Garry Marshall gathered practically everyone in Hollywood together, back in 2010, to celebrate “Valentine’s Day” with him. In 2011, he rounded-up a bunch of celebs again, this time for a big screen “New Year’s Eve” in the Big Apple. But because those box office results weren’t nearly as strong, his New Year’s resolution should’ve been to not make any more holiday-themed films. Instead, Marshall has returned with “Mother’s Day”, which isn’t quite as bloated or hectic as “NYE”, but it’s packed with two of the director’s signature elements: Stars and Sentimentality.
The storylines aren’t sophisticated, the performances aren’t awards worthy, and most of the situations are over-the-top, over-dramatized and could only happen in the movies. But “Mother’s Day” is far from the most painful film I’ve sat through this year. Credit the irresistibly likable cast for that. Here’s a breakdown of the key characters, who either live or work in Atlanta:
– Jennifer Aniston is Sandy, mother of two boys. She’s divorced from Henry (Timothy Olyphant) who’s in a new relationship with a much younger woman.
– Jesse (Kate Hudson) doesn’t get along with her parents and hasn’t told them she’s been married for years and has a son.
– Bradley (Jason Sudeikis) is a widower (Jennifer Garner makes a cameo appearance in flashback) with two daughters. Marshall modernizes a line from his sister Penny’s “A League of Their Own”, with youth league soccer coach Bradley at one point shouting to one of his players, “There’s No Texting in Soccer!”
– Britt Robertson (“Tomorrowland”) is Kristin – longtime girlfriend to stand-up comic Zack and mother to their daughter Katie. Zack wants to get married soon, but Kristin needs more time.
– And, sporting the same red wig she wore in “Notting Hill”, Julia Roberts plays HSN jewelry designer and host Miranda Collins.
As is Marshall’s style, all five of these stories are intertwined throughout “Mother’s Day”, which runs nearly two hours. And it feels all of that. We spend a lot of time with each of the stories as they develop in detail, because, unlike Marshall’s previous films in which every scene took place on the intended holiday, at least half of “Mother’s Day” takes place on the days leading-up to Mother’s Day. However, these mini-narratives aren’t very layered, and in each case, elements are rushed, dropped or forgotten, in order to get everything wrapped-up satisfactorily.
“Mother’s Day” does provide a laugh here and there, usually in the form of a sarcastic remark about motherhood or parenthood. And there are plenty of goofy moments that may put a smile on your face just because you’re witnessing pure, unapologetic absurdity (an out-of-control RV, Aniston’s meltdown inside her van, Sudeikis falling from a balcony after rapping about his pink, or rather, salmon, pants). It’s all pretty harmless.
There’s another mother-daughter movie in theaters right now, “The Meddler”, that’s smart, genuinely funny and quite poetic about relationships, grief and family dynamics. If you’re looking for the light dessert alternative, and you’re perfectly fine with it not being on the same planet in terms of emotional impact, then “Mother’s Day” is for you.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Mother’s Day” gets a C.
Running Time: 118 min.