OK there are many negative reviews of this movie - I do not think it is meant to be an Oscar nominee. It is a movie about families with different needs/problems/real life issues and it is centered around Mother's Day. Just as Valentine's Day is a big favorite of millions of people - it did not get any Oscars - but it is a movie that people remember. Sometimes that is better. Three families with problems. A one year anniversary for a mother's death, a divorce, and sisters with secrets from parents. and a commitment issue woman wanting to know her birth mother. Of course things get smoothed out - but it was fan watching it all happen. It is move about real life and I appreciate that. The sound track is fun, the pratfalls are OK, but the stories are real. If you have been through a divorce - you will understand. Not a great movie but a believable one.
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pamma0929 April 2016
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Mother's Day had a very promising story which was ruined by utterly poor execution and a complete waste of acting talent which was loaded due to the casting of the movie.
Story (7/10): Well, nothing was so much wrong with the story. Four different lives, four different challenges and at some point of time, they cross the paths - and all of it is centered around the hullabaloo of Mother's Day. They all have their own theories and ideas for the big day but they end up doing almost nothing that they originally thought of - and that's where teeny tiny bit of the fun lies in the movie. A well conceptualized story though.
Acting (5/10): Acting is where this entire movie falls apart in spite of big names like Julia Roberts and Jennifer Anniston. Anniston still seems to be in that "Friends" zone with her dialog delivery. The expressions are off and doesn't seem to be in the character really, except for last few minutes in the climax. Julia Roberts holds pretty much a flat face throughout the movie. Jason Sudeiki was probably the only saving grace. The rest of the cast makes a decent attempt but aren't able to lift up the movie.
Direction (4/10): The direction of the movie is awful. Close to half of the movie misses the flow and the scenes look like stitched together as the director struggles to smoothly transition from one story to another. The screenplay is pathetic and isn't able to hold the audience more than few seconds. It is only at the end that things come together when the four characters converge. However, the overall execution of the movie "executes" the story. It just looks like the director suddenly realized that Mother's Day is arriving and he has to release a movie before that.
Overall (5/10): Poorly executed. Should give it a pass. -
neil-47630 May 2018Hot (OK, lukewarm) on the heels of Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve comes Mother's Day another collection of interlinked romantic tales from director Garry Marshall.
Sandy and Henry, divorced parents of two boys, get along amiably enough. Then Henry remarries, to a hot 20-something. Meanwhile, author and shopping channel host Miranda has a secret. Meanwhile, sisters Jesse and Gabi live next door to each other but their redneck racist homophobic parents don't know that one of them is gay and the other is married to an Indian. Meanwhile, Bradley, father of two girls (one of whom is newcomer Ella Anderson as plain but likeable almost-pubescent daughter Vicky) is still having difficulty in getting past the death of his wife over a year ago. Meanwhile, Zach wants to marry Kristin, mother of their daughter, but she has an issue. And Mother's Day is coming up...
Like its predecessors in Garry Marshall's holiday romance anthology series, this film is broadly likeable, populated by a good cast, featuring multiple, lightly interlinked threads where quite nice people face not very serious problems which get neatly and sometimes improbably resolved by the end, and which leaves you with very little aftertaste. It's all pretty inconsequential.
That's not to say it's bad - it's too anodyne to be bad, but it's like a meal which is pleasant enough to eat but afterwards you wonder why you didn't choose something with a bit more spice in it.
I was going to say that there's nothing to take offence at, but the sisters' racist homophobic parents are fairly offensive. As someone with a moderate sense of dramatic structure, however, I found their utterly unjustified (from the point of view of character) change of attitude even more offensive: the film provided no reason why they shouldn't have been as racist and homophobic at the end as they were at the start.
Did it matter? Probably not. Nothing in this film matters very much. It's like spending a pleasant evening in the company of some people you're friends, but not deep friends, with. Next day you can't even remember what you talked about.. -
gradyharp7 August 2016Garry Marshall died this year after a very long career of feel goo films he wrote, directed, acted in, produced – and sometimes all simultaneously, both on television (The Odd Couple, Mork and Mindy, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley) and in movies (Beaches, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, The Other Sister, The Princess Diaries, Valentine's Day, New year's Eve, etc). He often worked with the same actors – a trusted bond of friendship. While MOTHER'S DAY my not be one of his best films, it completes his trilogy of holiday films and brings the usual warmth and keen observation of interpersonal relationships to play from a richly popular cast of fine actors.
Three generations come together in the week leading up to Mother's Day. Sandy (Jennifer Anniston), a divorcée who has two sons who tries to co-parent with her ex (Timothy Olyphant). But when her ex remarries a girl half her age (Shay Mitchell), she freaks out because she's spending time with her sons and doing things with them that she usually does. Her friend, Jesse (Kate Hudson) is surprised by her parents (Margo Martindale and Robert Pine) who show up unannounced and they discover who Jesse's Indian husband (Aasif Mandvi) is and he learns that she didn't tell them about him which prompts him to leave, And they also learn whom their other daughter Gabi (Sarah Chalke) Is married to Max (Cameron Esposito) in a lesbian marriage. Kristin (Britt Robertson) is a girl who has a boyfriend Zach (Jack Whitehall) and a child but her boyfriend wants them to go to the next level, marriage but she has unresolved issues which keeps her from taking the plunge and her boyfriend is uncertain how long he can wait. Things change a bit when Kristin discovers who her birth mother is . Bradley (Jason Sudeikis) is a widower with two daughters, one of whom is a teenager and Bradley finds it hard to accept her new interests like boys and he still misses his wife. It all comes together at Mother's Day – time heals all things.
Also in the cast are Julia Roberts, Hector Elizondo, Anoush NeVart, Jennifer Garner, Jon Lovitz – and many others in small but significant cameos.
Watch for the pleasure of seeing fine actors get a little silly and for the pleasure Garry Marshall brought to the entertainment industry. -
We went for some light entertainment & knew what to expect and we were NOT DISAPPOINTED ! What do the critics expect - every movie to be a potential Academy Award nominee ? Sometimes I like serious movies, like Spotlight which I enjoyed very much & knew beforehand what I was going to see. Same with this movie; sometimes light entertainment is fine. I knew it wasn't going to be a physical comedy, I knew there were no action scenes and that was fine tonight. It's what I chose to see and we enjoyed it. I also liked Gary Marshall's other two multi-storied, holiday movies even though they were panned by the critics too. Each separate story with different casts are basically short so you're bound to like some of them. I can't see how you could dislike everyone & their story lines. Of course there are corny jokes and references to other movies --so what? Biggest thing with me was that after seeing The Boss on Tuesday, I was not offended by anything in this movie. I was extremely offended by many situations & mostly the language in The Boss. I found The Boss to be extremely offensive hearing such crude sexual references in all the dialogue filled with the F word, etc. This movie has none of that. It's not crude, offensive nor inappropriate for kids and that says a lot about Gary Marshall and his movies.
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queenl-9980524 February 2023You will probably recognize a lot of the situations as the movie is very much in touch/relatable to many real life situations. It really is an honest and natural story. Don't expect a heavy-handed drama but a good laugh instead and a surprise here and there. Indeed there are different storylines, in the end, they come together and it all makes sense. The pacing is okay, it moves along just enough to keep from getting too bored. You can also see that many of the actors enjoyed themselves while filming. Not that there was anything for them to really chew on but they still do well with the little they're given. Mother's Day is a good time, I'd recommend it.
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don't get me wrong, i GET the movie is supposed to be a light, popcorn movie..your average clichéd chickflick...and i love them....somedays you just want a silly corny cheesy movie to put a smile on your face...
the problems is that it fails at even that...it is not a romantic comedy...it does not explore the parents-kid relationship beyond the whole "oh im a man i cant say tampon" cliché...it is not about friendship....i mean what was the point of even making this movie...
i love interconnected romcom movies...but this is just ..pointless...i have no other words to describe it..
and the only thing that was more horrible than julia roberts wig was the direction. -
stevendbeard30 April 2016I saw "Mother's Day", starring Jennifer Aniston-The Horrible Bosses movies, We're the Millers; Kate Hudson-Rock the Kasbah, The Skeleton Key; Jason Sudeikis-The Horrible Bosses movies, We're the Millers; Britt Robertson-The Longest Ride, Life Unexpected_tv and Julia Roberts- Valentine's Day, Notting Hill.
This is a comedy directed by Garry Marshall-New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, Pretty Woman. I get the feeling that he likes holiday themes for his movies. Anyway, here he uses a big ensemble cast to tell interconnected stories that have ties to Mother's Day. Jennifer is recently divorced and dealing with her ex-husband and their kids. Kate is in a mixed marriage-he is an Indian, from India, not the native American kind-and has not told her parents, who are coming in for a visit. Jason has just lost his wife in the military and has 2 daughters to raise by himself. Britt is an orphan that wants to meet her biological mother before she will consider marrying her live-in boyfriend, and Julia just happens to be the biological mother that is being searched for. Most of the rest of the cast are recognizable stars; I remember seeing Jon Lovitz, Jennifer Garner, Larry Miller, Robert Pine, Sarah Chalk, Hector Elizondo and Timothy Olyphant. It's not a bad movie, just kind of mediocre. It just reminded me of an extended 2 hour episode of a TV sitcom. There are some out takes shown, just as the end credits start and one quick one at the very end. It's rated "PG-13" for language and some suggestive material and has a running time of 1 hour & 58 minutes. I don't think I would buy it on DVD but it would be all right, as a rental. -
lenamaradottir12 June 2016I have seriously, never in my entire life, seen something on screen that was this painful to watch (including Jackass and Klovn).
Poorly written, poorly executed, unenthusiastic acting from otherwise talented people. Just awful. I feel hurt and betrayed. I want my money back. And my time (finally out of the house, with my fiancé. Great date. NAHT.) From the outrageously racist jokes, the fat jokes, the stereotypical comic reliefs, the utterly pointless scenes and unbelievably unrealistic characters - Just the worst.
I expected a pointless, turn-off-your-brain low quality romcom but never did I imagine it being SO BAD. To a few of my favorites acting in this film: Please - PLEASE - have more ambition in the future. -
lisafordeay14 March 2021Re-edit 6th March 2024
Mothers Day is a 2016 comedy drama and its the last movie Gary Marshall directed before his timing death in 2016. The movie stars an ensemble cast Julia Roberts(Pretty Woman) , Jennifer Aniston(Friends),Jason Sudakis(Horrible Bosses),Kate Hudson(Raising Helen),Britt Robertson(The Longest Ride),Jennifer Garner (13 Going On 30),Sarah Chalke(Scrubs), Robert Pine(C.h.I. P. S),Jack Whitsell(Jungle Cruise)and Hector Elizondo(The Princess Diaires) .
The film is centered on 4 people. Sandy(Aniston) who's a divorceè mother to 2 sons who's husband (Olympant)is now married to a younger woman named Tina(Shay Mitchell), Jessie(Hudson) is married to an Indian ,who her mother disapproves of, while her sister(Chalke) is married to a woman, Bradley(Sudakis) who's a widowed father as his wife (Garner in a surprise cameo) passed away since she was a LT in the Marines and finally Kristen (Robertson) who's dating a British man named Zac(Whitehall in his movie debut) who is looking for her birth mother who gave her up for adoption when she was just a baby (turns out its no other than Julia Roberts).
And that's it. Overall if you loved Valentines Day,New Years Eve or if your a fan of the late Gary Marshall's work then check it out. -
mr_miyagii1 September 2016I'm really disappointed with this movie. Scenario had only couple funny sentences, and that's it, and I assume this should be a comedy. If you expecting romantic movie you will be disappointed, because the only thing we see there is some people with some inessential problems, and making big thing out of it. Slow development of story, although is unpredictable because you can't expect that someone will devote such attention on not important details. The only bright thing in this movie is cast, which is making me confused why did they do this especially Sudeikis. It's cast with big experience i just don't understand need for this.
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I loved it. My husband and I thoroughly laughed until my stomach hurt. This movie is very funny and has lots of funny tag lines to laugh about later. I don't get the rude reviews and the harsh comments. I thought it was very well done and a different twist. If you are super critical and everything offends you easily, this isn't the movie for you. But if you like a good clean movie that isn't filled with naked sex starved scenes you will enjoy it. It is nice sometimes not to get cussed out and see every body part on a person. Just good clean fun is enjoyable too. It has many judgmental aspects, but it's a comedy, get over yourself. People make things too deep. The critics are just that, too critical. They rip movies apart so much it's hard to please them.
This movie is funny and as a mother (sister and child), I loved it. My mother would have enjoyed it too. I will be recommending it to whomever wants a unique take on a movie. I thought it was going to be sappy and it wasn't. I laughed repeatedly, my husband did too and so did the entire theater. My sister and I went on a double date, loved by us all. Great movie. -
rodasomera-6302131 July 2021This was exactly what I hoped and expected. Not the best story line or quality script ever, but sweet story. If you want a light hearted movie, with a fun cast you can't help but fall in love with, WATCH IT!
*love the Pretty Woman line! -
Very, very disappointed with this movie. There is no real-life link or lessons or messages that have been sent through or even tried to be sent through. The story lines are all over the place, there is no real development on the story lines and they are extremely short. Characters are also not developed at all. The only character that was a little deeper was that Jen, the others had no time to be developed.
Great cast but some mediocre acting. Jen and Kate I found to be good, the others not so impressive. Very, very disappointed in Jack though. What was wrong with him. His acting was so bad. I was excited to see him in this movie because usually I am a fan of his but in this movie he was so bad. The only scenes that he did well were those on the stage since he has real life experiences on comedy life acts and I think he felt more comfortable. But that is not acting at all if you can only do things that are real in your real life. It is the opposite actually. In any other scenes when actual acting was required he just wasn't good at all.
I guess the only good thing about this movie despite having a famous cast is that it is warm since it revolves around motherhood. -
Gordon-1120 June 2016This film tells the stories of several mothers who spend Mother's Day in different ways.
"Mother's Day" can easily draw families to the cinema, because of its topic and the number of big stars. I watched it for Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston, but I was rather disappointed by it. These ensemble comedies have so many subplots and so many characters, that none of them are fully developed. As a result, I don't really know the characters well enough to care for any of them.
the Kate Hudson subplot is funny and entertaining enough, providing the comic relief. The Julia Roberts subplot is very disappointing, because it could have been so much better. She could have made a touching announcement on TV, which would have a far greater impact on the viewers. Instead, something else happened on TV which I don't care for at all.
"Mother's Day" had so much potential, but wasted the concept and the talent involved. -
michaelkondakov17 June 2020I was surprised to see so many negative reviews. Sure enough, this is a no-Oscar movie, quite average. It is more than OK to kill an evening. Just don't have too much expectations. It is in no way boring, it's just very down to earth. Exactly what you have in real life. Perhaps, not everyone can appreciate it for what it is - a life story of a mom with two kids, whose father found a new love and left... which, actually, utterly destroyed her perspective on life. So, being married and having kids is actually a must to watch this title. Just imagine your current partner leaving... and your kids, the only thing you have left, starting to spend more time with the new "mom". This is the drama part. Then we have a couple of stories for the comedy, and a little bit for romance. All things considered, I expected to see at least 6.5 rating.
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franciefb16 August 2020And I don't agree with some of the reviewers over here. Look, it's not the best one of Garry Marshall's, but it is not the worst. I mean, come on, no one is claiming that this is a masterpiece. It's just another movie that makes you feel good and smile and probably wanna call your mom. I know there are some cheesy scenes that you can see in this kind of movies, like the classic reunited mother-daughter scene between Julia Roberts and Britt Robertson (adopted child finding her birthmother after sooo many years) or the lying daughters' lies all come out with a surprise visit from the parents, etc. And I have to say I was really pissed at first all the racists and homophobic comments of the Texan couple (as you can imagine) but in the end they got reconciliation and this was the movie's main point. So, it is not a total waste of time, you will not regret it, there were really good comedy scenes, but obviously it will not be a classic.
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'MOTHER'S DAY': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
The last film of director Gary Marshall's career (before he passed away in July 2016), is another cheesy 'holiday themed' ensemble romcom (much like his previous two movies 'VALENTINE'S DAY' and 'NEWYEAR'S EVE'). This film revolves around the lives of multiple different mothers (and a single father), with intersecting stories, all set on the week before Mother's Day. It stars Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Britt Robertson, Timothy Olyphant, Margo Martindale, Sarah Chalke, Shay Mitchell, Aasif Mandvi, Robert Pine, Hector Elizondo and many others. The film received almost unanimously bad reviews from critics, and it disappointed at the Box Office. I found it to be exactly what I expected it to be.
The movie is set in Atlanta, during the week before Mother's Day. It centers around the lives of Sandy (Aniston), Jesse (Hudson), Miranda (Roberts), Kristin (Robertson) and Bradley (Sudeikis). All of them have to deal with different (sometimes intersecting) family issues, and a few romantic ones as well, as they all prepare for Mother's Day too (in the process). Things become more and more hectic (of course) as the holiday grows closer.
Marshall has directed a few good movies in his long career, like 'PRETTY WOMAN' (also featuring Julia Roberts), but his last three were definitely nothing to be too proud of. The actors in this film have also done much better work (especially Sudeikis). It's not a horrible movie, it's just nothing that memorable. Some mothers (and daughters) might enjoy it though, at least a little more than me (probably).
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoRwrYi1UcY -
UniqueParticle4 November 2023I'm pretty sure Garry Marshall's last directed film been meaning to watch awhile and quite worth it! A few funny moments but definitely feel-good easy to watch charming great one. Packed with a great cast, awesome scenes, lovely romance, and I don't understand the hate sure it's average doesn't deserve a 5.6 rating. Some of the dialogue is poor otherwise I love Mother's Day id recommend the horror one that came out in 2010 that's an awesome fun horror. I love these charming cinema experiences I could watch them endlessly regardless of any flaws id recommend this whacky rom/com it's so humble even when I feel rough.
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Well, this was worse than I had expected. A movie about Mother's Day should invoke feelings of love and gratitude towards mothers and show a strong bond. Sadly, this movie did neither or rather the attempt towards showcasing that was pretty horrible.
The movie was completely incoherent with a bunch of different stories thrown in the mix with neither regard for any logic nor an effort to make the audience feel anything for the characters. The pace of the movie was haphazard and there was no flow. There were abrupt ending to scenes or the scenes following didn't make any sense.
In addition, the movie makers probably asked each one of the actors (except a couple of them maybe) to showcase the worst acting of their careers. I would recommend completely skipping this train wreck even when it comes out on DVD or Netflix. -
SafReviews9 November 2018Not the best comedy, there were only a handful of funny moments. I found the stories about the different mothers dull and boring except for Jenifer Aniston's story (who was the reason why i watched this movie) which was interesting and funny at times. I wouldn't recommend watching this movie; there are better comedy and also drama movies out there.
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matthieu_cornillon8 August 2021We wanted fluff. We wanted something light. We got garbage that felt like it was made as though the last 25 years didn't even happen. I don't mean refreshingly old-fashioned. I mean junk.
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antoonvanboxstael29 April 2016I went to see this movie with my wife and we both found it funny and relaxing. You will probably recognize a lot of the situations as the movie is very much in touch with today's social reality and how people cope with it. It's an honest and natural story. Don't expect a heavy-handed drama but a good laugh instead and a surprise here and there. Indeed there are different story lines, in the end they come together and it all makes sense. The duration is OK, we were not bored at all. We feel the many famous actors must have enjoyed themselves while filming. It's of course not the most difficult role they have played in their careers however we appreciated their work a lot and left the theater with happy faces.
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brookenichole-9805430 June 2020This movie is entertaining and filled with laughable moments, but it's not as amazing as Valentines Day. The story lines was alright and relatable. The acting was great from all the actors and actresses. The jokes were funny but I have seen this movie plenty of times and never realized how offensive many of the jokes were. Overall, it's fun to watch for every Mother's Day.
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pantonepeach26 July 2018There were some fun parts but I was disappointed because: Those awkward jokes about feeling awkward about period when it;s something normal, making women feel bad about thir bodies. The 'miserable' business woman becomes happy only when she meets her daughter. (perpetuating the stereotype of a woman being fulfilled only by motherhood). It was mentioned that only mothers know how to take care of children best, which is wrong. The good parts were the messages about racism and the lesbian couple.