Annoying take on modern motherhood

You'll know what to expect from "Motherhood" even before the opening credits. A camera pans over a topsy-turvy apartment, two sleeping children and a snoring husband until settling on Eliza Welch's to-do list, which includes this entry: "Blog?"

We can add Eliza, a Manhattan mom played by a harried and wild-haired Uma Thurman, to the fictional Carrie Bradshaws and all-too-real Julie Powells of the world, trying to turn their lives into sassy prose (and perhaps a movie deal).

"Must a woman's soul wither up and die simply because she chose to become a mother?" Eliza types dramatically.

Writer-director Katherine Dieckmann seems wholly unaware that this character is tiresomely familiar and highly irritating. She complains ceaselessly. When her hardworking husband (Anthony Edwards) and divorced friend (Minnie Driver) finally blow their tops, you might cheer.

The only time this film generates a spark is when Eliza meets another budding writer (Arjun Gupta) nearly half her age. Otherwise, you're spending 90 minutes with a woman who believes she's the first mother to post her banal thoughts on the Web.