Movies for Moms!

What's the best way to treat your mom on Mother's Day? How about a great movie? Besides this weekend's family comedy Moms' Night Out, here are more tried and true winners to visit (or revisit) with Mom on her holiday.

Philomena

Judi Dench stars in this critically acclaimed true story about a woman who teams up with an out-of-work journalist to track down the son she'd been forced to give up 50 years ago. It's a poignant and heartfelt tale of a mother's undying love.

Date Night

On the opposite side of the spectrum is this broad, one-wild-night comedy starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey as parents desperate for a night on the town without the kids...but maybe not THIS kind of night.

Mamma Mia!

Donna (Meryl Streep), plans her only daughter’s wedding in the beautiful Greek Isles. Her spirited daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), has a plan of her own. After sifting and singing through her mother’s diary, she invites three lovers from her mother’s past to the wedding, one of whom is likely her father.

Terms of Endearment

Don't call Shirley McClaine a grandmother! Mother-daughter relationships can be complicated, as is shown by Aurora (McClaine) and Emma (Debra Winger) in Terms of Endearment. Through the many ups and downs of wanting what is best for both themselves and each other, these two women come to terms with the roles that they're given in life... but be prepared, like many mother-daughter films, this one is a tearjerker.

Baby Boom

Motherhood is far more difficult than working a high-stress, high-stakes job, just ask J.C. (Diane Keaton) from Baby Boom. After unexpectedly inheriting a baby from her cousin (surprise!), J.C.'s career is thrown into turmoil as she tries to balance newfound mommy duties with her corporate lifestyle. After reorganizing her priorities with her surprise baby top-of-mind, J.C. discovers that with love and hard work, you really can have it all.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) is a Greek-American who falls for the very WASP-y Ian Miller, which sends her ethnocentric family into a tizzy. Ultimately unable to undermine love, Toula's family gives their blessing and her mother gives her this pep-talk: "Greek women, we may be lambs in the kitchen, but we are tigers in the bedroom." Opa!

Chocolat

Vianne (Juliette Binoche) is an expert chocolatier who settles in a small French village with her only daughter, where Catholic morals and practices are the bees knees. As Vianne whips the town into a frenzy, they soon discover that she has much more to offer than just delicious chocolates. It is Vianne's virtues of kindness, patience and openness, which she instills in her daughter too, that eventually lifts the pious cloud from the village.

Erin Brockovich

In a fight for justice, a single mother of three becomes a heroic figure for the people of Hinkley, California. Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) takes on an energy corporation when she realizes they are responsible for the extensive illnesses of residents in a small town in northern California. Now that's one determined mother we can all look up to!

Freaky Friday

A busy mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) and misunderstood teen (Lindsay Lohan, reminding us she really can act) can't see eye to eye, but one freaky Friday they accidentally switch bodies and literally walk in each other's shoes. Curtis and Lohan deliver the laughs as they try to survive work stress and high school, all the while rediscovering their selfless love for each other.

The Incredibles

When your mom's superhero alias is "Elastigirl," you can count on a couple of things: she'll stretch to any length to protect you and you'll always be within her arms' reach. While not every family is blessed with superpowers, The Incredibles reminds us that the ability to love is the most powerful ability one can possess.

Steel Magnolias

Nothing brings women together more than a beauty salon! Set in the South, Steel Magnolias tells the heart-wrenching story of mothers, daughters, friendships and the circle of life. While it may not be as on-the-nose as The Lion King, Steel Magnolias beautifully illustrates that with every door that is closed, another opens.

Stepmom

Susan Sarandon is a mom who's terminally ill and Julia Roberts is the stepmom-to-be when her ex-husband proposes. In this emotional rollercoaster of a movie, the coping family is reminded just how strong the ties of motherhood are, whether beginning from birth or passing on the torch.

The Guilt Trip

On the verge of cross-country road trip to pitch his new product, inventor Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen), is guilted into taking his widowed mother, Joyce (Barbra Streisand), along with him. Like most sons, he finds his mother to be overbearing in that “parents just don’t understand” kind of way, but over the course of their hilarious journey, he comes to discover that the apple does not fall far from the tree. Favorite movie for mom? Tell us!

This Is 40

Anyone who's hit the Big Four-Oh and has kids knows how tough it is...you're more tired, less patient and maybe ready to strangle your SO. At least, Debbie (Leslie Mann) is, as she and hubby Pete (Paul Rudd) struggle to get along while dealing with two difficult daughters as they hit middle age.

Edward Scissorhands

And finally, what sweeter mom is Dianne Wiest's Peg? After discovering Edward in an attic, she takes him in and integrates him into the neighborhood, and even when events turn everyone against him, insists he's still just a good boy inside. Gives us the feels every time.