Summary

• Check out the trailer for Ewan McGregor and Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn's hilarious dramedy Mother, Couch (above). The film also stars Rhys Ifans, Lara Flynn Boyle, F. Murray Abraham, Lake Bell and Taylor Russell.
• McGregor portrays one of three estranged siblings dealing with their mother's bizarre behavior at a furniture store, leading to an intriguing exploration of family dynamics.
• Film Movement and Memory's Mother, Couch marks the feature film debut for director Niclas Larsson, who also wrote the screenplay.

Ewan McGregor literally has to get his obstinate mother, portrayed by Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn, off the sofa in the upcoming dramedy, Mother, Couch. In fact, Mother’s refusal to get off the furniture store’s couch leads to her three estranged children — portrayed by McGregor, Rhys Ifans and Lara Flynn Boyle — having to reunite to deal with the family matriarch. This marks the feature film debut for director Niclas Larsson, and Mother, Couch made its world premiere back in September of 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Be sure to watch the brand-new trailer (above) and check out Mother, Couch’s synopsis below (per TIFF):

“While David (McGregor) is at a furniture store with his mother (Burstyn), she pulls the tarp off a covered couch and plops herself down. With a mountain of obligations waiting around the corner, he’s anxious to leave, but she refuses to get up. David’s brother Gruffudd (Ifans) and sister Linda (Flynn Boyle) seem less bothered about the situation, casually tending to matters that seem infuriatingly unimportant."

In addition to TIFF, McGregor's upcoming dramedy also played at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (Nominated New Directors Award), Göteborg Film Festival (Winner Best Nordic Film), Glasgow Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival. Mother, Couch's synopsis continues as follows:

"David becomes pushy while trying his best to be gentle, recognizing that his mother’s odd behavior may be a sign of psychosis. As he’s forced to take a step back, acquainting himself with the store owner (F. Murray Abraham) and his daughter (Taylor Russell), the stress dream starts to expand around him. Why won’t his mother just tell him what’s wrong? And why were they here in the first place?”

Check Out Brand-New Images from Ewan McGregor’s Mother, Couch

Ewan McGregor recently surprised Star Wars fans when he showed up at a 25th anniversary screening of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace in Atlanta. And while it shouldn’t shock anyone, given McGregor’s enormous talents and acting range, his character of David in Mother, Couch is quite different from that of Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. Mother, Couch is based on the 2020 book, Mamma i soffa, written by Jerker Virdborg, and be sure to check out images of McGregor and his castmates from Mother, Couch (above).

Niclas Larsson also serves as the writer of his directorial debut. Ella Bishop and Pau Suris (Suris/Bishop Films), Alex Black (Lyrical Media) and Sara Murphy (Fat City) are credited as producers on Mother, Couch. McGregor pulls double duty as one of the dramedy’s executive producers. The other EPs include Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers (Lyrical Media), Ryan Zacarias (Fat City) and David Harari.

Could this end up ranking among Ewan McGregor’s best films? Only time will tell. Mother, Couch opens in select cinemas beginning on July 5 and will be available to view at home on September 13. Mother, Couch’s first stop is scheduled for the Angelika Film Center & Café in New York City. For additional venues, please visit Film Movement’s official website now.

At the time of this writing, McGregor's dramedy Mother, Couch registers 36% on the Tomatometer against 14 reviews from the critics submitted on Rotten Tomatoes.