Onscreen Moms We Love--To Hate
By Kit Bowen, Hollywood.com Staff
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Friday, May 09, 2008
4. Mom: Senator Eleanor Shaw
The Manchurian Candidate (Meryl Streep)
Her deal: After the Gulf War, Eleanor's son, Raymond Shaw, comes back a war hero. He's primed to take the national stage as a surefire candidate for vice president--under his mother's controversial thumb, of course. But is it possible that Shaw isn't really a war hero but simply a pawn in a plot, orchestrated by Eleanor and her cronies, to seize the White House? Crazier things have happened.
Her parenting skills (or lack thereof): Eleanor could say she's doing all these horrible things so that her son can better himself, but that just isn't the truth at all, is it? She wants power, and lots of it. On top of that, she and Raymond take the whole Oedipal thing to a new level. Warms your heart.
Her motherly moment: How about brainwashing her own son into becoming a highly skilled assassin?