AllMovie

Mary Kay Place stars in this Emmy-winning ABC Afterschool Special, which was based on a true story. Fed up with her lazy husband and her ungrateful children, housewife Ellie Skinner (Mary Kay Place) plants a sign on her front lawn declaring herself to be "on strike." Pitching a tent on the lawn and walking a daily picket line, Ellie becomes a local celebrity and a heroine to beleaguered mothers everywhere -- while her hubby and kids must fend for themselves for the first time in their lives. Ellie's daughter, Jenny, who also serves as narrator, is played by Yeardley Smith, soon to game fame as the voice of Lisa Simpson; also in the cast is future Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl. Mom's on Strike was remade (more or less) as a full-length TV movie in 2002.