Ellen Burstyn vs. Gena Rowlands
Battle of the Wise and Whip-Smart Matriarchs

Sometimes, it's tough to track the careers of niche actors. After all, they are often, by definition, very similar to the other actors that occupy their niche. Sure, you might remember a few identifying details -- "was married to John Cassavetes," for example -- but then you forget to whom these details are attached.

Thankfully, Hollywood will, every so often, make a movie that brings together all the niche actors, like a kind of class reunion. This makes it that much easier to sift through them and figure out who's who. Take, for example, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, a movie that essentially required every Southern belle-type, quirky female charmer, and wise but whip-smart matriarch to be found in Hollywood's Rolodex. As such, it helps us finally sort out the difference between Gena Rowlands and Ellen Burstyn.

Rowlands and Burstyn have both had varied and distinguished careers. Now they both spend most of their time playing mothers -- maddening, wise, impulsive, soothing mothers. The kind that doles out advice to her just-divorced daughter when she just can't take it anymore, Mama! Or the ones that drive their just-divorced daughters bonkers with their stubbornness, but in the end are always there to clutch their just-divorced daughters to the comfort of their bosoms. Or the kind that dig up old family recipes for magic potions or funny elixirs that help soothe the broken spirit of their just-divorced daughters. And so on.

Usually, one such soothing mother is enough for any hankiefest, but Ya-Ya Sisterhood is so jam-packed with mother-daughter bonding that they needed to bring in reinforcements. Between them, Burstyn and Rowlands have played parts like these in How to Make an American Quilt, Playing by Heart, Hope Floats, The Mighty, and now Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

There are many legitimate complaints about the lack of meaty roles for older women, but there's no shortage of this kind of part. As long as, somewhere, in some town, Sandra Bullock is being wronged by a heartless dud of a man, a wise and whip-smart matriarch must only be a phone call away. Sandra can't go wrong with either of these two surrogate Moms, though Rowlands has a slight advantage, since she's done this more often, and Burstyn's freaky turn in Requiem for a Dream might make any just-divorced daughter think twice about phoning for advice. On the other hand, Burstyn's real name is Edna Rae Gilhooley, which sounds just perfect for a character in the Ya-Ya Sisterhood sequel.

Advantage: Draw