Single Moms in the Movies

In my upcoming release, Opur's Blade, readers will meet a single mom who is trying to create the best possible life for her son out of very difficult circumstances. She arranges for the boy to begin golf lessons at the Prairie Winds Golf Course and a world of new possibilities opens up for the young prodigy.

Previous posts on this blog have looked at how family is portrayed in various forms of popular media. She can be the saint who sacrificed everything to provide a better life for her children. Sometimes she is seen as a selfish woman who puts her own interests and desires above that of her kids. In the worst cases, we see single moms in books and on the screen who take out their own life's frustrations on their children through various kinds of abuse.

Today, let's focus on some famous single moms in the movies. Here are a few examples:

Erin Brockovich -- Based on a true story, Julia Roberts portrayed an exhausted mom who is desperately trying to make ends meet and who uses her instincts . . . and other assets . . . to bring down a major corporation.

E. T. -- Sure, the alien who loved Reese's Pieces was the main focus of the movie, but did you remember that the dad took off with another woman and there was a single mom raising those adorable kids (including a very young Drew Barrymore)?

Jerry Maguire -- Renee Zellweger's character put everything on the line to follow Jerry and his mission statement, but she got the famous "You complete me" line for her troubles. Who could forget her bespectacled boy shouting out random bits of trivia for Jerry's amusement?

Can you think of others movies that featured a single mom? Do you think the portrayal was accurate and/or fair?