Smother (2007); drama comedy film review

Poster artwork for the comedy film Smother.

Motherly Smotherly by Linh

For first time director Vince Di Meglio, the film Smother is not a bad effort. Di Megilo and co-writer and producer Tim Rasmussen weave a fine blend of chuckles and chaos into the storyline. Smother features Diane Keaton, Liv Tyler and Dax Shepard, and is similar to Monster-Inlaw (which starred Jane Fonda as the matriarch) and Keaton's previous comedy Because I Said So.

MOTHER AND SON: Marilyn Cooper (Diane Keaton) always looks after her son Noah Cooper (Dax Shepard) in the film Smother. Image: Hoyts Distribution, Double Edge Entertainment.

Released three days prior to Mothers' Day, Smother tells of a physiotherapist named Noah Cooper who faces an exhausting and trying time. He is sacked; is under pressure from his wife to start a family; his wife's cousin moves in unexpectedly and to top it off, his mother (and her five little dogs) leaves his father and stays over.

Dax Shepard plays Noah Cooper with a down-to-earth nature and charm but he is easily overshadowed in scenes with Diane Keaton's ditzy dame character. Noah loses his job and has to beg his former boss at Carpet Bazaar, to take him back. Unfortunately, he discovers his Mother also gets a job at the carpet warehouse. Shepard makes Noah an affable character and sincere even when he gives excuses like not noticing his underwear is four sizes too small.

Best known for her role in Annie Hall, Diane Keaton continues to deliver wonderful performances despite lousy scripts and poor productions of previous films such as Because I Said So and Town and Country. In Smother, Keaton portrays Noah's mother, Marilyn Cooper, who has left her husband, Gene,  (Ken Howard) after more than thirty years together. She wants to start over and become an independent woman again, yet can't seem to do it without interfering in her son's life. Keaton gives a bravura performance as an irritating and klutzy Marilyn, who stumbles her way through life. Marilyn may think she hasn't achieved much in her life, but she declares her son as her greatest success. Also being a Mum to five cute little dogs, all named Sammy Higgins,  is no mean feat.

MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Diane Keaton and Liv Tyler in a scene from Smother.  Image: Hoyts Distribution, Double Edge Entertainment.

Liv Tyler stars as the sweet and sexy wife, Clare Cooper, who seems to be interested in only one thing - procreation. Her baby mission is under threat when her husband Noah secretly sabotages the chances of her getting pregnant. He's not prepared to be 'intimate' while his life is in utter chaos.

Tyler's character seems to be invisible for the most part, yet ironically it's her character's attempts to leave that brings her to the dramatic forefront.

Mike White is Clare's nerdy cousin Myron Stubbs, a screenwriter who arrives at Noah and Clare's house unannounced and seems to never be leaving.

Myron has a laptop installed with a digital voiced prompter and he soon makes himself at home on the Cooper's couch.

Mike White gives Myron the usual geekiness with flashes of creative spark. White plays Myron as a writer with otherworldly ideas and big dreams; an excellent person to have at a brainstorming session.

Smother is predictable and fun yet needs some more comedic sparkle from the entire cast. The standout scene follows the funeral of Grandma Helen (Selma Stern), where her death brings out the true feelings behind Noah's and Marilyn's actions and words. A very cathartic experience and the funniest moment in the film.

LONELY AND DRUNK: Marilyn Cooper (Diane Keaton) hits the microphone after hitting the bottle in the film Smother.  Image: Hoyts Distribution, Double Edge Entertainment.

Director: Vince Di Meglio 

Writers: Tim Rasmussen (screenplay), Vince Di Meglio (screenplay) 

Cast: Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard, Liv Tyler, Mike White, Ken Howard, Selma Stern, Jerry Lambert, Don Lake, Sarah Lancaster 

Producers: Matt Berenson, Johnson Chan, Tim Rasmussen, Jim Seibel, Bobby Sheng, Jennifer Perini, Jay Roach, Stanley Monahan, Julie Hartley, Bill Johnson, Carsten H.W. Lorenz 

Film Editor: Kelly Matsumoto

Cinematographer: Julio Macat 

Original Music Composers: Manish Raval, Tom Wolfe 

Production: Mark Hutman (Production Designer), Gerald Lehtola (Art Director), Cynthia McCormac (Set Decorator) 

Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes