Momma's Man

Director: Azazel Jacobs
Screenwriters: Azazel Jacobs

Institute History

  • 2008 Sundance Film Festival

Description

There is a trend in the world today of young men not wanting to leave their parents' homes. But what happens when a "boy" who has already left the nest gets this same urge?

Momma's Man begins with Mikey returning to his parents' place in New York after deciding not to get on the plane to go home to his wife and small child in California. Unsure of his own motivations, he makes up excuses about why he is staying. His doting mother is more than happy to enable his procrastination, while his father remains typically distanced from the situation. As the days go on, Mikey grows more and more entrenched in his adolescent sanctuary and comes to a point where he must choose his life now or his life then.

Humorous and poignant, Momma's Man wrestles with universal themes, but its strength lies in its deeply personal details. Writer/director Azazel Jacobs cast his own parents and shot the film in their apartment, where he grew up. Exquisite camerawork captures the nooks and crannies of the unique dwelling, as well as the family's intimate moments. Whether it's art imitating life, or life imitating art, Jacobs has crafted a profoundly humane account of the frailty of the human spirit, and he shows how the defining strength that people get from their families can also be a tether.

— Trevor Groth

Screening Details

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