Love Your Mama

Stars: Carol E. Hall, Audrey Morgan. Producer/writer/director Ruby L. Oliver's debut feature film is a well-intentioned though dramatically flat look at Black family life in a Chicago ghetto. "Mama" played by Audrey Morgan is a woman with both hands full: her husband's a drunk and womanizer who quits his job, her son Wren steals cars for a local chop shop, her youngest son Willie skips school, and her daughter Leola (Carol E. Hall) turns up pregnant by way of a local musician. No wonder she repeatedly tells members of her family "I'm gonna kill you before the white folks do." Made on a shoestring budget, the film focuses on Leola's dream of someday running a daycare, and her Mama's determination that Leola will realize her ambition. Unfortunately, the obstacles that are stacked against them read like a synopsis of a week's worth of Days of Our Lives. And just when it looks as if the family is going to totally fall apart, the film swallows a major happy pill and almost all of the problems magically disappear. An often admirable effort, Love Your Mama is just not an accomplished telling of a compelling story. Audience: Those looking for uplifting if rather preachy young adult fare.