This Mom is a BItch!

True I didn't liker her character either. But I do like Kathy Bates and she did a good job being a bitch! haha

My God do I agree. o.o I just saw this movie, and I haven't hated a character as much as hated the mother in a very long time. She literally makes me physically ill.

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Way too harsh assessment of the mother IMO. I didn't agree with everything she did but jeez, she had it tough! I think she loved her kids very much but she was struggling as a single, dirt-poor mum with what was it, 5 kids? There wasn't the same type of welfare for them that exists today.

Christmas morning was heartbreaking, I agree. She had her sights set on making a decent home for her kids and was utterly convinced they were as much into the whole thing as she was.

The only reason one should "hate" a character in a movie is if they're pointless to the plot or do something extremely annoying as an actor. Ya know? All characters add something and hers was very interesting indeed.

Poignant film, brings a tear to the eye.

She learned in the end to accept help when it's offered and to let go of that stubborn streak a little.

I just don't think you understand her or the movie at all.

-- Leet.

~ Gíñä ®ïl€ÿ ¡§  GødÐes§! ~

only thing I rolled my eyes in my head over was when she turned away the Christmas gifts knowing she was'nt buying them any herself.that was'nt right.but hating her?no she did'nt bring that out in me.the rapist/woman beater pissed me off more.

The part that infuriated me the most was the Christmas scene. As someone else mentioned, she had completely convinced herself that her kids were as into building that perfect home as she was. And I think in a sense they were. I think she was giving her kids the gift of self accomplishment so that they know how gratifying it can be to accomplish something through hard work and little help.

The problem was HER pride did get in the way of the fact that her kids were still kids. They are already struggling with not having a lot and they were working much harder than most kids their age. They deserved a break, and Christmas should’ve been that break. So yes…her turning down those gifts made me angry. I was actually hoping Edward Furlong’s character snuck and accepted the gifts behind her back, but given the genuine shock the children felt that morning, I guess he truly didn’t believe his mother would give them tools.

She’s a stubborn woman, but I do think she realizes when she’s gone too far. In her defense, I think she eventually realized her mistake and tried to make it right buy trying to see if the Reverend had anymore toys, but it was too late. And after she had been beaten (and raped?) by that jerk and she made her son promise never to beat anyone because it hurts inside and out, to which he replied “I know”, she realized she had gone overboard with that belt and tearfully nailed it to a tree.


When the hurly-burly's done. When the battle's lost and won.

I agree with you for the most part, but at least she was trying to do better for her kids. She went overboard with this whole "Lacey tribe" crap, and that "It's us agains the world!" inflated attitude which in reality will get you more enemies than friends. Nobody is ever impressed much with that attitude. But she DID work, and clearly her kids got the picture about hard work and the value of the green-back dollar, he heee!

Christmas is heartbreaking. She was so self-centered in getting this house built, it seemed to me she tried to make the CHILDREN feel guilty for being SAD, and that they should have been happy with the tools! She forgot they were kids, I get her determination. But Frances Lacy reminded her children like it was her duty they are the reason she's poor. Kids don't deserve that, I don't care how poor they are.

But I'm glad she finally started using her heart. My favorite moment was her son getting ready for the dance looking all sharp, and she said how handome he looked like his father (Irish-catholic-S.O.B , hahahahaaa), so she put a couple of folded up bucks in his pocket. She was so proud of her son, and a big smile on her face when she put it in his pocket. I just love that.

Well toby2011 this movie is tough to watch because imagine if you were faced with a life can puts you in a daily survival mode. The movie offers no excuses just realities of life lived on the edge. Frances Lacey doesn't give up when things got worse she continued to have hope. Yes she had her frustrations but she never stopped loving her kids and wanting a better life for them. Indeed Lacey was probably a BITCH. And she may have missed the mark when it came to Christmas gifts. And let's not forget the issue of being too prideful. But the movie has heart. Have you ever walked in Lacey's shoes? I believe Bates embraced the struggles and became Frances Lacey and the director fashioned a story that is truthful. Have you ever gone without? Have you ever woke up not knowing what the day will bring? But the fact that she got your blood going tells me Bates did her job as an actress.

This movie is set in 1962. Kathy Bate's character is set to the realism of that time. Children were held more accountable for their actions and were given more responsibilities than the children of our lifetime now. You may not be able to stand the character and your opinion that the children should have been permitted to be children is one that would be shared by many of the current 20s/30s generation. The unfortunate fact though is that many of the same things our world has changed to create a better life for abused children are the very things that have likely created a more desparate life for the majority of children.
If you were to investigate the life of children in the 1960s you would find that while they were expected to have a higher level of respect for adults and were given more responsibility-- there was also a lower number of juvenile delinquents in the justice system. There were less children facing lives of being single parents as teens. There were less adults in their 20s facing bancruptcy for credit card debt that they would not be able to pay back in their lifetime. These things have occured because someone who was well meaning implanted a theory that kids needed more freedom to be children. Being a child doesn't mean you blind that child to their actual circumstance.
Kathy Bate's character was stern and mouthy and for everything else she wasn't she was doing what she felt was most important for her 6 children. I believe the writer made it very clear that she saw the error of some of her harshness when the mom went to the church on Christmas trying to get toys for the kids. I also believe he was trying to make viewers see that this character was accepted by the townspeople by having them pitch in to help rebuild their home after the fire. She was accepted because this was the nature of that time period given the circumstances of the character.
I would hope that if children or families watch this they would take away the difference of the struggle people had in life in the past. While children always will expect toys at christmas, children in that time period were not looking to receive computers, Xboxes or cars and if you were paying attention they were all extremely excited just to have one small wrapped present to open.