After Mother’s day dinner is done, or perhaps in the afternoon if it is rainy outside, what is better for the whole family to do together than to stretch out in the family room with bowls of hot buttered popcorn and watch a movie?

Here are five suggestions with the guidelines being that they are suitable for all ages, and Mom is the hero. After all, it’s her day isn’t it?

1) Terms of Endearment
– (1983) This stars Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger. After Emma gets married, she and her mother, Aurora, finally really get to know and understand one another. This includes a great supporting part by Jack Nicholson as a retired astronaut who is Aurora’s new boyfriend.

2) Steel Magnolias (Special Edition)
– (1989) Again starring Shirley MacLaine with a supporting cast that includes Julia Roberts in the part that cemented her as a major star. The story of a group of friends centered around a hair salon in Louisiana, this is a real warm-hearted tearjerker and a celebration of love and forgiveness.

3) My Big Fat Greek Wedding
– (2002) Nothing brings a family together, or can blow it apart, quite like a wedding. This terrific comedy written by and starring Nia Vardalos is the story of just such a wedding. No doub, this will get Mom and Dad telling stories of their own wedding and weddings they have been to.

4) Moonstruck (Deluxe Edition)
– (1987) Starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, and Olympia Dukakis as the mother, this is the kind of sweet, warm, funny romantic comedy that no one seems know how to write or film any more. One of the few films that really fits the cliche, ‘You can watch it over and over and enjoy it just as much every time.’

5) Freaky Friday
– (2003) Somewhere inside the on-going social media tragedy that is Lindsay Lohan, there is a terrific comedy actress. This is the movie that, perhaps regrettably, made Lindsay a star. She and her mother, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, magically switch bodies. If one wishes to avoid discussing Lindsay with the kids, the 1976 version starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris is equally fun.

Enjoy the popcorn and movies!