Movies My Mother Taught Me
Here are 71 movies my mom, Claudia Menaugh Gall, passed on to me in one way or another before she passed away from cancer in 2019. I’m 28 now and these films still bring back so many memories of her and what she shared with me. These weren’t necessarily her favorites, but ones I was either shown, watched together or discovered later in life knowing they meant something to her.
Mother’s Day has been hard for the past 4 years now. Was going to share this one on the 8th, been thinking about this list for awhile, but I just kept thinking of more and wanted to take the time to get it right. So many that I’ll probably have to do a Part 2.
‘Songs My Brother Taught Me’ by Chloe Zhao was clearly the inspiration for the title, though it wasn’t one my mother actually introduced to me. These films either were an introduction to a certain actor or director, a genre, a piece of history, or about myself or even my mom. Feel like she still teaches me everyday.
This list is mostly for me, my memories & for hers to live on, so if anyone benefits from a movie or two from this list then that’s great, but I’m not expecting everyone to like all of these films. These just have had a personal connection in one way or another to my mom and I didn’t want to forget them. Let me know in the comments if you have any favorites or memories with these films :)
Anna and the King (1999)
PG-13, 2h 28m, US
Drama, History, Romance
Director: Andy Tennant
Starring: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Randall Duk Kim
The story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
WATCH HERE:
As Good As It Gets (1997)
PG-13, 2h 19m, US
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: James L. Brooks
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
WATCH HERE:
The Blues Brothers (1980)
R, 2h 13m, US
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Music/Musical
Director: John Landis
Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, John Candy, James Brown, Ray Charles, Carrie Fisher, Aretha Franklin, Henry Gibson
Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.
WATCH HERE:
Big (1988)
PG, 1h 44m, US
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Director: Penny Marshall
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton, David Moscow, Jon Lovitz
After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.
WATCH HERE:
The Big Chill (1983)
R, 1h 45m, US
Comedy, Drama
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly
A group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.
WATCH HERE:
The Birdcage (1996)
R, 1h 57m, US
Comedy
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne West
A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing moralistic parents.
WATCH HERE:
Bridget Jones Diary (2001)
R, 1h 37m, UK/France/US
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Sharon Maguire
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones
Bridget Jones is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
WATCH HERE:
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
R, 1h 52m, US
Crime, Drama
Director: John Singleton
Starring: Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Angela Bassett
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
WATCH HERE:
The Breakfast Club (1985)
R, 1h 37m, US
Comedy, Drama
Director: John Hughes
Starring: Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, John Kapelos