I don't know if they ever really went away, but mean moms are definitely in style right now. HBO's adaptation of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies stars Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman as two of the scariest mothers in their posh, beachside community. Although you'd never know it by talking to them as they come off as utterly perfect and nice enough to welcome the newest mother in town, played by Shailene Woodley.
Witherspoon, Kidman, and Woodley is a powerhouse trio in itself, but it's more impressive when you add Laura Dern, Adam Scott, Alexander Skarsgard, Zoe Kravitz, James Tupper, and director Jean-Marc Vallee (Wild, Dallas Buyers Club). Vallee directs the entire seven-episode series about what happens when the seemingly perfect lives of these California moms begin to unravel in deadly ways. Here's the synopsis:
A murder…A tragic accident…Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.
Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.
Big Little Lies hits HBO on February 19th 2017.
