Review of Moms' Night Out (2014) by Holly R — 21 May 2014

Moms' Night Out is an absolutely hilarious comedy that some family members and I were privileged enough to get to see a sneak preview of back in March. We actually ended up going back to see it for a second time on opening weekend and took our 6 year old daughter who laughed all the way through and loved it!!

The movie has a star-studded cast of recognizable faces: Sarah Drew from Gray's Anatomy plays the lead character Allyson, a germaphobe, clean freak and mommy blogger who is at her wit's end as the mother of three young children and an oft-traveling husband; Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond fame plays the pastor's wife who does her best to maintain a cool appearance despite her harried life of raising a teenage daughter; Sean Astin, best known for his roles as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (who doesn't love those cute hobbits?) and Mikey in Goonies plays Allyson's very likeable husband; and country music singer/recording artist and occasional actor Trace Adkins fills out the last main role as the very important biker tattoo artist. However many of the supporting actors are not no-name actors either. Harry Shum Jr. from FOX's Glee has a fairly significant role which is technically pivotal to the entire plot of the film. Fans of Christian-based films like Fireproof and Courageous will recognize the faces of Alex Kendrick and Robert Amaya. Though you WON'T recognize him, Jason Burkey of October Baby fame has a really funny part - I challenge you to figure out which character he plays. I even realized last week that Abbie Cobb, who plays Sean's younger sister in Moms' Night Out, also stars in a few films of Francis Chan's BASIC.video series.

I can't begin to describe how much roaring laughter took place in our very crowded theater during the screening. Despite the audience's verbal acclaim of the film, there was this little bubbling laughter within me throughout the first half of the movie that kept saying, "Yes! That does really happen!" and asking, "I'm not the only one that does that!?" The first of my favorite scenes was when Allyson was hiding in the closet - my husband turned and looked at me to laugh when that happened... not that I would ever do that... ever... especially not with candy... um. Another scene I could completely relate to is when Allyson attended a book club but states with her wry voice-over something along the lines of "Reading books is something I aspire to do, but since I have kids I'm not able to. However coming to book club makes me feel like I read books." My growing personal collection of to-read and started-but-never-finished books attests that I can completely relate to that statement.

The problem with most of the movie critics' reviews of this film is that they tense up at the mere mention of Jesus or God and immediately disregard it as a irrelevant capture of society. However what they are COMPLETELY MISSING is that this is not a religious movie! The main plot is about BEING A MOM. And there is not a single mom in America that can't relate to the humor in this film unless she pays a nanny to raise her kids while she works 24/7 instead. Otherwise it is a hilarious glimpse into the mental and psychological struggles that every mom faces in trying to compare herself to other moms out there. In the midst of this Pinterest-aged culture where most moms feel pressure to live up to some invisible self-imposed higher standard, it seems the idea of being a "stay-at-home mom" has taken a backseat to the working moms. Whereas in reality, as a stay-at-home mom myself (and work-from-home designer during nap-time), I can say the idea of working in an office almost sounds like an escape! If the kids are in daycare all day long, the house wouldn't be destroyed (3 times over) by 5:00 pm! Yet I jest... This movie celebrates motherhood in ALL forms, especially those who dedicate their entire days to managing the chaos that is parenting. That's not necessarily something a middle-aged male movie reviewer is going to relate to, so it makes sense that they many of them wouldn't "get" this movie.

While the movie contains characters who are Christian (and also those who are not), there is nothing "preachy" about its message. There is no dramatic altar call moment or any of that. The most touching scenes come from the least likely character and will have you laughing or crying - if not both together. The film's main purpose is to inspire, encourage, and refresh stressed-out, overworked, and exhausted moms who just need a break [from the chicken nuggets and laundry] once in a while. Which is pretty much every mom.

My main takeaway on this film is that it is a hilarious, clean (no cursing), FAMILY-FRIENDLY film that your whole family can enjoy. Although taking young children along seems pretty antithetical to the title of the movie, it's rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action, and there's really nothing I can think of in it that I wouldn't let my kindergartener see. (I'm fairly strict on what she watches). However it's the MOMS that are going to get the biggest giggles from this film. In the vein of the movie "Date Night" or the classic "Adventures in Babysitting", Moms' Night Out will not disappoint!