Trading Mom facts for kids

Trading Mom, also known as The Mommy Market, is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film. It was written and directed by Tia Brelis. The movie is based on a book called The Mommy Market by Nancy Brelis. It stars Sissy Spacek, Anna Chlumsky, Aaron Michael Metchik, Maureen Stapleton, and André the Giant. This was André the Giant's last movie role.

The film was released in 1994. It made about $319,123 at the box office.

Plot summary

The story is about three children: Elizabeth, Jeremy, and Harry Martin. They are tired of their strict mom. She works a lot and does not spend much time with them. She often criticizes them since their dad left.

On the last day of school, things go wrong. Jeremy gets into trouble for helping Harry against a bully. Harry also gets blamed for something he did not do. Elizabeth is caught holding a friend's cigarette. Their principal, Mr. Leeby, calls their mom. He plans to visit their home on the first day of summer.

The children visit Mrs. Cavour, a mysterious old gardener. She tells them about an old spell. This spell can make their mom disappear. It would also erase all their memories of her. Mrs. Cavour warns them that this is very risky. When they get home, their mom is very angry. She grounds them for the whole summer. They cannot go to camp, get allowance, or watch TV.

That night, the kids say the spell. It works overnight. The next morning, Mr. Leeby comes to their house. He wants to talk to their mom about the school problems. The kids cannot explain what happened to their mom. They make up a story about her leaving for an emergency. Mr. Leeby becomes suspicious. He decides to call social services.

Mrs. Cavour tells them about a place called the Mommy Market. Here, they can find any kind of mom they want. Each customer gets three tokens. Each token lets them try out one new mom. If they do not find a good mom before running out of tokens, they can never return.

The Martin kids choose three different moms:

• First, a rich but picky French woman.
• Next, a caring but very competitive nature-lover.
• Finally, a fun but wild Russian circus performer.

None of these moms fit well with the kids or their friends.

After their third mom leaves, Mr. Leeby returns with a social worker, Dr. Richardson. She says the children need to go to separate foster homes. The kids are very shocked. They go back to Mrs. Cavour. She explains that the spell can be undone. They just need to remember something about their real mom together.

The kids rush back to the Mommy Market. They try to find their own mom a fourth time. This causes a lot of trouble. Edward, the manager, scolds them for breaking the rules. All three kids are kicked out forever. They find out Mr. Leeby has called the police. The police are looking for their mom and want to put them in foster homes.

The siblings run from the police and go back to the Mommy Market. But everything is gone. They try hard to remember a fun memory with their mom. They succeed! They happily bring their real mom breakfast in bed. She tries to remember why she grounded them but cannot. She also tells them Mr. Leeby is coming over. The kids now think everything was a strange dream. Outside, Mr. Leeby arrives to talk to Mrs. Martin. He gets caught in an animal trap that the nature-hiker mom had set up.

Main actors

• Sissy Spacek plays Mrs. Martin, their original mom. She also plays the French woman, the nature-hiker mom, and Natasha the circus performer.
• Aaron Michael Metchik as Jeremy Martin
• Anna Chlumsky as Elizabeth Martin
• Asher Metchik (Aaron's real-life brother) as Harry Martin
• Maureen Stapleton as Mrs. Cavour, the mysterious gardener.
• André the Giant as the Circus Strongman
• Merritt Yohnka as Principal Terrance Leeby
• Sean MacLaughlin as Edward, the manager of the Mommy Market.
• Schuyler Fisk (Sissy Spacek's real-life daughter) as Suzy
• Andrew Largen as Ricky Turner, the school bully.
• Nancy Chlumsky (Anna Chlumsky's real-life mother) as Dr. Gloria Richardson, the social worker.

See also

In Spanish: Trading Mom para niños