Even though motherhood looks different for all of us, there are enough common experiences in this whole motherhood journey that we can all relate to seeing a movie that totally captures something real and true about our experience. While we love to watch a movie to escape and be entertained, we also love seeing parts of our motherhood journey getting totally summed up in a story that makes us laugh, cry, scream, or just totally want to chow down on some popcorn!
Mom life has lots of elements, so of course our list of the 25 movies that best sum up mom life are a diverse mix. We’ve got an Oscar winner that is weird and wonderful. We’ve got an animated movie that makes us cry every time. And, yes, there are horror films on this list, because as much as we love our kids, motherhood can be a horror show at times. It can also be messy, hilarious, fun, frustrating, and so, so rewarding. And, for all of those reasons, we feel so seen by these films that have parenting lessons, relatable mom moments, and just help us all feel less alone on our journey.
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'Brave'
'Till'
We need to be honest: Sometimes motherhood can be heartbreaking, especially for mothers who can’t keep their children safe in a world where racism and prejudice are still all too real. While Till is a historical drama (based on the deeply sad real-life story of Emmett Till), mothers of Black children can still relate to the fear that can come from knowing that their safety isn’t guaranteed.
'Little Women'
In addition to being a timeless classic novel about the joys and sorrows of sisterhood, Little Women is also the story of a mother doing her best to hold her family together in challenging circumstances. We love that Marmee is a mother who loves each of her very different daughters for exactly who they are, something we all probably strive to do.
'Magic Mike'
Listen, we’re moms. We love our kids and work hard all day to take care of our families. But that doesn’t mean that we’ve gone blind or have lost the ability to be VERY INTERESTED in a hot, shirtless man (especially when he is hanging out with his hot and shirtless friends). The Magic Mike movies are the perfect way to remember we’re moms, but not just moms.
'A Quiet Place'
A Quiet Place is a horror movie, but it’s also our lives when the baby is sleeping and we know we can’t make a single noise, lest they wake up. We’ll go as far to silence the phones, watch TV on mute, and put notes on the door warning people not to ring the bell. We’d like to think us moms would do OK in the Quiet Place world. We’ve got a lot of practice.
'This Is 40'
Some movies try to make motherhood seem like a breeze, but This Is 40 gets honest about getting older and parenting older children. In this film, the two daughters hate each other, and the constant bickering starts wearing on the whole family. Have two, they said! Give them a friend! Well, the best-laid plans and all that. At least Leslie Mann knows what we’re going through.
'Zombieland'
All the rules that Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has for surviving zombies are easily transferable to rules for raising kids: Always wear a seatbelt, double-check that we have everything we need when we go anywhere, and get good at cardio, so we can chase down our little ones. Plus, the only eaters messier than zombies are toddlers. Those spills take forever to clean up.
