Genre: Comedy

Rating: 

Mom’s Night Out can best be described as a PG-Christian version of The Hangover. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It combines adrenaline-filled action scenes with a message and humor that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Throw in a star-studded cast, and Mom’s Night Out is a great choice for a family night in.

In Mom’s Night Out we meet Allyson (Sarah Drew), a young mommy-blogger who is beginning to feel the strain of everyday life. In search of relief, she gathers together a group of fellow mothers for a girl’s night out. Of course, things don’t quite go as planned. When one mother loses her baby, all bets are off as the girls race to find the missing child. Mom’s Night Out stars Sarah Drew (Radio, Grey’s Anatomy), Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings, The Goonies), Andrea Logan White (Do You Believe?, Malibu Dan the Family Man), Trace Adkins (The Lincoln Lawyer, I Can Only Imagine), and Abbie Cobb (Suburgatory, 90210).

The beginning of this movie has to be my favorite part. While Allyson writes her blog, we get to meet the cast of characters through her eyes. First, there is Allyson herself. She is a stressed-out mother of three with some serious OCD issues. Her husband, Sean (Sean Astin), travels often for work and isn’t around much to help with the kids. Then we meet her friend Izzy (Andrea Logan White), a mother who has to contend with not only her children, but a husband doesn’t want to be left alone with them. Patricia Heaton plays Sondra, the mother that everyone looks up to. She is the pastor’s wife and the mother of a teenage daughter. Although it seems like she has everything together, heavy is the head that wears the crown. Her life isn’t nearly as drama-free as everyone thinks it is. Lastly, we have Sean’s sister Bridget (Abbie Cobb). She is the young mother of an infant and doesn’t get much help from her baby’s father.

There is a variety of characters for people to relate to and I really liked that we were introduced to them gradually. Unlike some films, which throw out all the introductions at once simply to get it over with. Although I’m not a mother, I did relate to Allyson feeling overwhelmed by life and to Sondra feeling like she had to put on an, “I have it all together” façade.

This, unfortunately, was the only part of the movie that I could truly connect with since I’m not a mother. The second half of the film was heavily focused on mothers, being a mother, how great it is to be a mother, and why God loves mothers. The end of the film even had a dedication to mothers. While I do appreciate mothers and think it’s great that there is a film praising what they do, as a single woman in her late 20’s with a pathetic love life, I can’t say I felt totally uplifted when the film ended. Does being a guinea pig mother count?

Anyway, my point in mentioning this is that I think this is a good film for mothers specifically. It has some really relatable moments and reminds them how special their jobs are to God. It also is filled with the type of humor that young children would find funny, so moms could watch it with their kids. However, it you’re like me and haven’t reproduced, than I would recommend another movie instead.

Some of the comedy in this film was a bit too over-the-top for my taste. However, there were several moments that made me smile. My favorite scene was when Sondra got tazed. Patricia Heaton did an amazing job with this scene and had me laughing out loud.

In regards to the acting in Mom’s Night Out, I have no complaints. Everyone was well casted and their years of experience showed through. I am a huge Patricia Heaton fan and was really excited to see her in another movie proving to us why she has 2 Emmys. I also have to give a shout out to Sarah Drew and Abbie Cobb for also giving wonderful performances.

Also, the cinematography was top-notch and the music in the film was spectacular. I love contemporary Christian music and Mom’s Night Out made good use of it. Even better was the guest appearance by Manwell Reyes, member of the Christian hip-hop group Group 1 Crew. I’ve been listening to their music for what seems like forever, so this appearance really made my day.

WHAT AGE GROUP IS IT FOR?

As previously mentioned, this is a PG movie that I think both kids and parents could really enjoy watching. People in other stages in life, like teenagers, might enjoy the movie as well but I would probably recommend a different one for them.

LOOKING TO SHOW IT AT CHURCH?

This is a very fun film that would be perfect for mother’s day. You could show it in its entirety for a special movie night, or use clips in a mother’s day sermon. There are several good individual clips that could be used. The main topic is one of feeling like you have to be perfect and, in contrast, learning what God thinks of you. My idea, though, would be to have a “Mom’s Night Out” with Mom’s Night Out. You could have a special event with the mothers in the church where you play some games (go bowling if you wanted to be thematic), have dinner and snacks, and end the evening with the movie.