So a while ago now moms blogging in the great ‘sphere were offended by an ad that Motrin put out there that – really – wasn’t all that far off the mark if one has spent even the tiniest amount of their lives reading blogs written by mothers who deal primarily in motherhood.
This weekend Uma Thurman gears up to sell her new comedy called Motherhood which topically is about the totally hot ole “profession” of mommy blogging.
Will the fact that Uma is beautiful and sexy in spite of make up and wardrobe’s best attempts to frump her up by darkening her hair and making her wear really big clothing appease the fearsome lot who took on, and k.o’d Motrin ? Or will it feel like the condescension it sorta looks like? Because it looks like a rather cutesy dismissive pat on the fanny to me. You know, unappreciative of the gift of SAHMommyhood Mom tries to boost her flagging self-esteem by creating a precious little writing “career” via blogging, gets too wrapped up in the “business” of it all and comes crashing back to thanks to the epiphany laden grounding realization that motherhood is all – and that passion really does flow up from, and out of, one’s uterus.
Okay, now I am a bit offended.
It looks a bit Erma Bombeck to me. Erma Who? The mother of all mommy blogging. My mother had a copy of her book, The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Septic Tank. She’s to blame for this. Her and Dave Barry milking his family exploits via a column and then a sitcom. Pre-net one had to write on paper and run it past a publisher. Not like today when any woman looking to reclaim what motherhood has stolen from her show the world what mommies are made of can publish themselves. Which is why mommy blogging and this movie feel dated.
Dee watched the trailer with me and said,
“She’s a writer (Thurman) and you’re a writer. Is that just a movie?”
Think. Think. Think. So much wrong with this picture. Yes, it’s just a movie. I don’t write because of Dee. Writing, the actuality and the need, predates her by decades.
My guess is that mommy bloggers will not see the put down in this film but embrace it as some kind of homage. Comedy is not about paying homage. It’s purpose is to expose.
Saddle up, Motrin Moms? Probably not.
anniegirl1138 
My poor hubby has already been told in no uncertain terms that when/if we have a baby that I am too old to be keeping him/her attached to me all day. I need my down time too or I will be one bitchy mommy. He is into baby sleeping in bed (with those new fangled special sleeping things that keep you off the baby) and having baby attached to us by the carriers. It’s all about spending more money. Just the simple things are all I need. Crib, stroller, swing…that’s pretty much it. I am all for the wonderful cuddle time that comes with mommyhood but I also believe in the individual time needed by mommies.
So is this movie about Uma Thurmans mothering skills and experiences or those told to her by her nanny? That is the problem I’ve always had with stars trying to be like the rest of us and acting like the 1 hr a day they spend w/ their kids qualifies them to know what it is really like.
This was my Motrin ad post:
“Oh man, I’m dying to see that Motrin ad that supposedly slams mothers for carrying their babies in those retarded sling papoose baby backpack tether things just to be cute. As if it is cute to have your kid on you. I hear it is on You Tube, so I’ll have to check it out when I get home.
I guess Motrin basically says that if you are dumb enough to wear your baby like a purse they make a product for you.
What is so offensive about that?
Ladies, if you feel a need to attach your baby to yourself when the brat is heavy enough to cause muscle spasms and cramping, I don’t want to hear your bitching.
Buy a stroller.
Cut. The effing. Cord already.
That’s all they were saying.”
And about this movie? I feel like it’s going to make mommyblogging even more annoying.
I feel like it’s going to make mommyblogging even more annoying.
Yep, and probably douse the mommy wars with new fuel. It’s hard to tell from just a trailer but it makes it seem like this Mom is just like most women. Torn. Motherhood is not the be all/end all. Women are not so two dimensional that all it takes is a man and a baby to define them. Why is that so hard for members of our own gender to understand? And if they don’t get it, we will ever convince the Overlords?
i’m a bad mother. i thought the motrin ad was hysterical. there are mothers like this in my small world. everything is drama. that may be the common thread in what is annoying about mommydrama… am quite certain i won’t see the movie. expect it to go damn near straight to video.
and Uma couldn’t look disheveled if she spent a month living in a box by the river…
What’s baffling is that the Motrin ad hit nail squarely, so if that was condescending – this movie is too, but my guess is that mommy bloggers will squee over it it little girls.