Giant as the Circus Strongman
- Merritt Yohnka as Terrance Leeby, the school principal
- Sean MacLaughlin as Edward, the Mommy Market's manager
- Schuyler Fisk (Sissy's real-life daughter) as Suzy
- Anne Shannon Baxter as Lily
- Andrew Largen as Ricky Turner, the class bully
- Nancy Chlumsky (Anna's real-life mother) as Dr. Richardson, the social worker
- Ariana Metchik (Aaron and Asher's real-life sister) as the Girl Scout
- Igor De Laurentiis (producer Rafaella's real-life nephew) as the boy in the black jacket
Reception
The film mixed to poor reviews; as of June 2016, it holds a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 56% approval audience score.[2] It was mentioned in Siskel and Ebert's "Worst of 1994" episode.
In his TV, Movie & Video Guide, film historian Leonard Maltin gave the film one-and-a-half (out of a possible four) stars. "This should have been a whimsical fantasy/morality lesson; instead, it's flat and lifeless, with poor production values. Although Spacek has a field day in four wildly different variations on a single role, the humiliation scenes will make you wince. There's always something wrong with a picture that sits unreleased for two years, as this one did."