DVD Review: Mama’s Boy

DVD Reviews

By June L. Jun 9, 2008, 16:21 GMT

You either know one, or have dated one. They are easily recognizable and Jon Heder plays Mama’s Boy Jeffrey Mannus as mean, whiney and permanently attached to his long suffering Mom, played by Diane Keaton.

It is hard to generate sympathy for Jeffrey, who at 29 is still at home, doesn’t drive and has a deal with his Mother that he can live there until he makes his first big astronomy discovery. Jeffrey becomes a Mama’s Boy when he loses his Dad at an early age. Instead of growing up, he seems to be stuck in time at about 12 years old. He is not happy, and his mother is certainly not happy, but they lack the ability to change the pattern of their existence. When Mom meets a motivational speaker Mert Rosenbloom (Jeff Daniels)and better yet makes a romantic connection with him, Jeffery’s life is turned upside-down. He is suddenly competing for Mom’s attention, and he is not being allowed to run the show. Will he grow up and get out of Mom’s new life, or will he try and sabotage the affair?Mama’s Boy was a lot funnier than I expected it to be. In truth I thought it might be annoying and silly at best, but good performances by all the cast saved it from being a single joke or comedy sketch material.

Jon Heder is great in all his performances (Napoleon Dynamite, Blades of Glory) and as Jeffrey he hits the correct blend of childish autocrat and confused young man. If you can’t quite feel sympathy for his fears of abandonment, you can at least understand how he has become this odd person. Anna Faris is delightful as the world weary young woman who tries to help him in his quest , and her acceptance of him goes a long way in jump starting his maturing. Jeffrey is not a bad person, he is just a selfish child who needs to get over himself and take responsibility.The feature is presented on single disc available in either widescreen or standard format. The playing time is 93 minutes, and is subtitled in English, French and Spanish. The special features include deleted or additional scenes, and a commentary by director Tim Hamilton. The commentary is excellent, as Tim Hamilton discusses many of his decisions for scenes, and some behind the scenes information that enhances the production. He has great respect for the actors and is careful to use their strengths to increase the punch of the story. Sets and backgrounds are used to follow through with ideas and character traits of the actors. In all, this was much more entertaining than I had expected, and while not an earth-shattering story was a quality job in both acting and production. Mama’s Boy is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.