40+ Movies and TV Shows You Can Watch With Mom This Mother’s Day
From ‘Miss Congeniality’ to ‘Bling Empire,’ here are pop culture’s best shows and movies to marathon with your mom
Even as the world slowly returns to its old rhythms, we still have to exercise extreme caution because of the pandemic. Much like last year, Mother's Day celebrations this year may look different if you live away from your parents, as we all continue to quarantine and stay home. If there’s one thing that’s eternal, though, it’s the joy that film and TV bring, so here are over 40 movies and TV shows that you can watch with her, whether together in person, or online through Teleparty or Zoom.
We’ve got romcoms, tearjerkers, comedies, documentaries, classics, and dramas—all available to stream, rent, or buy.
Shows and Movies to Watch With Mom
Shows and Movies to Watch With Mom
Crash Landing on You (Netflix)
I don’t know a single person—mom or otherwise—who watched ‘Crash Landing on You’ and didn’t become obsessed with it. This hit K-drama tells the story of Yoon Se-Ri, a South Korean heiress who crash lands on North Korean soil and meets Ri Jeong-hyeok, a handsome and brooding military man, who helps her hide from North Korean authorities. It’s extremely well-received, thanks in large part to its gorgeous scenery, transcendent acting, well-crafted storylines, and impeccable fashion. We here at Metro.Style would tell you to bingewatch it in its entirety as there are only 16 episodes, and we promise you every minute will be worth your while.
Gilmore Girls (Netflix)
It’s the quintessential mother-and-daughter show, as the “Gilmore girls” don’t just mean Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel), but Lorelai and her mom, Emily (Kelly Bishop), too. ‘Gilmore Girls’ is the comfort show that we all need in a time like this, and what it has to say about the complicated relationship between a mother and her child are definitely some of pop culture’s best. The best episodes to check out, if you don’t feel like watching all 153 episodes (though we highly recommend you do): “Like Mother, Like Daughter,” “The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale,” and “Scene in a Mall.” Of course, check out the revival—on Netflix—too!
Everything Is Copy (HBO Go)
In ‘Everything Is Copy,’ Jacob Bernstein, son of famed writer and director Nora Ephron—of ‘You’ve Got Mail,’ ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ and ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ fame—celebrates his mother’s life and legacy. It opens with her beginnings as the ‘mail girl’ at Newsweek, moving up to become an essayist at Esquire, and writing and directing some of Hollywood’s most iconic romantic comedies of all time. Some of her closest friends, including Meg Ryan, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Mike Nichols make appearances, all talking about the influence Nora has had on their lives and crafts as artists.
The Sound of Music (which we’re sure you have a copy lying around somewhere)
‘The Sound of Music’ isn’t streaming anywhere, which is unfortunate, but we’re more than at least 80% sure that you have a copy of this iconic classic somewhere in your—or your parents’—home. In ‘The Sound of Music,’ Maria (Julie Andrews), a nun-in-training is sent to the von Trapp house to become the governess to seven children. They don’t start off great, but during a thunderstorm, they run to Maria’s room and they sing about their favorite things. Maria brings music back to the children’s lives, but, most importantly, to their father’s. ‘The Sound of Music’ is one of the most beloved movies of all-time, and I’ve never met a mom who didn’t have fond memories of this film growing up.
Lady Bird (Netflix)
It’s 2002 in Sacramento, and Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan), born Christine McPherson, is coming of age. She wants to move east, and she wants to be part of musicals, and she loves her mom but she also hates her. Greta Gerwig’s ‘Lady Bird’ may not have won any Oscars in 2018, but it did, as per Rachel Syme, won her heart, mine, and those of millions more, too. ‘Lady Bird’ is a transcendent film about the small and big ways our mothers shape us, whether we notice it or not, in the moment or later on in life.
Mrs. Fletcher (HBO Go)
In ‘Mrs. Fletcher,’ an HBO Go series based on the book by Tom Perrotta, Kathryn Hahn stars as the eponymous Mrs. Fletcher. She’s Eve, a divorced mom who we first meet as she sees her only son and child off to college. Alone, she experiences a sexual reawakening in her middle age, and she discovers a whole new world brought about by her new self. It’s only 7 episodes long, with each episode running under 30 minutes, so binge it all.
Dead to Me (Netflix)
Dead to Me is a show that I will never get tired of recommending, whether as a dark dramedy, a show that’s great to watch with your mom, or simply a show with two great actresses in the fore. In it, Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) become friends after being in the same grief support group together, but Judy has a secret that could change what Jen thinks of her, which eventually did. Its second season was just released on Netflix today, just in time for Mother’s Day weekend, so get to bingeing!
Otherhood (Netflix)
Before the college admissions scandal heard ‘round the world, Felicity Huffman filmed a little Netflix movie called Otherhood—motherhood without the ‘m.’ In it, three mothers and friends, played by Huffman, Patricia Arquette, and Angela Bassette, go on a cross-country roadtrip to visit their sons who have all forgotten about them on Mother’s Day. Throughout the course of the movie, they each learn what matters most in their lives, with a lot of other self-discoveries, along the way.
Six By Sondheim (HBO Go)
Stephen Sondheim, who just recently celebrated his 90th birthday with a star-studded Zoom party, is one of musical theatre’s living legends. In Six By Sondheim, James Lapine pays tribute to his frequent collaborator and friend, as performances of six of Sondheim’s signature songs punctuate each segment: “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story, “Opening Doors” from Merrily We Roll Along, “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music, “I’m Still Here” from Follies, “Being Alive” from Company, and “Sunday” from Sunday in the Park With George. This documentary is perfect for you and your mom if you’re both theatre enthusiasts, but it’s still a worthwhile watch even if you weren’t.
Steel Magnolias (Apple Movies)
Taking place mostly in Truvy (Dolly Parton)’s beauty salon in a northwestern Louisiana town, Annelle (Daryl Hannah), M’Lynn (Sally Field), Shelby (Julia Roberts), Clairee (Olympia Dukakis), and Ouiser (Shirley MacLaine) are the perfect embodiment of a ‘steel magnolia’—as delicate as the magnolia flower, yet at the same time as tough as steel. After all, the film, based on Robert Harling’s 1987 play, explores the ups and downs of life, motherhood, and what it takes to be a woman. It’s delightful, comforting, devastating, and uplifting, without being overly saccharine, and has thus earned a place as one of the two movies I have on my phone. (The other being The Parent Trap.) That’s how much I need to rewatch it.
Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit (iWant)
An adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit is one of the two movies that earned Dawn Zulueta her back-to-back acting awards at the 39th FAMAS Awards. The movie, directed and produced by the Siguion-Reynas, tells the story of Gabriel (Richard Gomez) and Carmina (played by Zulueta) and their unbending love for each other, even as she marries a different man. It’s a lot more complicated than that, of course, as the film—often described to exude a Victorian kind of quality, like the novel it is based upon—also tackles class differences and vengeance.
Big Little Lies (HBO Go)
Big Little Lies puts every superhero movie to shame. There is nothing more beautiful than its director, Jean-Marc Vallée, saying that [women are] “the ultimate force of nature because they become one and they become as strong as this violent, angry ocean” in an interview with Vulture. While season two may not have been as stellar as its strong first season, Big Little Lies is still worth all your time, whether you watch it with your mom or not (though we suggest you do!) because of how magnificently it presents the power of women, and, most of all, women who are mothers.
Kung Ako Na Lang Sana (iWant)
Emy (Sharon Cuneta) and Vincent (Aga Muhlach) have been friends since college, but throughout their adulthood this friendship grows into something deeper. Here’s the thing, though: neither of them will act on it, because they’re both convinced that the other feels nothing for them. They see each other through new relationships, breakups, ended friendships, lost jobs, and family member’s deaths, with one thing completely clear: Whether they know it or not, they love each other, plain and simple.
Falling In Love (Apple Movies)
In Falling In Love, Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep’s characters do exactly that. Frank and Molly—both “very married” to other people—meet briefly on Christmas Eve, and become close friends not long after. Their friendship blossoms into love after spending time together on their commutes to work.
Dirty Dancing (Netflix)
In the fall of 1963, 17-year old Frances Houseman (Jennifer Grey)—known lovingly to her family as Baby—is set to enter Mount Holyoke College, but not before embarking on a summer romance that will make her have the time of her life. At a holiday resort up in the Catskills, she meets and falls in love with Johnny Castle (the late Patrick Swayze), a dance instructor. Dirty Dancing, whose history is chronicled in The Movies That Made Us, is another universally beloved film of the power of love, community, and a headstrong girl.
Lorna (iWant)
In Lorna, Shamaine Buencamino plays the titular role, a 60-year old woman in search of love, and finding it in the most unexpected of places. This dramedy first premiered at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival in 2014 and includes a joyous portrayal of middle-aged life, with one’s best amigas right next to her doing Zumba, and various men to love (and make love to).
Bright Lights Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (HBO Go)
One of 2016’s biggest tragedies is the passing of Carrie Fisher at the end of December, followed by her mother Debbie Reynolds’ demise not a few days after. The mother and daughter duo have always had a complicated relationship, but if there’s one thing that this beautiful documentary shows, it’s that they love each other very much. Bright Lights gives viewers a glimpse into the relationship that the two had with each other—loving, caring, tense, worrisome—things that exist in almost every relationship with a mother and her child.
The Center Will Not Hold (Netflix)
There are few things more painful than a mother outliving her child, and being the last of her family to survive. In The Center Will Not Hold, a poignant, understated documentary on the life and times of writer Joan Didion, we catch a pre-Star Wars Harrison Ford (he was her carpenter!) and discover deep insight into her philosophies as a writer, a mother, and a human. Actor and director Griffin Dunne, Didion’s nephew, puts his aunt’s illustrious writing career on gorgeously shot film, and it’s a wonderful world to escape to.
The Good Wife and its spinoff, The Good Fight (both on Amazon Prime)
The Good Wife, starring Julianna Margulies, follows Alicia Florrick, the wife of a disgraced and corrupt Illinois State’s Attorney (Sex and the City’s Mr. Big, Chris Noth) who’d been caught having affairs with call girls and interns. She hasn’t practiced the law since she had children, and so after her husband is sent to prison, she joins the law firm Stern, Lockhart & Gardner to provide for her son and daughter. There, she reunites with Will Gardner (Josh Charles), an old friend of hers from Georgetown Law and befriends the firm’s investigator, Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi). It’s one of the most acclaimed shows of the past decade, with its fifth season (out of 7) its absolute crowning glory.
Mamma Mia! (Apple Movies) and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (HBO Go)
There’s no problem an ABBA song can’t fix. Based on the long-running Broadway musical of the same name, Mamma Mia! follows Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep and Lily James) and Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) as the latter sends out wedding invites to all three of her suspected fathers, in an attempt to find out which one is her real dad, with musical numbers set to joyous ABBA songs.
The Bridges of Madison County (Apple Movies)
In Iowa in the late 60s, Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) meets National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood), who has traveled to Madison County to photograph its seven famous bridges. They fall in love, spending four days in each other’s arms, and it changes them irrevocably. Bonus: Listen to the musical’s cast recording on Spotify or Apple Music, and fall deeply in love with its gorgeous music and be changed forever, the way Francesca and Robert did with each other.
Postcards from the Edge (Apple Movies)
Based on Carrie Fisher’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, Postcards from the Edge sees actress Suzanne Vale (Meryl Streep, again) as she tries to rebuild her life and career after being discharged from rehab. Ready to return to work, she is told that she must live with her mother, Doris Mann (Shirley MacLaine), but because she’d spent her entire young adult life trying to get away from her, she is reluctant. Postcards from the Edge is adapted from the novel by Fisher herself, earning positive reviews from critics and ranking #1 at the box office during its opening weekend. Since then, it’s become classic cinema.
The Philadelphia Story (Apple Movies)
The Philadelphia Story is the film that made me fall in love with old Hollywood, and it’s an incredibly lovely movie to watch with anyone—including your mom. In this classic romantic comedy, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) is set to be married to George Kittredge (John Howard), but her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) saunters back into her life. To add to that, a reporter named Macaulay Connor (James Stewart) expresses his feelings for her as well, and she must choose between the three. It’s a fun romp of a film; a true classic with impeccable dialogue (“I’m such an unholy mess of a girl” remains to be one of the best lines in cinema, bar none!) and acting.
An Affair to Remember (Apple Movies)
Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) meet and fall in love while on a cruise from Europe to New York. They’re betrothed to other people, but they promise each other to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months, anyway. A remake of the 1939 film Love Affair, An Affair to Remember is considered by many—including The Nanny’s Fran Fine—to be one of the most emotional and romantic movies of all-time.
The Joy Luck Club (Apple Movies)
The Joy Luck Club, based on the novel by Amy Tan, is a safe space for four friends—Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), Lindo (Tsai Chin), Ying-Ying (France Nuyen), and An-Mei (Lisa Lu)—to share their deepest desires, biggest dreams, and most profound pains over a game of mahjong. They are immigrants from China whose daughters were all born and raised in their new home, America, and for whom they have the highest hopes. Of course, their daughters, struggling to find their place in the world, feel inadequacy, anxiety, and the fear of the failing, but that weekly game of mahjong can change everything.
Waitress (Apple Movies)
In Waitress, Jenna Hunterson (Keri Russell) bakes delicious and aptly-titled pies, depending on her mood. Just a few of her creations include “Kick in the pants pie,” a cinnamon spice custard; “I hate my husband pie,” made into a pudding with unsweetened bittersweet chocolate and drowned in caramel; and “Earl murders me because I’m having an affair pie,” smashed blackberries and raspberries into a chocolate crust. It’s the movie that the hit musical of the same name is based on, and it’s a wonderful look at how a new life can change everything.
The Real Housewives franchise (hayu)
This past quarantine, I gave into the pleasures of watching reality TV—and what better franchise to begin with than the Real Housewives? New York is my personal favorite, but whatever city you prefer, watching it is the perfect excuse to gab and gossip with your mom. The franchise follows the lives of several wealthy housewives from various upscale communities.
Bling Empire (Netflix)
If you’re looking for something moderately gripping while still good as background noise, then look no further than Bling Empire. It’s a real-life Crazy Rich Asians sitch, as the show follows wildly wealthy Asian-Americans in Los Angeles who live lavish and luxurious lifestyles.
Miss Congeniality (Netflix)
Miss Congeniality recently arrived on Netflix, and has been trending since. Starring Sandra Bullock, this modern classic follows a tomboyish detective whose mission is to infiltrate the Miss United States beauty pageant.
Vincenzo (Netflix)
If you’re not yet caught up with Vincenzo, which recently just ended, this Mother’s Day weekend is the perfect time to binge with mom. The K-drama starring Song Joong-ki follows a Korean-Italian mafia lawyer who gives a conglomerate “a taste of its own medicine, with a side of justice.”
To All The Boys trilogy (Netflix)
As a kid, I loved watching romantic comedies with my mom, which I’m sure contributed to my love for the genre. Watch the To All The Boys trilogy on Netflix, remember what it’s like to fall in love, and share laughs—and tears—with mom over three sweet little films.
Moxie! (Netflix)
Moxie!, Amy Poehler’s most recent directorial effort for Netflix, follows a shy 16-year-old who becomes inspired by her mom’s rebellious past, ushering in a revolution at her high school.
The American President (Apple TV)
The American President follows fictional US president Andrew Shepard, widowed and falling in love with lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade. It's the perfect film if you're looking for something sweeter but still cerebral.
Regarding Henry (Apple TV)
Starring Harrison Ford, Regarding Henry follows a man who gets amnesia, and must rediscover his identity and career with the help of his wife and daughter.
Funny Face (Apple TV)
Another romantic comedy of yore, Funny Face follows a fashion photographer (the dashing Fred Astaire) who is "struck by the sheer beauty of a shy bookstore employee (the lovely Audrey Hepburn, who else) he accidentally photographed."
The Mirror Has Two Faces (Apple TV)
The Mirror Has Two Faces follows two individuals who get married on the grounds of remaining platonic friends, when one of them begins to want more.
Evening (Apple TV)
In Evening, an old woman shares and recalls her greatest regret in love with her two daughters.
The Story of the Battle of Brody & Brandy
This feel-good romcom follows Brandy, a manager at a bed-and-breakfast who's sworn off men, until Brody enters the picture.
The King: Eternal Monarch (Netflix)
There are perhaps few things better than fangirling with mom, so consider The King: Eternal Monarch as your Mother’s Day to-watch list this coming weekend!
Lead photos from IMdB
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