I thought it was a nice, cute movie with good performances. However, Maureen O' Hara's character was too mean to be likeable at all. She said in the movie that she didn't mean to hurt anyone, but when she said "You're built like a thirteen year old boy" to Ally Sheedy's character, what other purpose could there be?
anyone else agree?
She is a very nasty woman in the movie, but in the end, she comes around. Its obvious her hard shell was due to her own insecurities about losing Danny and relying on herself.
shareI take it you guys aren't Irish...one thing an Irish mother will impress with extreme prejudice on potential girlfriends is that they will always be the number one woman in their sons life they don't expect to have to earn the girlfriends respect and demand that the girlfriend will accept the sanctity of a relationship that began at conception. Saying that some of the comments she made were out of order but the general attitude is the very epitome of an Irish mother...
shareI come from an Irish family and those older Irish woman while loving will always speak their mind. You always know where you stand with them.
The reason she insults his girlfriend is because she's afraid of losing him. She trying to chase her away.
He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?
Mikeyg24 is spot on! While I do not have an Irish mother, I DID have a paternal Irish grandmother (and she was definitely the negative-stereotype Irish woman). I actually took my mom to see this movie when it was in the theaters, and she loved it (not surprisingly).
shareI agree completely. It doesn't matter whether this is playing off an Irish cultural phenomenon I don't quite get, on the screen, it amounts to bad writing. They could have got the same idea across without making her such an over-the-top, snake-mean bigot. It seems like they were aiming for the lowest common denominator, as making her mean enough to be somewhat off-putting but also likable enough to be redeemable would have been too subtle. It ruined the movie because I never developed any sympathy for her, didn't understand why the neighbor loved her, or why Candy put up with it. As written, that woman deserved some severe beatings.
shareBigot is probably a strong word. Irish mothers don't dislike other cultures because they are other cultures but it's predominantly because they're not Irish.
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Not liking a culture because it's not your own, hmmmm. Wait, how is that not bigotry, again?
I love it when people try to excuse bigotry with "oh, that's just part of the culture" or "oh, that's just how they were raised". It makes me laugh, it really does.
Watch the movie Marty with Ernest Borgnine and than decide .
shareWouldn't a lot of people just love to have Rose Muldoon for a mother? Yeah right! Maureen O'Hara does such a great job in this role that, although her character is not very likable, her interpretation is! John Candy has the perfect mannerisms and insecurites of the bachelor who simply will not admit that his mother runs his life. Ally Sheedy comes out of her shell because of her relationship with Candy, and the two develop quite well as a couple. The main barrier is of course Rose, as Danny cannot seem to let go of the guilt of making his own decisions without his mother's interference. Sometimes we have to challenge our insecurites and anxieties of the circumstances and those around us to have what we really want, no matter what our overbearing parents may think. Fortunately, my parents are very liberal and accepting. I just have to prove to myself what I am capable of with others! Great movie, and one of John Candy's best! Too bad he left us too soon.
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Dude I wanted to punch her so bad.
shareJust so you all know - the Mother character is real life.
I grew up in a city, with lots of immigrants from the turn of the 20th century.
I'm italian, and when my aunt married an Irish man, it was a huge scandal in my Dad's family...and his family stopped talking to him.
This movie is great because it captures that mentality. We don't need Politically correct, bland, "safe" characters.
It was so refreshing to see real characters on the screen.
To the OP: Irish mothers? Try Italian, Jewish, Spanish, any ethnicity, really. All nationalities can have acid-tongued moms who tell it like it is, just because they're @ssholes. No matter how many times you shout back, they will never get that they're hurtful and irrational.
But for a movie, she was amusing to watch.
so why did his mom screw over his father with that deal? bc his boss didnt give him a raise? if she had kept her mouth shut, maybe the boss WOULD have given him that raise.......
I KNOW 2 things that are clear.I'm a great sinner,Christ is a great Savior.
@mcfly It's True
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I know right! Like my own family members. I'm Mexican, British, and Egyptian, so I get a lot of fuss and that stuff. I loved this movie (non surprisingly).
And I did love her character, actually I liked her better than Teresa
@galoipo How barbaric! LOL
http://www.cgonzales.net & http://www.drxcreatures.com
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My mother in many ways was very much like Rose (even a very similar name).
Although she was NOT ethnically predjudiced -- much to the contrary, she was usually very nasty to anybody who was.
In other ways -- religion and family clannishness -- she was very similar to Rose.
Probably 2/3 of the time she was pretty crusty and blustery, and I know many people outside our family thought she was basically a B.
And she WAS a B, even around the house, sometimes. There were other times she was very sweet and in the end she certainly loved her children, but she was a very thorny personality at times.
So O'Hara's character, while a little exaggerated and cartoonish, was hardly far-fetched. People like that really do exist.
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.