Earlier this month, I blogged about Anthony Edwards’ and his role in the movie Motherhood. Yesterday, I was delighted to participate in another Motherhood call, this time it was with Uma Thurman who plays Eliza Welch, a former fiction writer who is struggling with her decision to be a stay at home mom (SAHM) and blogger.
The one word I’ll use to describe the interview is “chaos”. Let me paint the picture for you. First, the conference line was filled with approximately 30 multi-tasking mom bloggers who eagerly anticipated hearing the chime when Uma arrived on the call. The background noises varied from baby chatter, dogs barking, bloggers’ conversing with one another and a mom thinking her phone was on mute who yelled that Sesame Street was on (yes, that mom blogger was me…I needed to keep my toddler entertained somehow and Elmo always does the trick). Anyway, once Uma joined us there were technical difficulties and we actually lost her a few times. She was cool about everything and kept dialing back in to talk with us.
Uma has an impressive resume which includes the movies Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction and Batman and Robin. Her role in Motherhood is quite different than any from her past, she explained “I had never played a realistic, life drawn mom like this”. Also, Motherhood takes place in a single day and shows how crazy a day in the life of a SAHM can be. Eliza is trying to get through her “to do” list which includes preparing for her daughter’s 6th birthday party, taking care of her toddler, battling for a parking space (keep in mind, the movie takes place in New York), dealing with playground politics and making peace with her best friend played by Minnie Driver.
Although Eliza seems fulfilled, she is also compromised “by being in total baby land and not stimulating other sides of herself that are obviously important.” In regards to Eliza’s personality, Uma shared “I like that she has flaws, I like that she has anger issues yet she still loves her kids. She’s funny and charming and she’s just sort of real.” Eliza sounds like someone I could hang out with!
Friend and fellow blogger Jennifer from Hip As I Wanna Be asked Uma about the motivation behind Eliza’s blog and what reward she gets out of it. Uma explained “the mommy blog is a way for her to exercise her creativity with her life as a mother” it is also “her voice so to speak outside of this isolated experience of raising your kids on your own.” I was disappointed that Uma didn’t prepare for the role by researching current mom blogs, but she did fully understand why mom blogs exist, we need an outlet!
When asked about her onscreen family, Uma spoke very highly of Anthony Edwards, “he’s a great and incredibly honest actor so he was wonderful to work with”. She also mentioned how terrific the actors were who played her children, “I’ve never really played a realistic mom before and having the chance to work with those kids on such a funny and wonderful and warm script that was probably the nicest aspect”.
Uma was humorous when she talked about wearing the mom backpack for various scenes. “I think I threw my lower back out doing those endless pounding up and down the stairs shots”. She is not a fan of toddler backpacks because it is “quite nerve wracking how sort of spindly and top heavy you feel with that on”.
Motherhood will be in theaters on October 23. If you are fortunate to live in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston or San Francisco areas, I highly encourage you to see this authentic take on what life is like for a SAHM and the genuine struggles we face. For those in other cities, the hope is for a wide expansion on Friday, October 30. I cannot wait to see this movie!