A Few Theories About Julia Roberts’ ‘Mother’s Day’ Hair

Julia Roberts’ and her hair in Mother’s Day (Open Road Films)

Julia Roberts’s blunt bob in Mother’s Day has been compared to a lot of things.

One film critic on Twitter suggested that it’s reminiscent of Bonnie Franklin’s ‘do on One Day at a Time.

In my review for the Washington Post, I called it “the hair equivalent of mom jeans.”

At this point, though, the better question about Roberts’ wig in the Garry Marshall rom-com isn’t what is it, but why is it?

Roberts already confirmed to People magazine that the wig is indeed the same head of faux hair that her Notting Hill character, a movie star named Anna Scott, wore when she appeared in the sci-fi movie-within-the-movie Helix. Watch the scene below:

Roberts apparently held on to the wig, and made the decision, in concert with the hair and make-up department, to trot it out again for Mother’s Day. But she doesn’t say why, exactly.

“There’s a lot of interpretation about my look,” she tells the magazine. “I wish I could’ve put that much thought into it. It was kind of, like, quick putting it together.”

Related: ‘Mother’s Day’: Excerpts From Those Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Reviews

But there must have been a reason the wig spoke to Roberts. While no one in the film ever mentions or calls attention to her hair, perhaps the no-nonsense style felt appropriate for her ultra-put-together character, who sells mood necklaces on a QVC-style shopping network, writes best-selling books and is considered a guru of sorts to women everywhere. (Would women everywhere admire her that much without wondering about the hair, though? This is one of many pressing questions that Mother’s Day never answers.)

Another possibility: Roberts decided to go with the bob as a callback to the longer blonde bob wig she wore in Pretty Woman, her first collaboration with director Garry Marshall.

Or maybe it was a throwback to that black wig she slaps on her head to escape from her abusive husband in Sleeping With the Enemy.

Or, taking things even farther back in the Roberts’ filmography: Maybe she was paying homage to her break-out film role in Steel Magnolias. Remember how upset Shelby got when she cut her hair short?

And do you also remember what Shelby used to say about her mother (Sally Field) and her hair? That it looked like a football helmet. While Roberts’s hair in Mother’s Day may not technically be an example of helmet head, it comes pretty darn close.

In conclusion: We don’t know for a fact that Julia Roberts was trying to summarize much of her career by choosing to wear that hideous wig. But believing that’s what she intended might make us feel better about the whole thing.