Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Otherhood’ on Netflix, A Mom Comedy Starring Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette and Felicity Huffman

Otherhood, a new Netflix comedy starring Patricia Arquette, Angela Basset, and Felicity Huffman, is the latest Netflix original aimed at women of a certain age. But unlike Amy Poehler’s Wine Country, which was centered on friendship, Otherhood is about family—namely, how aging mothers reconcile with the terrifying fact that their children no longer need them. The film comes from first-time director Cindy Chupack, who also updated writer Mark Andrus’s original script adaptation of William Sutcliffe’s 2008 novel, “Whatever Makes You Happy.” Originally slated to come out on Mother’s Day, the release was pushed back after news broke of Huffman’s involvement in the college admissions scandal.

OTHERHOOD: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Three best friends—Gillian (Arquette), Carol (Bassett), and Helen (Felicity Huffman)—are distraught when their adult sons fail to reach out to them on Mother’s Day. At a Dunkin’ Donuts sponsored brunch, the floodgates open, and all three women lament the lack of attention their children have given them ever since their children moved out. Arquette’s character, who is arguably the most chill of the three, sums it up when she says, “We raised our children to be free-thinking, independent beings and now they don’t need us anymore.” Huffman’s character, who is—perhaps appropriately given the actor’s recent scandal—the least chill one, decides, “Fuck that.”

So the ladies take off on a road trip to New York City. The plan is to crash at their sons’ apartments until they are forced to have a real, adult relationship with their mothers. Each has their own issue: Arquette is judgemental and her on-screen son, Daniel (Jake Hoffman) is an alcoholic who’s recently been dumped by his unfaithful fiancé (Heidi Gardner), of whom Arquette never approved. Bassett is a recent widow, and her son Matt (Sinqua Walls) is, for lack of a better term, a fuck boy who’s bringing home girls far too young for him. And Huffman is recently divorced and her son Paul (Jake Lacy) is in a loving, serious relationship with a boyfriend (Frank De Julio) that Huffman’s never met because her son never officially came out to her as gay. All three wish to live separate lives from their mothers, and none are happy about the sudden maternal home invasion.

The film hits on all the beats you’d expect—yes, there is a fun ladies-night dancing montage, and yes, Felicity Huffman does twerk. The moms learn to be a little less overbearing and the sons learn to be a little less closed off. The women’s friendship is also put to the test but, of course, it all works out in the end.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: If you had a great time watching the powerhouse actors in Book Club earnestly do a very silly film, you’ll have a similar experience with Otherhood. The film skews slightly younger than that, and slightly older than Netflix’s last women-of-a-certain age comedy, Wine Country, but the vibe is the same, if a tad more maternal, innocent, and sweet.

Performance Worth Watching: Perhaps Huffman’s recent scandal added some verisimilitude to her performance—props to Chupack for casting a little too perfectly—but she really does sell Helen as a desperate woman clinging to a relationship that’s already lost. Helen is a ridiculous, over-the-top character, but somehow Huffman makes her believable and even—just when we think she’s too unlikable to redeem—sympathetic. Jake Hoffman, who had a small role in The Wolf of Wall Street as a shoe designer, also brings a surprising depth to his character’s cliched backstory. The rage and hurt in his eyes when Arquette dismisses his former girlfriend speaks volumes about a love story that we don’t see on screen, but he made me wish I had.

Memorable Dialogue: Arquette’s speech about motherhood in their opening brunch is a tad on the nose, but we can’t deny that, “Motherhood. That sinking feeling that, as your child’s growing up, you’re being broken up with on a gradual daily basis,” has the potential to get thousands of shares on Facebook with the right font and colored background.

Single Best Shot: Angela Bassett showing off her arms in gorgeous red backlighting, as she dances her way into the club, ready to have the time of her life? Yes, a thousand times, yes.

Sex and Skin: Despite the fact that Chupack is a former executive producer of Sex and the City, Otherhood is, for the most part, tame when it comes to these moms’ sexuality. There is one scene, however, where Huffman goes braless, much to the dismay of her son and the delight of his friends.

Our Take: Otherhood does an impressive job creating three fully-realized characters that you usually see on the sidelines, but rarely in the center of their own stories: Aging mothers trying to find their place in their sons’ lives. That’s an achievement that should not be overlooked, and was, undoubtedly, hard-won, despite the fact that it may look effortless. These are three actresses who know what they’re doing, and Chupack found a supporting cast who does, too. The plot itself moves along, and Chupack and Andrus deserve credit for weaving together six characters and plot lines more or less smoothly.

That said, while the film succeeds at fleshing out a relationship between the women and their sons, it fails at an attempt to do the same between the women and each other. The fight-and-make-up plot between the BFFs feels tacked on and rushed. Unfortunately, that’s the forced emotional note the movie ends on, so you’re ultimately left feeling unsatisfied. The dialogue was, at times, unbearably corny even for a talented cast such as this, and there weren’t many laugh-out-loud moments—though when those moments did come for me, they came thanks to Huffman.

Still, every time I rolled my eyes at hokey dialogue or felt the urge to call the film cliché, I racked my brains to remember the last time I’d seen an overbearing mother on my screen who was not a side character, but the star of her own film. How can it be cliché when there are so few examples? Do I wish it had been funnier, and smarter? Sure. But if macho action films geared at men get a pass for being dumb but fun, why shouldn’t a film like Otherhood?

Our Call: STREAM IT. Life is short, wine exists, and this movie, while not strictly good, is as harmless as it is fun. Why not?

Watch Otherhood on Netflix