Mother's Day
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Britt Robertson, Timothy Olyphant, Hector Elizondo, Margo Martindale, Aasif Mandvi, Robert Pine, Sarah Chalke, Cameron Esposito, Larry Miller, Shay Mitchell, Caleb Brown, Jennifer Garner, Penny Marshall (voice)
Directed by: Garry Marshall
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Several generations of women contemplate motherhood's ups and downs.

Review:

Tim: This film completes Garry Marshall's "Holiday" trilogy, which started with Valentine's Day, moved to New Years Eve, and now we get Mother's Day. It's impressive that he has stuck with it this long. And, while I wouldn't claim any of these movies are very good, they are remarkably consistent. I'd rate this film the exact same as the last two in this trilogy- these are okay movies, designed specifically for a certain demographic and following the same formula. That's not a terrible thing, but it's hard to get overly excited about this film.

Like the last two movies, we get many different characters, all connected to some degree. They interact with each other around a specific holiday, which causes them to reflect on their lives (which are in very different places). This one is obviously about mothers. Now, mothers are the true heroes in the world and they don't get an iota of the credit, praise, and adoration that they deserve. So, I was definitely glad to see a film that celebrated motherhood was made. This is well worth the audience ruminating on. The story takes a clearly Hollywood approach to this, so it feels less genuine and more stylized and fictional, but what are you going to do? This is better than nothing, I suppose.

It felt like the cast this time was made up of lesser known actors. The previous two movies brought out the big guns and had these massive, impressive casts. I'm not trying to take anything away from Mother's Day, but it felt like the cast was downgraded. This isn't necessarily a bad thing- it forces you to rely on story more and less on sheer star power to see you through. The cast here is certainly talented and impressive, it's just made up of fewer big names than we've seen before.

Jennifer Aniston heads the film, and for good reason. This is exactly the kind of role that plays to her strengths- she can be cute and quirky and frazzled. It's a safe role for her, but she's able to pull it off successfully because it's so centered in her wheelhouse. She was fine in the role, she showed up and did her thing. It was good seeing Kate Hudson here, although I do wish she had a little more to do. She's a talented actress and she wasn't able to showcase that enough. Julia Roberts is always dependable in these kind of films. I like that she played a slightly different character here- she was wounded, reserved, closed off from the world. That's not what we usually get with Roberts and it was refreshing to see that change. A few drama scenes requires her to really act, and she does that well. Jason Sudeikis gives a good turn here as well. I still don't love the guy, but he worked well in this film and his easygoing humor added a nice element to the film. I begrudgingly admit that he made the movie better with his presence. I loved seeing Britt Robertson here. I've been a fan of hers for a while, and although she has room to grow as an actress, I still expect to see big things in her career. This was a nice supporting role for her, and I hope being surrounded by so many experienced, successful actresses will help her in her career. The cast includes Timothy Olyphant, Margo Martindale, Sarah Chalke, Hector Elizondo, and many others. Like the other two films, the cast is one of the biggest draws.

Maybe I'm too hard on these movies, because there's nothing inherently wrong with them. They just feel like overly safe, by-the-numbers films. The gimmick of revolving around a holiday is fine, but it just makes the whole thing feel overly produced and choreographed. It's not about really hitting the motherhood theme, it's about telling cutesy stories so mothers can smile that their daughters brought them to a movie like this over Mother's Day weekend. Maybe I'm being too cynical, but that does come into play here.

I'd never fault anyone for liking Mother's Day, especially if you are the demographic it's aiming to hit. The movie is totally fine, totally harmless. I think it's just as good as the other two, which is still admirable, even if the bar wasn't set too high. I give Garry Marshall credit for making three movies about holidays that all work. I'll be curious to see if we get a 4th holiday film, or if this ends as a trilogy.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Valentine's Day, New Years Eve, Flag Day (just kidding)