Customer Reviews

Momma's Man (Widescreen Edition)

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Like Andrew Wagner's The Talent Given Us and Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture, real-life parents of filmmakers play themselves as family dynamics play out with humor, discomfort, agony, joy, and a moving emotional reality we can all embrace (or not).

A whimsical, but painfully true film about a young man whose parents have unintentionally made life so comfortable for him that it impedes his ability to leave home and be a functioning adult. Mikey comes home to NY from California (where he has a wife and baby) on a business trip and stays in his parents' wonderfully eccentric and bohemian loft. He sleeps in his old bed and pulls out his childhood toys and comic books. He invents excuse after excuse not to leave creating a web of lies and eventually becomes so agoraphobic that he can't leave the loft. His mom, a first-class enabler (the name of the film is so true) constantly asks "Is everything OK?" while simultaneously offering him coffee, tea, oatmeal, soup and home-cooked meals as she psychologically undermines him. His shrewd dad is caught in the middle; he doesn't wan't to upset his wife, but in going along with her and Mikey, he marginalizes himself. Mikey has a childhood friend who also seems to be overstaying his welcome at his mom's place, which suggests that this is a generational problem that's not Mikey's alone.

According to the notes, this film was shot in director Azazel Jacob's parent's loft with his actual parents playing the roles of Mikey's parents. One of the pleasures of the film is their fabulously old-time loft-pioneer living space. It's hard for the Mikeys of this world to create their own identity in the shadow of such gifted parents. Momma's Man is a slow-paced film with beautifully shot scenes of New York City (maybe this what Mikey really misses).

I'm so glad I occasioned this movie on Reel 13. I really felt it captured the conflict and reality of becoming an adult for the 30-40's generation (my generation). I loved the regression of the main character, it was slow, methodical and accurate. It seemed to be my self, my time, my toys, my conflict - yes I was totally drawn into this well crafted story (and I'm a woman!). Thanks Azazel Jacobs.

Yes, the film is "minimal," but the honesty here is really quite something. A personal and poignant movie, "Momma's Man" plays like a truly independent film, which is very refreshing.
The DVD's bonus features (including a simply incredible short work by Ken Jacobs), on their own merit, are worth the purchase price.
Recommended.