The 12 Coziest Movies to Watch on Mother’s Day

Celebrate moms with this spring bouquet of comedies and dramas streaming right now (just make sure the tissue box is handy!)

Thelma M. Adams,

Updated May 06, 2026

AARP

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En español

Updated May 06, 2026

Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried in the musical romantic comedy Mamma Mia

(Left to right) Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried in "Mamma Mia!"

Peter Mountain/Universal Studios

My mother and I share a sense of humor — and the love of movies that led me to become a critic. My adult daughter’s favorite job ever was working at the box office of our local art house theater. The movies that we love and share unite three generations — and, come Mother’s Day, we’ll celebrate by watching movies about mothers. Whether comedy, tragedy or somewhere in the middle, these are the 12 mom movies to which my family keeps returning.

Aliens (1986, R)

In the original Alien (1979), the mother of all monster movies, astronaut Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, 76) encounters a slobbering, carnivorous creature in outer space. In the sequel Aliens, Ripley gets between a monstrous matriarch and her babies, protecting a human little girl from the aliens’ clutches. The result: out-of-this-world scares wedded to a universally relatable emotion — the fierce, protective love a mother has for her offspring.

Watch it: Aliens

Don't miss this: Sigourney Weaver's Secret to Staying the Sci-Fi Queen

**Brave (2012, PG)**

In this absolutely delightful animated mother-daughter fairy-tale adventure, a young princess and archer (Kelly Macdonald, 50) leaves behind her oh-so-wise royal mother (Emma Thompson, 67) to fight a curse and prepare for adult responsibilities. The 2013 Oscar winner for best animated feature celebrates girl power — and encourages good-natured behavior.

Watch it: Brave

**Crooklyn (1994, PG-13)**

Writer-director Spike Lee, 69, digs into his family’s Brooklyn roots for this charming, warm-hearted, sentimental tale about the Carmichael family in crisis in the ’70s. Alfre Woodard, 73, and Delroy Lindo, 73, shine as the parents, while adorable elementary schooler Zelda Harris grows up fast when she discovers a family illness threatens her security.

Watch it: Crooklyn

The Fabelmans (2022, PG-13)

Director Steven Spielberg, 79, mines his personal history for a heartbreaking coming-of-age story about a family that revolves around a free-spirited, creative and possibly bipolar mother, dazzlingly portrayed by five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams.

Watch it: The Fabelmans

Freaky Friday (2003, PG-13)

The idea that you don’t really know a person until you walk in her shoes is taken to comedic extremes when mom Jamie Lee Curtis, 67, and daughter Lindsay Lohan magically switch bodies. Memorable is the scene where the weight-conscious mother gobbles french fries without guilt, one of the perks of her daughter’s more forgiving metabolism.

Watch it: Freaky Friday

**The Joy Luck Club (1993, R)**

Best-selling author Amy Tan, 74, adapted her big-hearted, multigenerational novel into this sprawling yet intimate movie, weaving the highlights and heartaches of four Chinese women and their American-born daughters. Roger Ebert called it “one of the most touching and moving of the year’s films.”

Watch it: The Joy Luck Club

**The Kids Are All Right (2010, R)**

Teens Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) have two absolutely fabulous mothers — Nic and Jules (Annette Bening, 67, and Julianne Moore, 65). However, when the kids become curious about their biological father (Mark Ruffalo, 58), it challenges their carefully curated homelife. The Oscar-nominated alternative family comedy from writer-director Lisa Cholodenko, 61, is funny, touching and universal.

Watch it: The Kids Are All Right

Little Women (2019, PG)

Writer-director Greta Gerwig adds fresh bounce to the Louisa May Alcott chestnut about the four March sisters (Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen) and their beloved Marmee, beautifully played by Laura Dern, 59. Nominated for six Oscars — and scoring a win for costume design — Gerwig’s vibrant adaptation cherishes the special bond between mothers and daughters and the inevitable crises that test them.

Watch it: Little Women

Mamma Mia! (2008, PG-13)

Irresistible! This sun-drenched contemporary musical has a beat you can dance to in your living room. Meryl Streep, 76, sings her heart out as an island-dwelling earth mama whose daughter, played by Amanda Seyfried, returns home to wed. But when it comes to marching her down the aisle, who’s her papa? Is it Stellan Skarsgård, 74, Pierce Brosnan, 73 on May 16, or Colin Firth, 65?

Watch it: Mamma Mia!

Mother (1996, PG-13)

Albert Brooks, 78, wrote, directed and stars in this bittersweet classic. Laugh until you cry as neurotic, twice-divorced Brooks reluctantly moves in with his judgmental nutjob of a parent, played by the late Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds. According to Carrie Fisher’s biographer, Sheila Weller, the Star Wars star lobbied Brooks to cast her mother in a role that was intended for Doris Day — and movie mama history was made.

Watch it: Mother

Terms of Endearment (1983, PG)

Who needs an excuse to weep when this Debra Winger–Shirley MacLaine best picture winner, written and directed by James L. Brooks (86 on May 9), is just a stream away? After daughter Winger (71 on May 16) gets the big C, she and her perfectionist mother, MacLaine, 92, confront the ravages of the disease and navigate the trickier curves of their close relationship. Hankies, please!

Watch it: Terms of Endearment

Ticket to Paradise (2022, PG-13)

Seeking a mother-of-the-bride from hell? Look no further than Julia Roberts, 58. What’s the only thing that the pissed-off divorcée can agree on with her ex-husband (George Clooney, 65)? Their only daughter shouldn’t go through with her destination wedding in Bali. These A-list, easy-on-the-eyes opposites can’t help but attract as they unite in a dastardly attempt to thwart the nuptials, only to trip on the last threads of their affection for each other.

Watch it: Ticket to Paradise

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Thelma M. Adams, the former film critic for Us Weekly and the New York Post, is a novelist who writes on film for AARP, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

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The 12 Coziest Movies to Watch on Mother’s Day

Celebrate moms with this spring bouquet of comedies and dramas streaming right now (just make sure the tissue box is handy!)

Aliens (1986, R)

​Brave (2012, PG)

​Crooklyn (1994, PG-13)

​The Fabelmans (2022, PG-13)

​Freaky Friday (2003, PG-13)

​The Joy Luck Club (1993, R)

​The Kids Are All Right (2010, R)

​​Little Women (2019, PG)