If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Now that's a mouthful for a movie title. The light of the recent Lindsay Clancy case, there is an uptick in musings on maternal exhaustion and maternal regret. So many myths about the intuitive nature of motherhood are being busted. So many women voice their regret over embarking on the parenting journey. Many of these women are medial professionals, who seem to have access to all the resources in the system. In the film, Linda, a drained psychotherapist and mother to a medically complicated child, spirals into chronic, universal resentment, while her oblivious husband travels for work. Her daughter's diagnosis is never fully announced, but it's implied that she suffers from ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)- still a controversial behavioral condition, regarded dubiously by many doctors. The choice of malady is not accidental. If your child has cancer, diabetes or seizures, at least they are guaranteed to receive sympathy and support. With a little understood condition like ARFID, the parents are on their own, often having to defend themselves and their parenting style.
Rose Byrne is at a perfect age to reinvent herself as a stressed, resentful mother. She is past her sci-fi bombshell days. It was a good move to cast a withering bombshell for the role.
The film is described as "darkly funny". And it's the pie in the face type humor! Crippling slapstick resulting in open fractures. It's the kind of laughter you burst into as an alternative to crying. Because you've cried before over the same issue so many times.
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