The best 15 films and TV shows about mother-daughter relationships

The Lost Daughter

Credit: Netflix

Entertainment


The best 15 films and TV shows about mother-daughter relationships

5 min read

From the humour of Gilmore Girls to the complexities of The Lost Daughter, these films and TV shows are all about the many varied experiences of mother-daughter relationships.


Mother-daughter relationships are fascinating and often complex. While some may have pleasant or even great relationships with their mothers others will have difficult (or non-existent) bonds. And it’s society’s fascination with the intricacies of these relationships that has led to the production of a variety of TV shows and films that put mothers and their daughters at the heart of their stories.

These are 15 of the best representations that spotlight the different aspects of the mother-daughter relationship.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The film is described as a “hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes”. What transpires is a tale of one woman, Evelyn (Yeoh), who must connect with alternate versions of herself – in other parallel realities – to prevent the total destruction of them all. This may be a sci-fi film but there’s also a mother-daughter relationship at the heart of the story: the fractured relationship between Evelyn and her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu).

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Based on Judy Blume’s novel of the same name, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a coming-of-age story that follows 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) as she’s uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey. She relies on her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), who is also struggling to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates), who isn’t too happy they’ve moved away.

Freaky Friday

A staple film of the 00s, it follows Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan), whose fractured relationship is put under even more stress when they inexplicably switch bodies and are forced to live each other’s lives. A sequel is on its way too.

The Lost Daughter

The Lost Daughter was written by Elena Ferrante in 2006 and tells the story of Leda, a professor on a summer vacation who becomes obsessed with a young mother she sees playing with her daughter on the beach. As she becomes more entwined with the young woman and her unnerving family, Leda begins to remember her own history of past trauma.

Olivia Colman plays Leda while Dakota Johnson plays Nina, the young mother on the beach.

Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls focuses on the awesome mother-daughter relationship between Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) and it’s beloved by telly addicts the world over thanks to its fast-paced dialogue, pop culture references and its ability to make us laugh as well as cry.

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! is all about Donna (Meryl Streep) coming face-to-face with three of her ex-boyfriends (Stellan Skarsgård, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth) on the weekend of her daughter Sophie’s (Amanda Seyfried) wedding. Coincidence? Horrible twist of fate? Nah, it’s all down to Sophie, who read her beloved mum’s 20-year-old diary and invited all of her exes to Greece in a bid to figure out which of the trio is her father.

Sister, Sister

Separated-at-birth sisters Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell (played by real-life twins Tia and Tamera Mowry) may be the stars of Sister, Sister, but we have a lot of love for Lisa (Jackée Harry) too. Impulsive, independent and always hilarious, she’s the cool-headed mum we all wanted as kids – and the woman we aspire to be now we’re all grown up, too.

Dumplin’

Dumplin’ tells the story of Willowdean Dickson (Danielle Macdonald), or Dumplin’, as her mother Rosie Dickson (Jennifer Aniston) calls her. Rosie is a fading pageant queen and one-time Miss Teen Blue Bonnet whose life now revolves around hosting and organising the pageant. And, when Willowdean signs up to the pageant as an act of protest, you better believe her relationship with her mother is put under a microscope.

Little Fires Everywhere on Amazon Prime

Credit: Amazon Prime

Little Fires Everywhere

Starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, this show is based on the bestselling 2017 novel of the same name by Celeste Ng and follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

Moxie

Based on the Jennifer Mathieu book of the same name, Moxie tells the story of a girl from a small town who, inspired by her mother’s Riot Grrrl past, starts a feminist revolution at her high school.

Lady Bird

Greta Gerwig’s moving and gloriously funny Lady Bird is all about growing up, mother-daughter relationships and the anxiety of separation.

Modern Family

In this award-winning sitcom, three modern-day families from California try to deal with their kids, quirky spouses and jobs in their own unique ways, often falling into hilarious situations.

Crazy Rich Asians

When New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick (Henry Golding), she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. What Nick has failed to let his girlfriend know, however, is that his family is obscenely wealthy (and famous) and that he is the country’s most eligible bachelor. And, sure, that spells drama – but we’re really here for Rachel’s amazing relationship with her mum, Kerry (Tan Kheng Hua).

Brave

Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is a Disney princess with a very Disney problem: her mother has ordered her to enter an arranged marriage with one of the less-than-desirable idiots from the neighbouring Highland tribes. So what does our free-spirited teen do about it? She asks a witch to turn her ma into a bear, obviously. Cue an empowering tale about a daughter’s complex relationship with her mother, all the different ways a person can be brave and not a single true love’s kiss in sight.

The Farewell

In The Farewell, Billi (Awkwafina) flies to China to attend a fake wedding. Why? So she and the rest of her family can stealthily say goodbye to Nainai (Zhao Shuhzen), their beloved matriarch – aka the only person who doesn’t know she only has a few weeks to live. So, yeah, it’s pretty much guaranteed to make you laugh and cry in equal measure.


Images: Netflix; Prime Video

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