Garry Marshall's third foray into a supposed trilogy of holiday- themed dramedies following 'Valentine's Day' and 'New Years Eve' marks yet another film involving a large ensemble cast of A-list actor and actresses placing themselves in witless comedic fare. This film sets stone to a spiritless comedic wasteland where the talent of the large cast is buried under Marshall's perfunctory approach at portraying family values and individuals coming to terms with their relationships with their mothers, and that includes squandering the comedic chemistry each member of the cast has demonstrated in the past. Those poor souls who bother to sit through this near two hours of tediousness are bound to be left questioning what kind of wit is Marshall expecting to squeeze out of a story dealing the dynamics of Mother's Day when tied to a script that fails to provide the cast with even an inch of wiggle room to flex their talent muscles. Following the familiar story structure of 'Valentine's Day' and 'New Years Eve', this movie focuses on three interconnecting families on their celebration of Mother's Day including Sandy (played by Jennifer Aniston), a recently divorced woman who is disillusioned y her ex-husband upon learning he is married to a new woman Tina (played by Shay Mitchell) who barely looks like she's in her early twenties. Then there is sisters Jesse (played by Kate Hudson) and Gabi (played by Sara Chalke) who are paid an unexpected visit from their parents who are not pleased to learn the former is married to an Indian (played by Aasif Mandvi) and the latter is a lesbian. Next, we have Kristin (played by Britt Robertson) who is pregnant and is facing anxiety by marrying her longtime boyfriend, while coming to terms with her estranged mother (played by Julia Roberts). Finally, there is Bradley (played by Jason Sudeikis), a widowed father who must learn with his two daughters to celebrate Mother's Day for the first time since their mother's death.
Garry Marshall doesn't go all out with a laugh-out-loud comedic flair, but instead tries arming the film with a heartfelt story with a comedic undertone that fails to compensate for how charmless it is. Marshall's sense of humor leave the film aggressively restrained to what feels like a series of sitcom episodes stretched into a lame two-hour skit that the actors never rehearsed for. Nearly every moment of humor fails to land, often resulting in one eye-rolling joke after another, while the more dramatic moments where audiences are supposedly intended to reach for the tissues simply fall flat. As poignant as it tries to be, the storyline concerning Jason Sudeikis helping his daughters come to terms with the death of their mother fails to touch the heart in a way it intends, which explains why I never found myself grabbing any tissues. As for the comedy bits, it appears as the film's definition includes Kate Hudson and Sara Chalke being the daughters of parents who are apparently racist and homophobic, Jennifer Aniston constantly whining about her ex- husband being married a woman who likes too young to even be in college, and Jason Sudeikis trying to break it down in a karaoke, only to subject himself into a cheesy slapstick gag even children who find overly derivative. In shorts, it's just plain stupid. And if that is not worse, one should consider the erratic editing in numerous scenes that take their time to set up a joke only to cut to another scene before the supposedly climatic gag occurs. If you find yourself laughing more than once, that would be called a miracle because funny is far from the appropriate word to describe this horribly misguided dramedy.
Mother's Day is tedious, unfunny, and severely lacking in charm; and at the worst, showcases its usually talented stars exercising at the lowest peak of their careers. Offensively dumb and dry in cleverness, this film is instantly forgettable the minute the end credits begin to roll. Good word of advice: don't choose this as a movie to watch with your mother, just don't.
Garry Marshall doesn't go all out with a laugh-out-loud comedic flair, but instead tries arming the film with a heartfelt story with a comedic undertone that fails to compensate for how charmless it is. Marshall's sense of humor leave the film aggressively restrained to what feels like a series of sitcom episodes stretched into a lame two-hour skit that the actors never rehearsed for. Nearly every moment of humor fails to land, often resulting in one eye-rolling joke after another, while the more dramatic moments where audiences are supposedly intended to reach for the tissues simply fall flat. As poignant as it tries to be, the storyline concerning Jason Sudeikis helping his daughters come to terms with the death of their mother fails to touch the heart in a way it intends, which explains why I never found myself grabbing any tissues. As for the comedy bits, it appears as the film's definition includes Kate Hudson and Sara Chalke being the daughters of parents who are apparently racist and homophobic, Jennifer Aniston constantly whining about her ex- husband being married a woman who likes too young to even be in college, and Jason Sudeikis trying to break it down in a karaoke, only to subject himself into a cheesy slapstick gag even children who find overly derivative. In shorts, it's just plain stupid. And if that is not worse, one should consider the erratic editing in numerous scenes that take their time to set up a joke only to cut to another scene before the supposedly climatic gag occurs. If you find yourself laughing more than once, that would be called a miracle because funny is far from the appropriate word to describe this horribly misguided dramedy.
Mother's Day is tedious, unfunny, and severely lacking in charm; and at the worst, showcases its usually talented stars exercising at the lowest peak of their careers. Offensively dumb and dry in cleverness, this film is instantly forgettable the minute the end credits begin to roll. Good word of advice: don't choose this as a movie to watch with your mother, just don't.