Maman Last Call (2005) Poster

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3/10
A good movie should stand on its own
m_ats7 May 2006
This movie suffers from bad screenplay and general bad romantic comedy . Its story and dialogues draw on many clichés about "newspaper life" that most of us Québecois know from late 80's and early 90's TV shows. I sometimes felt like watching a bad episode of "Scoop" or "Lance & Compte".

It is sad to see that this film-making team thought their movie would do better with puns and references to public figures like Céline Dion or Gilles Proulx. Seems to me that any good movie should stand on its own, without trying to become partly a "Bye bye" or "Rira bien".

It also seems they tried to tackle too many political issues (tobacco, abortion), wishing to give a political flavor to the movie rather than developing cinematographic aspects.

Also evident in the movie are Petrowski's despise of the post-boomer generation and her pathetic attempts to glorify her own generation (making them look cool despite they are nearing 40, the picture was altogether fake). A few 'mots d'auteur' were too much. In this regard, Arcand is much more reasonable and efficient as a filmmaker, exploring this aspect more rationally and thoroughly.

I however appreciated Bouvier's reference to his (excellent) former co-directed movie, "Les matins infidèles", by naming Huard's morning radio show this way.

A spin-off focusing with the character played by A-M Cadieux was also made by more or less the same people.

A much more actual, modern, original, altogether better and funnier movie on a similar topic is "Horloge Biologique"; made by younger people.
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1/10
No males were killed or maimed during filming.
UglyToesPete26 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
A Québecois modern femdom, uh, romcom.

It contains most of the elements of a romcom, a few funny scenes, a few touching scenes, sort of "a coming of age" movie for late 30 something couples yearning for sense in their lives and discovering that having put off commitment and founding a family is the magic bullet.

What left an unpleasant aftertaste in my mind is all the "girl power" or "female power" sprinkled equally through every subplot, character, and situation.

The female lead has been with her current boyfriend for 7 years, she (this was funny) parties one night with her friends, arrives home totally sloshed, and coerces her boyfriend to have sex. Becomes pregnant......and says to him when they are arguing/debating abortion or not that he has no rights, no influence, no claim on her having an abortion or not.

She decides to keep the child. At one point when discussing their future child, she says she sure hopes it will be a girl because she wants her to be smart and successful.

The poor sop who plays the lead actor was great actually, it's just the writing and direction who made him always clean up after her, calm her, help her, defend her, absorb her "venting" frustration frequently.

Of course, maybe I just hooked too hard on one "feminist" slur early in the movie...and then the rest of the slurs were amplified.

It's a movie about a spoiled woman, who is going through hell, who must endure many many hardships, just because her darn slave/boyfriend wanted to have the baby.

Surprisingly, at the end when she delivers (a boy), the director didn't insert somehow a sexist slur there.....

Not successful as a romcom, nor a "coming of age", nope drama, nada comedy.

It will however warm the heart of most women because the guy is soooo supportive, sooo understanding, sooo "carpetlike" Guys, cut a finger or something to get out of the house to (supposedly) go to the clinic with a 4 hour wait time, and hoist a few.

1 out 10 for the bad aftertaste. If it wasn't for that, 5 out of 10.
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8/10
I think "UglyToes" was thinking of another Quebec romcom....
dctrevett28 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I found this to be an enjoyable romantic comedy, and not a 90 minute feminist rant. If it were, the Alice character would have never had the baby. I think another reviewer might be thinking of another Quebec romcom, "Comment Ma Mere Accoucha de Moi Durant Sa Menopause." Now that was male-bashing! If you think "Maman" was male-bashing, maybe you did take the "slurs" too seriously.

This was a good "coming of age" story. Alice has to grow up and figure out how to juggle career and family, so she discovers a lot about herself. I find Quebec romcoms to be less "formulaic" than what Hollywood has given us in recent years, for the most part. Or maybe it's just the difference in cultures.
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