Some women are born to be mothers. Other women really do not get it right, so they s-mother! Which is the subject of this lame comedy recently shown on a cable network. We thought it might have been the case of a film so bad, that it was sent directly to the land of the DVD!Actually, not having a clue as to what "Smother" was about, but thinking, how bad can a film be with Diane Keaton and Liv Tyler in its cast, we decided to take a chance. Well, this movie was the perfect example of good intentions going stray. The problem is a screenplay that does not hold any surprises. As written by Tim Rasmussen and directed by Vince DiMeglio, the movie does not go anywhere. Part of the problem might be Diane Keaton's character. She is the mother from hell; she is irritating and completely out of control. Ms. Keaton is a good actress, but this movie will not add to her CV. Liv Tyler is totally wasted. The only one that is saved from this disaster is Ken Howard, who is seen as the father. The other question in our mind was: what was the purpose of casting Mike White at all?

Watching Smother was perhaps the longest not-quite-90-minutes of my life. There wasn't a laugh to be had; in fact, I don't remember ever cracking a smile. Diane Keaton was horridly unfunny as a middle-aged chain-smoking dog hoarder, the textbook overbearing mother character, a relentlessly irritating woman who clearly suffers from some kind of personality disorder. She is manipulative, conniving, melodramatic, childish, narcissistic, and worst of all, boring.I suppose I should briefly mention the other characters, but why bother? It was just a long string of movie clichés--the dippy, socially inept distant relative who's just trying to break into "The Industry", the gruff and long-suffering but somehow still lovable father, the mild- mannered wife who just can't take it anymore (but eventually moves beyond the discord and resignedly comes home), the herd of unhousebroken dogs who like to chew throw pillows while everyone is away, etc.God, what a snore. I've never been a Diane Keaton fan and Smother only reminded me why. Overacting is overacting, no matter how many pictures you did in your prime. Her attempts at physical comedy were especially humiliating. What was the director thinking?While I like Dax Shepard and can even sometimes tolerate Liv Tyler, their performances were so lackluster and dull that it was clear that neither actor gave a damn about this movie. That was okay, because neither did I. Keaton's endless self-absorbed prattling was intolerable and at times Shepard's dislike for her seemed genuine. By the end of the movie I wanted to slap her myself.Awful.

The film was an "OK", but I expected more because of the actors. Yes, Diane Keaton was great, as always, but even though, she didn't touch me so that I could enjoy her acting all the time. I can't comment about Dax Shepard, this is the first time I saw him in a movie, but I guess he was OK. Liv Tyler, come on! She could put a little more effort. But after all she was OK too.The whole film though... What a mess! I was so bored at times that I wanted to turn into the next charter and still be bored. I certainly expected a lot more, but it's an OK and that is still something we can put on.

I saw this film last night and I throughly loved it. Dianne as always is a piece of art. She never got out of character and I have met someone exactly like her. I have never been disappointed with Dianne's work and you definitely won't be with Smother. The combination with Dax and Dianne really clicked and it worked. This film is perfect for any age and is really a nice change of fresh air that is out there. This film is a feel good movie and highly recommend it. This is perfect for those who feel that their parents are smothering them. I see Dax is starting to have a future as he seems really natural with his character. My advise: GO SEE IT !!!