Trading Mom (1994)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Elizabeth, Jeremy and Harry are sick of their mother always nagging at them and telling them what to do. They would want nothing more then to make her disappear. Due to a spell, their wish comes true and the next morning when they wake up, no mother, no nothing! The kids are off to a mummy market, a market where you can choose between loads of different mothers. First they are happy to be without their mother but then they realize that they miss her and that no one could ever take her place. This is a very nice family movie that everyone would enjoy. I would give Trading Mom 8/10

i saw this movie for the first time about 4 years ago...i liked it, it seemed really nice- these kids wish their mother away, and they have to go to a "mommy market" to get another one. they cant find one they like, so they wish really hard for their mother to come back, and their wishing breaks their spell. nice huh? well thats basically the premise on the surface, but after watching the movie a few times, i started to think about it and really listen to some of the lines- theres definately more to this movie than meets the eye. i havent read the book it was based on, so i might be wrong, but my theory is that these three kids wish that all memory of their mother dissapear, and when this happens, every aspect of their mother (cooking, shopping, cleaning, playing games, etc) is portrayed as a mother. the kids pick the aspects that they like best, and they think they will be happy, but the truth is they need all the aspects of their mother. the woman who lives next door to them tries to explain this but rather cryptically- she cant exactly say it or they wont figure it out for themselves. she tells them that they have to really truly pick their mother. what they have been doing is picking a mother than they think is the coolest mom or the most fun. when they create a memory, they are picking a mother who really cares about them and who they really love. this brings her back. the only thing that is confusing is that when the spell is broken (when they wake up the next day and see their mother) there are still signs of the other mothers having been there (fluffy pillows, a circus prop, and a racoon trap). im probably way over-analyzing this movie, but i think its a really interesting film that u should see.

When I first heard about "Trading Mom"--Sissy Spacek as a harried single mother whose kids wish her completely away, replacing her with a series of substitutes, all portrayed by Spacek in different guises--I thought it sounded great, and just the boost Sissy's career needed. But what a disappointment "Trading Mom" turns out to be. Based on the book "The Mummy Market" by Nancy Brelis, and adapted by the film's director, Tia Brelis, the comedy is poorly-paced and produced, and features the kind of movie-kids that make your teeth ache. As for Spacek, she's fine (as always) but is defeated by the colorless script. Some brief flashes of wit, nothing more. *1/2 from ****

It might seem a dull movie, and well kind of is. Anna Chulumsky is great however in the movie as well as the two actors that play her brother. Its not in every Blockbuster in town, but if you get a chance to rent a movie, look for this one (just make sure youre doing something while watching it, it won't seem as boring.)