ABOVE PHOTO: Patricia Arquette, Angela Bassett and Felicity Huffman star in “Otherhood.”
By Kharisma McIlwaine
Motherhood is described as one of the most rewarding jobs in the world, but it can also be one of the most thankless. It comes with long hours, sleep deprivation, worrying, a tremendous amount of sacrifice, and the constant shifting of roles, often without forewarning. It also comes with an all-consuming love, which outweighs the aforementioned challenges.
Along this journey and throughout the relationship between mother and child, the dynamic can change. Children grow up, they move out and they develop their own lives. What happens when those adult children no longer make room for their mothers in their lives? The Netflix original film “Otherhood” tells the story of three longtime friends and mothers Carol (Angela Bassett), Gillian (Patricia Arquette) and Helen (Felicity Hoffman) and their sons Matt (Sinqua Walls) Daniel (Jake Hoffman) and Paul (Jake Lacy). After realizing at their annual Mother’s Day brunch that their sons have forgotten them on Mother’s Day yet again, the ladies take a road trip to New York City to crash their son’s lives with hopes of reconnecting.
Known for her work on “Sex and The City” and “Modern Family,” Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning writer and producer Cindy Chupack makes her feature film directorial debut with “Otherhood.”. Cindy Chupack and Jake Hoffman stopped in Philadelphia and spoke with The SUN about working on this film.
The title “Otherhood” puts a completely new take on motherhood and what it really looks like in later stages of the adult life for both mothers and their children. Cindy Chupack spoke about the journey to creating this film and how the term “otherhood” came to be.
“Otherhood” is based on a book called “Whatever Makes You Happy” by William Sutcliffe, she said. “This took about 10 years to make from when I first came on as a writer, to five years in deciding to direct, to finally making it. My producer Cathy Schulman who was with it from the very beginning, produced “Bad Moms.” She said she thought the fact that it was a “stage of life” film made a big difference.
People just sort of knew and related to it. She was saying I wish we could figure out how to make this film, and then we realized it was always kind of in there. She was saying it’s not motherhood, it’s otherhood. It kind of just became and then I wrote a conversation around “otherhood” at the table and threaded that through. It didn’t really change anything, except we named that stage when your kids have grown up and you’re trying to figure out who you are after that.”
In addition to the memorable title, audiences will immediately appreciate the chemistry between the stellar cast. Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette and Felicity Hoffman were a trio made in heaven. Not only is the incredibly talented Angela Bassett among the outstanding performers in the film, but her coming on board acted as a catalyst of sorts for building the rest of the cast.
“It felt like I won the lottery… really,” Chupack said. “Angela was first… she read the script and really liked it. I had seen her in “Master of None”, the “Thanksgiving” episode that Lena Waithe wrote; it won an Emmy. Angela played a really grounded mom of three generations of women and it reminded me how funny she is. She usually plays such larger than life characters and I’ve always loved her for this. She’s so great!”
“Once she was on board, we were able to attract a higher caliber of cast,” Chupack continued. “Patricia signed on next. I met with Felicity earlier and I was hoping to put her in and then it seemed like that was such a good fit for the triad. Once we had the moms, we were trying to find the right sons for them.”
Hoffman, who plays Daniel with a vulnerability and a realness that is endearing passionately added. “I’m being serious. I auditioned and was delighted to get the part because it’s such esteemed company and such a fun project.”
Daniel is a struggling writer battling depression, girl problems and his living situation, an unsavory basement apartment with unwanted creepy crawler house guests. Hoffman shared how he was immediately drawn to the parallels he saw in Daniel.
“I could relate to him a lot,” he said. “I don’t want to overshare, but I was newly single and trying to get over an ex-girlfriend and I write also and the character writes. So there was so much there that I kind of felt like when I was auditioning… if I can’t do this it might be time to hang it up. But luckily, I had the opportunity to work on it. First and foremost because it was such a special project to be a part of, but also it was therapeutic for all the reasons I felt like I could connect to it.”
Chupack felt real life connection as well and shared her enthusiasm in finding the perfect person to play Daniel.
“Jake was actually a huge relief to me when I saw his audition,” she said. “He was in New York and I was in LA, so I saw it on tape and called him that night and basically offered him the role… even though I was sure I had the authority to do that all by myself. I was relieved because that role really needed someone funny and neurotic. There kind of wasn’t anyone I knew on the landscape that felt right for it. So then when he read, I was like this is going to work.”
“Otherhood” tackles a number of topics that are relatable across the board. The human experience dictates that we all at some point will experience growth and a shift that will inevitably force us to reexamine our identity. The film highlights the parallels in the evolution of self that the mothers and sons are experiencing simultaneously at different stages in their lives.
“Jake made the point earlier that what the boys are going through at that age is not dissimilar to what the women are going through at a later age,” Chupack, added. “What makes me happy? Who do I want to be? What does this life look like? So it is two points where you’re redefining yourself.”
Creating bonds and collecting shared experiences while moving through life together are some of the cornerstones of friendship. The friendships in “Otherhood” reflect the ever-changing landscape of friendship.
“There’s such a thing about female friendship and male friendship, too… you kind of have to find your tribe at different stages of life, of people that are going through what you’re going through,” Chupack said. “The people that you knew in the beginning that are the same age throughout, or in this case, mothers of the same age boys…they really become essential at different points and all the way through. My daughter just started school not too long ago and I’ve made so many new friends that are very diverse, and I was an older parent. There are a lot of younger parents but we’re all the parents of this same age kid, so those are my people.”
“Then I have girlfriends from Tulsa, Oklahoma where I grew up, and we’re still friends, she continued. There’s actually a group of five of them that are coming to the premiere in LA. We still see each other every so often and check in. We’ve been through it all, even now as parents get sick or get older. We knew each other’s homes and pets and brothers and sisters. There’s just a whole different sort of bond with people that you grew up with.”
Hoffman shared his own experience with friendships that have lasted throughout the years.
“I have two very close friends since we were all two, or before even for two of us, he said. “Our three moms are best friends and we all grew up as close friends. One of them grew up to be gay so there are a lot of parallels to the movie. I was actually best man at his wedding and got to throw a gay bachelor party.
In addition to the friendships highlighted in “Otherhood”, New York City, where the film was shot, also plays a character of sorts in the film.
“I got to shoot in New York for “Sex and The City” and I’ve always loved shooting in New York. It’s such a great city,” Chupack said. “The book takes place in Britain, but I wanted to set it in New York. I feel like it’s one of those cities where these sorts of things could happen. I kept thinking, if it was in LA or somewhere where you have to drive as a mom, I would lose my nerve. But with New York, you know you can just get there. You can crash a party before you lose your nerve. Also we shot on location every day, we were only on the soundstage one day.”
“I hope friends watch this together on Netflix”, Chupack said. “It’s been fun to do some screenings and have theaters full of people bonding over the experience. I also love the idea of people watching this with their mom… Call your mother!”
“We had a friends and family screening a few nights ago. My younger brother came with me and right afterwards he texted my mother just to tell her how much he loves her. She wrote back I guess Jake’s movie worked on you,” Hoffman added.
“I would also say, we are so divided as a country right now, I’m proud to be showing a movie that’s about something that’s so universal,” Chupack said. That’s something I love about “Sex and the City”… everybody understands dating, love, friendship, and this is motherhood. It’s one of our very basic reminders that we are all basically the same underneath it all.”
“Otherhood” will be released on Netfilx on Friday, August 2nd. Grab a group of your best friends, have a laugh fest, then call your mom and remind her of how wonderful she is.
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