who else HATED Charlottes mother?

I loved Charlotte's mother, but don't mind me ~ my Mom is just as strange as Charlotte's!!

She made Charlotte be the Mother until Charlotte finally screwed up and then just comes down on her so hard and HITS her!! She should have thanked her for taking up all the slack that she left behind.

I don't think Rachel could accept the fact that she's a screw up in the mothering department ~ and forget about her ever admitting she was wrong. It wouldn't be her character.

I really think that she wanted her daughter to be inferior to her so that she could keep the spotlight on herself.

Absolutely. I think Rachel was torn. She didn't want Charlotte running around in those ratty boots & suggested that Charlotte might be old enough to have a boyfriend. When Charlotte does begin to come into her own, Rachel realizes that not only is Charlotte now competition, but she may also make the same mistakes as she herself made. That would probably be hard for a mother like that to deal with, and we know Rachel doesn't deal well!

Thoughts?

you know i HATED her mother too... but then i realized that this was me and my mother... we fought and i never understood why she and i didnt see eye to eye. and it was because charlottes mother grew up too fast and charlotte didnt want to be anything like her mother. it wasnt till after they sweitched places and charlotte acted like the teenager and rachel acted like the mother that they offically realized that they did love eachother and thety had made mistakes. but everything turned out to be alright. you know yeah they fought and yeah she slapped her, but she was in a bad position and she didnt know what to do. she had one daughter dieing in the hospital and the other had just taken the biggest step into adult hood and was so far beyond confusion. and wanted to become a nun to repent for her mothers actions and mistakes. it was then they realized it wasnt so bad to be the responsible mother and the teenager who is just trying to find herself, not the other way around... sometimes it is the hardest possible situation that really brings us together. its those situations where you just want to kill the other person and you feel soo hurt and betrayed by them , you think things willnever be the same when really they end up so much better then before. they realized that no one and no state could ever solve the problems they had. because they could never completly be fixed. but they could try to make things better.

Like cutting Charlottes sandwiches! Why did she want to humiliate her child?

Why is it humiliating? I always saw that Charlotte was so wound up and took everything seriously while her mother didn't. Its probably not the nicest thing to do but seriously sandwiches shaped like stars isn't embarassing or the end of the world unless the person is really dramatic...like CHarlotte was.

Why be mean to the only man that ever gave a hoot about her?

She had issues/scars from her marriage. She got married to someone she loved and who loved her back...who then just abandoned her while she was pregnant. After something like that some people have trouble trusting others and have all sorts of barriers. It's why she expects men to lie since they've always let her down in the past and she doesn't expect any man will be true to their word.

I don't think her "star shaping" the sandwiches was intended to humiliate Charlotte in any way. Rachel's main source cooking book was "Fun finger food". She saw the sandwiches lying there on the table and the most logical step to her was to star-cut them. That's the way she treated food in general.

That slap looked hard though! I wonder if it was really faked because it looks (and sounds!) awfully realistic. I still get a little shaken every time I watch that scene. I even flinch a little.

I didn't hate Mrs. Flax but I do agree with you when you say that she comes down on her a little too hard.

WOW...Let it go...it's a movie...and we have to remember....1. Its fiction, 2. It's set in the sixties (over self actualization and analysis, and 12 step programs didnt exist in that timeframe)...lol...Anyhow, I didnt hate Rach at all..she was a human being and she made mistakes....all of our parents did. Thats the interesting part of getting older...realizing that your parents dont always know best and dont always have the answers. As far as the character of Rachel...yeah,,,some of the stuff she does to Char are kinda mean spirited...but I don't think it was about spite. I think the relationship between the two was more to illustrate the breakdown of communication when parent and child hit that time of life. I know I was less communicative with my parents at that age. Its a weird time...you are no longer a child and not yet an adult and you dont feel that anyone can relate. I think that is why Rachael was hard on Char..she never gave out more than Char could handle...but she wanted to break through the enigma that was her daughter's contorted mind...lol. It's best shown in the scene where Rach is in the tub and Char comes in to talk, but then doesnt say a word. Rach asks her "What, what are you thinking when you are just sitting there" It seems to me that Rach is very good and loving mother to the extent that she can be. In fact...it seems to me that in a time where women were still thought of as the lesser sex, Rach was teaching her daughters the opposite. She wanted them to be strong, independant, healthy, and confident. And we see this happening by the end of the movie with Char. She stands up to Rach and gets what she wants out of it...more stability. I just love this movie altogether...its one that I can watch over and over and over again.

This movie was the one time that Cher looked hot... ever. In all other times she effectively looks like plastic.

...however I have to agree with you, she was a total bitch in this movie.

I disliked the character but there was something very likable about Cher in this movie.

- Gothamite #4


I've learned that it's OK to be flawed - Winona Ryder

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