View source for Because Mommy Works

'''Because Mommy Works''' is a 1994 film directed by [[Robert Markowitz]]. It is about Abby ([[Anne Archer]]) who fights with Ted Forman ([[John Heard (actor)|John Heard]]) for the custody of their son Willie Forman ([[Casey Wurzbach]]). The action takes place in [[California]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109229/  "Because Mommy Works,"] IMDb</ref> 

The film confronts the issue of women being denied custody rights during divorce partly or solely because they work at jobs outside the home, allegedly making them less available as maternal caregivers. It focuses in particular on the added custodial challenge that working women face if their former husband has remarried a woman who does not have a job.<ref>"'Because Mommy Works' Is Provocative Viewing," John Voorhees, ''The Seattle Times'', November 21, 1994.</ref> 

The film was inspired by a true story that appeared in ''[[McCall's Magazine]]'' in 1992, "Why a Good Mother Lost Custody of her Child," by author [[Cameron Stauth]]. The article was about a custody case in [[Eugene, Oregon]], that involved a female teacher who lost custody of her young son, primarily because her husband had remarried a woman who did not work outside the home.<ref>"Childless Mothers? — The New Catch-22: You Can't Have Your Kids and Work for Them Too,"  Loyola University and Loyola Law School of Los Angeles Law Review, Cheri L. Wood, November 1, 1995.</ref> Stauth co-produced the film with Anne Archer, and it was written by writer/director Lynn Mamet, sister of writer/director David Mamet.<ref>[http://tv.nytimes.com/show/41081/Because-Mommy-Works/credits  "More Credits for Because Mommy Works"]</ref>  

The issue of working mothers being penalized in custody cases is still being debated in the courts, and is the subject of heated debate among women's rights advocates.<ref>"The Custody Wars," Mary Ann Mason, Chapter: "Are Mothers Losing the Custody Wars?" published by Berkeley Law, University of California, 1999.</ref>
    
==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{imdb title|0109229}}

{{Robert Markowitz}}

[[Category:1994 films]]
[[Category:1990s drama films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert Markowitz]]


{{1990s-drama-film-stub}}