Elizabeth Banks' Parenting Approach
In Elizabeth Banks' new film People Like Us, she plays a mother who is a friend to her young son, and ET found out if the actress plans to have a similar relationship with her son when he grows older.
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When asked if she thought it was possible for a mother to be her child's friend, Banks hinted that she probably will be primarily sticking to fulfilling her role as a mother first and foremost.
"I think you can be your kids friend when you're at Disneyland and you're like, 'Yay, lets go a big rollercoaster together,' but I am a big proponent of [parenting] your kids first and foremost," she said. "They need parents. They're gonna have a lot of friends in their life. They're only gonna get two parents."
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Although she devotes a big chunk of her time to her acting career, Banks asserts that, even though she may not want to be friends with her child, family comes first in the grander scheme of the things.
"I am just like every other working mom out there. I put my son first and everything else fights for second place," the 38-year-old actress maintained. "As long as he's taken care of and happy and safe, I can work with everything else."
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While Banks is dedicated to her real-life family, People Like Us tells the story of a brother and sister that are connecting for the first time after decades of being unaware of the other's existence. Her co-star Michelle Pfeiffer talked about the film's reliability to its audience.
"I think that a lot of families are estranged, a lot of families are broken but I also think that families have this sort of undying desire and need to connect and reconnect and yet we're afraid to do that," Pfeiffer said. "I think that people could hopefully come out of this film and maybe have the courage [to do so]."
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Banks revealed that her co-star's assessment is spot-on, as she has been told by people after they've seen the film at screenings that they were inspired to reconnect with their family after viewing the film. "If this makes you think about your family in a new way or makes you pick up the phone—great."
People Like Us, starring Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Chris Pine, is in theaters June 29.