IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTribune (K. Walsh) review
RogerEbert.com (P. Sobczynski) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review
The SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW about the movie Mother's Day [2016] (directed by Garry Marshall screenplay by Tom Hines, Lily Hollander, Anya Kochoff and Matthew Walker) is that it's actually something of an UN-/ even ANTI-MOTHER'S DAY film.
So if you have a pretty good relationship with your mother, unless your mom has _a really good sense of humor_ AND _you honestly have next to nothing else to do_, I would _not recommend_ this movie as something for you to see with your mother on Mother's Day.
On the other hand, if you perhaps REALLY HATE YOUR MOTHER / ARE DEEPLY ESTRANGED FROM (NOT TALKING FOR YEARS WITH) HER or perhaps YOU ARE A MOTHER who REALLY FEELS THAT YOU'VE MESSED-UP YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR CHILDREN then this film COULD PERHAPS BE OF SOME COMFORT TO YOU (or honestly ... drive you over the edge). It's _not_ a "happy film."
For NONE of the mothers in this "ensemble film" (set in and around up-scale Atlanta) are having a good time of it:
Sandy (played by Jennifer Aniston) is a late 30-something suburban divorced mom with two sons Peter and Mikey and (played by Brandon Spink and Caleb Brown) who, "yes we have a joint custody agreement, but can you _please_ make an exception here," is being asked to _share_ Mother's Day with her utterly emotionally tone deaf ex-husband Henry (played by Timothy Oliphant) AND HIS NEW still early-mid 20-something BOMBSHELL of a second wife Tina (played by Shay Mitchell), "It'd mean SO MUCH TO HER ..." Honestly ('cept for the reality that one's going _have to deal with them_ for the rest of one's life anyway...) "F-you Henry and your cradle-robbing second wife..."
Then there are grown sisters Jesse (played by Kate Hudson) and Gabi (played by Sarah Chalke) both in estranged complicated relationships with their "trailer trash / red-neck" mother Flo (played by Margo Martindale) and father Earl (played by Robert Pine).
Jesse simply broke-off her relationship with her parents rather than tell them that she was dating, let alone eventually married, an Indian doctor named strangely enough "Russell" (played by Aasif Mandvi). And she apparently told Russell, who had never met her parents, that they were both "institutionalized" somewhere in Arizona and FOR SOME REASON that "story" was enough (rather than A RED FLAG) for him who didn't ask any questions / married her anyway because ... well, SHE WAS WHITE. This plot point is absolutely ABSURD to me: "Honey, my family owns half of the Punjab, and I myself am a very successful Atlanta based medical doctor and could be set-up with / marrying any number of beautiful, young, rich, educated Indian women from good / similarly wealthy Indian families, heck perhaps even Bollywood starlets ... ) while I know NOTHING ABOUT YOU except for your blonde hair, skin color and perhaps nice smile (and even that your family has a history of _severe mental illness_ ...), but hey you're WHITE so I'll present _you_ to _my parents_ and marry you. THEY will be SOOO proud ..."
Gabi, on the other hand, still "skypes" with her parents (retired or just unemployed, driving around the country in their mobile home...), while lying to them about her life. For she's a Lesbian with a wife named Max (played by Cameron Esposito) and an 8 year old son produced by artificial insemination. Instead, Gabi's telling her parents that she has some kind of an investment banker (male) as her fiance', one who they, of course, have never seen.
Then there's Bradley (played by Jason Sudeikis) retired Marine now upscale gym owner with two young daughters Vicky and Rachel (played by Ella Anderson and Jessi Case). He lost his wife / they their mother (played by Jennifer Garner) also a Marine while she was deployed in Afghanistan during the past year.
There's also a young 20-something couple Zach (played by Jack Whitehall) and Kristin (played by Britt Robertson) who get by working in a bar. Together they have a young baby. Zach would like to get married, while Kristin, who was first adopted, then lost both of her adopted parents in her teenage / young adult years to illness has (unsurprisingly) abandonment issues.
Finally, there's Miranda (played by Julia Roberts) a "Home Shopping Network" celebrity who's hawking all kinds of "Mother's Day" gifts on her show throughout the whole film BUT ... didn't seem to have a family of her own.
So these then are the characters inhabiting the 5-6 interweaving story-lines of this "Mother's Day" movie. Again, this is NOT a film celebrating "the joys of Motherhood" ...
... but it may have a place (outside of Mothers' Day) if one's own relationship with one's mother / parents is not particularly good (or if one's felt that one's really messed-up in one's parental role...).
So ... "yuck" to this film at least as a "Mother's Day" offering and perhaps "yuck" to the film in general. Sigh ...
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