MOMS’ NIGHT OUT(PG)
***1/2 (out of 5)
May 9, 2014
STARRING
Sarah Drew as ALLYSON
Sean Astin as SEAN
Patricia Heaton as SONDRA
Trace Adkins as BONES
David Hunt as CABBIE
Andrea Logan White as IZZY
Abbie Cobb as BRIDGET
Studio: TriStar
Directed by: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
BY KEVIN CARR
Listen to Kevin’s radio review…
I’ve never been one of those people to decry the abundance of R-rated films in the marketplace. In fact, I often get annoyed when there’s a statistical upswing in PG-rated entertainment and people act like it’s the answer to prayers (only to have raunchy comedies once again become a big deal). I like all kinds of film, both crass and clean, but more than just that, I’m more concerned with a comedy being funny than having it fit in a pre-determined ratings classification.
It is for that reason that I actually enjoyed “Moms’ Night Out,” a wholesome PG-rated alternative to broader screwball comedies.
“Moms’ Night Out” tells the story of a group of women with varying ages of children who want a break from being moms for one night. They book a night at a fancy restaurant and leave the kids home with the fathers. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and the moms’ night out becomes a roller coaster of problems and shenanigans… all squeaky clean, of course.
Directed by Jon and Andrew Erwin, whose last film was the more overtly issue-driven “October Baby,” “Moms’ Night Out” comes from a faith-based perspective, but I found a lot of respect for the film because it didn’t sacrifice a fun story and comedy to ham-fist a message into the movie.
Oh sure, there’s a message, and it gets pretty pushy in the third act. However, in a cinema landscape that has such declarative faith-based titles like “God’s Not Dead” and “Heaven Is for Real,” it’s nice to see that not everything that comes out of the faithful filmmakers is directly about religion.
What makes “Moms’ Night Out” work is that, simply put, it’s a funny movie. There’s several moments where I laughed out loud, and I enjoyed a lot of the shenanigans. It reminded me of the more broad and mainstream movie “Date Night” with Steve Carell and Tina Fey, though with a more sanitized script. Still, the movie does not sacrifice comedy for message, and that’s something I appreciated.
“Moms’ Night Out” is the kind of movie you can take your mother to without worrying that she’ll get offended, and you can still have a good time with it.
There were two things that did rub me the wrong way about this movie, and it’s wroth bringing them up since this is a film based in part on ideology and belief. The first problem I had is a bit of a nit-pick, but it presents Sarah Drew’s character as a neat freak who is going bonkers trying to deal with the chaos of being a parent and having a clean home.
Let me refer you to a meme that features a triangle with the following words on each point: “children,” “clean house” and “sanity.”
There’s nothing more true than that meme, and I’ve seen both women and men lose their minds to keep a house worthy of a real estate staging in the midst of the mess of raising children. This puts an unreasonable amount of pressure on new moms, and speaking as a self-proclaimed slob, this is not the best way to raise kids. One must surrender to the chaos, and one night out every week or two isn’t going to save things.
Additionally, and this is a problem I have not just with this movie but with the overall image of modern parenting, the men are such bumbling idiots that they are practically incapable of keeping their children alive for a few hours, let along taking care of them. This bothers me on a personal level because I am a stay-at-home dad who has raised three boys. This simply reinforces the wrong attitude that many men have, that child-raising is primarily the mother’s job. It’s not, and shame on anyone who thinks this way.
Still, with these minor issues I had, I was surprised at how entertained I was with “Moms’ Night Out.” It was fun, and the cast is pretty strong. It also has an impressive production value that raises the film above many small independent features like it.
While I don’t want all of my entertainment sanitized to a PG level, it’s nice to watch one of these every now and then.
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What world are you living in? Most moms these days are not easily offended. Has the success of “Bridesmaids” taught you absolutely nothing? Please leave the dated and condescending stereotypes to the Leave it to Beaver era where they belong.
I’m not saying that all moms get offended. I just happen to know quite a few that do. I’m all for all types of films, and films like this serve a segment of the population as well. It’s just as ignorant to assume that every woman loves “Bridesmaids” as it is to assume every woman would be offended by “The Hangover,” isn’t it?
Hi. Sorry for my bad english. I know it’s a little late to comment on this review,since it’s from May, but I really had to. This is preety much the only positive review to Mom’s night out that I have found, and believe me, I’ve been searching for hours. It’s just that I can’t believe that most of people hated this movie. I mean, I respect their opinion, but, isn’t it a bit of exageration saying that this movie is so bad that it fails in all levels, or that it’s final message is that you should never get out or hell will break loose.
If you look to almost all comedy movies, aren’t they all a little bit stereotyped?
I mean, for an example, the refered Date night. The same thing happens. They need a little time for themselves and get out. Everything goes wrong and they have a crazy night that make us all laugh for one hour and a half. The movie is not saying that all nights out are like this, but this particular one, for the plot of the movie, for the fun of the viewrs. Everybody liked the movie. Nobody judged it the way they did with Moms night out. Why?
American pie’s series steriotype the american teenagers as all sex addict mindless persons, and yet the movie didn’t got bad reviews as Mom’s did. Nobody said that the message of the movie was depreciative, they just laugh of it. Why?
I think, and don,t get me wrong, im not that kind of fanatic christian, that peple went to see the movie with their mind already set. Thinking that it was just another christian based movie that have to be lame or have to mean something. So when they saw a christian movie doing averybody laugh and making the christian life a natural part of the caracter’s life and not the point of the story, they just felt the urge to put it down.
Why can’t a christian movie be funny? C’mon… Seriously. This movie made us laugh. More than some others that pop up in hollywood sometimes.
Why does all christian movies have to be serious? Can’t we be fun? Can’t we have a good and sanitized comedy? Does every christian movie have to picture life as hard as it realy is? Can´t we have a movie just for the sake of our laughs? Hello… We are human too 😀
I’m not saying that the movie was perfect. It was not. But it was nice. At least not that bad as they say.
In my opinion, it was a brave step to do a movie like this. We christians sometimes have a hard time to find something pure when it comes to entertainment. Culture today is saturated with sex and violence. Is nice to have a clean movie like this now and then that, as you said, don’t sacrifice the fun for sake of the message.
You were nice to remember that there is a part of the society that chooses to be apart of somethings, and that we deserve the right to have a good time with our family too.
So, thank you for your nice review of this adorable movie. And thank you for not judging it as everybody else did. Your words prove that you’re wise. Thank you. And God be with you.
Just reading this now but so glad to read a positive review that is dead on! I’m a Christian who appreciates all kinds of movies if they are well written. I’m glad Christian movies are making their way on the big screen, but most of these recent films are trying so hard to explain why you need to be a believer through grandiose plots and outcomes, that they miss how to develop real characters living their faith in everyday life like we do.
In Mom’s Night Out, we get to watch Christian women who are tired and frustrated, yet fun-loving and honest. The movie is funny, even if ridiculous in parts, but poignant at the right time with enough message to encourage believers to continue trusting and serving Christ everyday, or give non-believers a picture of a life with a God who loves them.
If you like and enjoy a silly but funny movie; you will enjoy Mom’s Night Out. It does take a little while to build and come together but when it does, there is one laugh after another. People need to stop being so critical about everything and just relax and enjoy a good funny movie.
I watch it at least every other year and get lots of good laughs each time I watch it!