For Mother’s Day, my mom, sisters and I like to gather on the couch with bowls of popcorn, remote in hand, ready to watch a marathon of our favorite girl-power, mother-daughter movies.
Here are some movie recommendations I love watching with my family for the love and the laughs.

Brave

Blueberries, brothers and bears. Whether you were a Disney kid or not, you know that princesses are a staple of Disney culture. However, this princess is different from the rest.

The film follows Princess Merida, a headstrong and stubborn teenager who doesn’t quite follow her mother’s rules, and her mother, a straight arrow who completely clashes with Merida’s personality. Merida’s personality is very entertaining; seeing how she tries to work her way out of the catastrophes she causes through a teenager’s mindset is refreshing as it shows how this princess isn’t perfect.

The pair embark on a long journey to save the kingdom after a bear-y bad incident that forces Merida and her mother to see eye to eye. My mother and I have gone through times when we would have to work together to achieve a goal, which means putting our differences aside to work through the conflict.

Through this journey, Merida and her mother grow to appreciate the things that they once took for granted, a true and raw story of mother-daughter love. I find this story inspiring as it does not filter out the bad parts of motherhood, with Merida throwing fits and casting spells and her mother continuing to love her unconditionally.

Dumplin’

For the love of pageants and Dolly Parton!

Set in Texas, the film follows Willowdean, a plus-size stubborn girl who resents the beauty pageant industry in which her mother, Rosie, a former Ms. Teen Blue Bonnet, is the pageant icon of Clover City.

Rosie nicknames Willowdean “Dumplin’” because of her size, which really affects the way Willowdean views life. With the world against her, Willowdean defies the odds and does the unexpected to spite her mother.
I find this part initially sad in that Willowdean has to seek her mother’s attention by doing what she ultimately despises most: pageants. It is her form of rebellion, and it shows how Willowdean, as a character, has her own opinions, likes and dislikes, too.
But it just shows her determination and, in the end, reveals the love that Rosie and Willowdean have for each other but shown in different ways; through ignorance and isolation, but going through the efforts of admitting that you are wrong to someone shows the degree to which they care for that person.
This inspiring book-movie adaptation travels through troubles of acceptance, mistakes, Rosie’s misguidance in morals and Willowdean’s responses toward her mother’s expectations, something I find very common between my mother and I, with our tribulations and road bumps that occur from time to time.

Willowdean and Rosie reconnect after Rosie realizes her faults in their relationship, rekindling the bond between mother and daughter.

Freaky Friday
If you were a 2000’s baby or a Lindsay Lohan Fan, you know the reboot of the 1979 Freaky Friday where a mother and daughter with colliding personalities switch bodies after a magical phenomenon.

Anna is a rebellious aspiring rock artist, while her mother, Tess, is a sophisticated psychiatrist soon to be wed.

The pair learns about each other’s lives firsthand while in opposite bodies. Anna and Tess must strengthen their mother-daughter connection to undo the curse and return to their original bodies. Yet this is not without some road bumps and love interests along the way.
The separate lives that Anna and Tess lead show their different views on life, so living in one another’s bodies opens a new perspective on other people of various ages and demographics.
This shows how, at times, my mother and I tend not to agree on our beliefs. Different perspectives in society drive our decisions and biases.
Watching this movie with your mom will definitely spark up heaps of gratefulness that you are in your separate bodies, for now.

Mamma Mia

Here we go! This musical travels through the world of ABBA in a Greek paradise. As the wedding of 20-year-old Sophie approaches, she needs her father, whom she does not know the identity of, to walk her down the aisle.

The problem is her mother had three simultaneous suitors at the time of her birth.

In the movie, Sophie and her mother share a tight-knit bond that leaves them inseparable, inspiring tear-jerking moments with songs like “Slipping Through My Fingers.” Sophie, her mother, and the rest of the bridal ensemble try to find out which of the three men is Sophie’s true father and has the honor of walking her down the aisle.

As Sophie is older and does not deal with the 2000s teenage angst like the past characters, viewers see a different take on the mother-daughter relationship in this film.

With Sophie ready to leave her mother’s nest and venture into the world of marriage, she reminisces about the times with her mother, cherishing each moment she gets.
This time in a mother and daughter’s relationship is something that most people feel, knowing they won’t ever be in the position of having their mother right by their side after taking on their separate lives.
This applies not only to marriage but to everything in life. Going off on your own, without the help of your parents, is a significant milestone that people find to be sensitive. Thus, make everything count and take nothing for granted.
The film concludes with a heartwarming surprise that leaves everyone a winner, with no one “taking it all.”

The Parent Trap

In this good ol’ switch-a-roo, Lindsay Lohan stars in a heartwarming and lively story about family love. This film is a remake of the original 1961 Parent Trap, and it follows twins Hallie and Annie, whom there is never a dull moment with.

This film doesn’t specifically surround the bond between a mother and her children, but also the bonds between fathers, loving pets and workers who are like family.

Hallie and Annie work together, something my sisters and I sometimes fail at, but we make it work. This movie shows the completely different level of love that having sisters brings, having a built-in-best friend who stands by you and will fight for what is right.

The Parent Trap has made me come to my senses after fighting with my sisters, realizing that not everyone has a sister they would “love” to fight with.

This movie ventures through the slick tricks that the long-lost twins pull to fool their divorced parents. The inexplicable meaning of familial and true love is portrayed through this story – the perfect movie to watch with your mom for laughs.