Kate caused much of her own problems

I would agree that Kate actually had a good life but I guess she didn't know how to appreciate it, since she had it all good but couldn't realize it until later on the film when she realized that family was a bit more important than being constantly devoted to her work.

When I was watching this movie, I said to myself, "her problems would be solved if she just had a live in nanny".

[deleted]

It was supposed to be about that yes, but also about how a difficult time in Kate's life led her to tackle some of those issues- learning to prioritize (she even says in the very end, "the next pie will be store bought!"), balance her work/home demands, etc. She does manage to over-complicate things (her mom even tells her she makes things too complex), and both Jack and Richard tell her she should relax more.

But I think that's part of her personality- she wants to be a perfect mom and a perfect worker. I think the pie thing at the beginning showed how determined she was that one role shouldn't take away from the other, even though such thinking is foolish, and I think she learns this by the end of the movie.

Not only that (and as a warning, you've stumbled onto a particular nerve of mine), but it really bothers me when people criticize others for having a difficult time. Granted, this is only a pretend person who is a movie character, but there are surely many real-life people in similar situations, who probably do have difficulties sometimes. I really believe that unless you've walked a mile in a person's shoes, you really aren't qualified to comment on the difficulty of their life, because you don't know what it's like for them to live it.

I saw this with a girl friend of mine and what I took from the movie was while it may seem like she has everything she needs, she also knows what a bad mother she is to her kids. Effectively realizing, being a successful working woman does not mean she is a good parent.

Which is the issue in modern times, at a point where kids are easily influenced by social media and television, having a mom or dad to be the guiding hand thru childhood is doubly important. When both parents are working and rely on a nanny to take care of the kids, I don't care how rich you are or how well off you are, the kids are going to suffer because of it.

So no, a live in nanny would not have fixed anything whatsoever.

"Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may get to you."

I was pretty disappointed by this. I really find it so hard to believe a successful woman would worry about something like whether she makes or buys for the bake sale - I mean really? I know it was part of her perfectionist trait and she wanted it to be good for her daughter but I think it was a little over the top. I guess that was the point and she learnt from it. I just found it quite unrealistic she'd be able to deal with all sorts of crap in her professional life and yet couldn't handle snickers from other mothers with no lives.

I found other aspects hard to take too. You say she's lucky she had money, a husband, a fun job etc. that's true, but it's still not going to be easy and that doesn't mean she can't complain. But I just found myself confused by a lot of it. I'm not a parent so I don't get fake mummy wars but do people really have time for that? Do you really see other parents that much? Also, the stay at home mothers they showed are a very unusual type of person - school-aged kids yet they are still at home, just go to the gym all day - it was quite mocking. It's more common for women to stay home because child care is as much or more than their wage.

I also found it very strange the career-focussed woman suddenly got pregnant and decided to have a baby. Wtf. Totally out of character. In fact the whole thing was just stereotyped and horrible. The voiceovers didn't work. And it could have been good!

I think she wanted to be the best at everything, not that she could accomplish everything. She set high standards and couldn't make them. There would never be enough time for her in this movie. She needed to choose and she did at the end. It's good to hear criticism of plots, you did not suspend disbelief. As I said on another post, I think two movies were playing independent of each other, and not playing well.

"...as long as people can change, the world can change"