‘Mother of the Bride’: Brooke Shields Had to ‘Fight’ for Netflix Rom-Com’s Over-50 Love Story
Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt rekindle a passionate past romance in Netflix‘s new rom-com Mother of the Bride, out now. After their sudden and confusing breakup right after college, these former flames cross paths when their kids (with different partners) wind up getting married to each other.
When Lana and Will meet up again in Thailand for Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) and RJ’s (Sean Teale) wedding, decades have passed. They’re now in their 50s, but they can’t shake that undeniable connection between them. Shields is thankful that movies like Mother of the Bride exist for women her age.
“I’ve been fighting for this new movement,” the 58-year-old told TV Insider. “That was one of the sort of most important things when Christina Rogers at Netflix said, ‘You know, I want to tell these stories.’ And I said, ‘Good luck because you’re going to get resistance.’ And it’s so interesting because I’m 58, and I play basically my age or whatever, but Netflix prefers that you say over 40 because somehow that’s more palatable to them.”
The Lipstick Jungle alum was proud to “fight for something” like this “in an industry that really is predominantly the young, the ingenues, the people at the beginning of their journeys. I fought for this movie. Each iteration of the script I kept saying, ‘do not be afraid of this part’ because all the women I know in their 50s — but they are over 40 — have these extraordinary new beginnings in their life, so that’s been a focus for me and a platform because I feel like my life is just beginning. My kids are cooked. They’re their own people, and I’m now left going, ‘Well, my god, if I’m not just mom, who am I?’ How do I reignite what I want in my own life? So to have it be in this environment is such a beautiful story to tell, so I was very happy that there was a person and a producer who fought for this story when there was resistance.”
Bratt added, “I hope it becomes less rare, and I’m really pleased that this film is a reflection of what exists in life, and it’s a reminder thematically that love is for everyone. Everyone wants it, everyone needs it, that sense of belonging, an opportunity to express your own desire.”
Sasidis Sasisakulporn / Netflix
The Miss Congeniality star loved that Mother of the Bride showcases Lana and Will’s relationship at this point in their lives. “We discover that there’s still a spark there that they get to revisit it at this age, at an age where heretofore has been seen as over the hill or you’re no longer viable,” Bratt continued. “It just proves what we all know. You could even talk to people in their 90s, like love is always possible. If you don’t have it, it’s always around the corner. It’s the essence of hope, and that’s what gets you up in the morning.”
Shields also called out Hollywood’s double standard regarding men and women as they age. While men get to embrace their “salt and pepper” hair, women often don’t get the same courtesy. “God forbid you look a little bit older; you’re criticized for that,” Shields says. “And then if you get anything done, you’re criticized for getting something done. There’s this real precarious position that women, in particular, really are in.”
She adds, “As a woman in this phase of my life, you really have to sort of fight to be heard and seen but not from a place of anger, just from a place of vitality.”
Despite decades in Hollywood, Mother of the Bride marks the first time Shields and Bratt have ever worked together. Bratt admits that kissing Shields was a long-awaited dream come true.
“I had never said this to Brooke and I told my wife that I was going to say this… It wasn’t until the last day of shooting, which is, in fact, the proposal scene where I drop to a knee and ask her to marry me, and then we finally wrap it up with a kiss. After Mark Waters yelled ‘cut,’ inside I went, ‘Yes! I finally got to kiss Brooke Shields.’ This has been a burning desire since I was 12 years old.”
Bratt doesn’t know why it’s taken this long for them to team up onscreen. “I’ve been a fan of hers, both of her work as an actor and just who she is as a person since I was a child, literally,” he says about Shields. To which Shields replies, “The feeling’s beyond mutual. I’ve been a fan of his for forever.”
After Mother of the Bride, Shields and Bratt are open to a sequel. “We’re hoping that the next step is Grandmother of the Bride, so we’ll shoot that in like 15 years?” Bratt quips.
Mother of the Bride, Streaming Now, Netflix
