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Britt Robertson, Jack Whitehall, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Sarah Chalke
From the same people that brought us Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve we are given another film that follows the different lives of many people, this time in the lead up to Mother’s Day – making the film slightly different to the others as this one isn’t set entirely on the one day. Mother’s Day is filled with different family situations from Sandy (Jennifer Aniston) who is dealing with her ex-husband having a new girlfriend who is not much older than their children; to sisters Jesse (Kate Hudson) and Gabi (Sarah Chalke) who get an unexpected visit from their estranged mother who is not happy to learn that Jesse is married to a man of colour and Gabi is a lesbian. We are also brought into the lives of new parents Kristen (Britt Robertson) and her boyfriend Zack (Jack Whitehall) who desperately wants to get married but Kristen is dealing with the fact that she is adopted and doesn’t know her real mother. Her search leads her to Miranda (Julia Roberts) who is very much a career woman, and finally we are given Bradley (Jason Sudeikis) and his two daughters who are facing their first Mother’s Day since the death of the girls’ mother.
Like the other films all the characters interlink throughout, whether it’s through friendship, family or new relationships. There are also a lot of the same cast as is typical of a Garry Marshall film. Having seen and loved both Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve I was very much looking forward to seeing this one. Unfortunately it has received a lot of bad reviews which made me slightly nervous, however I absolutely loved Mother’s Day! I don’t know what film the other critics all saw but I thought it was very funny (a lot funnier than the other two films) as well as emotional, touching and just a genuinely lovely film to watch.
The cast are simply superb, there are some very big names involved and this is a heavily female-led film. Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Kate Hudson are no strangers to a rom-com, bringing with them comedy timing and some incredible acting as always. All three actresses are favourites of mine so it’s great to see them in a film together.
I also love Sarah Chalke (Elliot Reed in Scrubs) and Britt Robertson is slowly making a name for herself in Hollywood after her lead role in the Nicolas Sparks’ adapted novel The Longest Ride (my review of which you can read here: The Longest Ride). It’s also great to see our very own British Comedian/Actor Jack Whitehall making waves across the pond, though his role in this is not much different to real life – he plays a British comedian…! Surprisingly though, Jack is actually a very good actor who gave us some well played emotional moments as well as his more usual comedic ones. It’s not surprising then that he’s been signed up to play a lead role alongside Eva Longoria in BBC Two’s forthcoming TV adaption of Evelyn Waugh’s Decline and Fall.
What makes Mother’s Day such a good film is the ease in which we are taken between the different characters and how one minute we are laughing out loud and the next holding back the tears. As viewers we go on a journey with the characters and this really helps you to connect to them. Like I said before, Mother’s Day is actually really funny with some hilarious scenes throughout. Jennifer Aniston in particular brings us a very funny moment when she’s in her car and receives a call from her ex-husband, as does Jason Sudeikis when his daughter asks him to buy some tampons for her. You will fall in love with each and every character and that is ultimately what makes this film so good.
Overall I would definitely recommend Mother’s Day, it’s probably more of a girly film but it’s one that you can watch and enjoy with your friends as well as your family. As it’s all about Mothers you could even watch it with your own, for the real message of Mother’s Day is to appreciate all that our Mum’s do for us. It’s a little confusing though that they didn’t release this film around Mother’s Day itself, America’s is the beginning of May and ours was back in March! Not that it has to be Mother’s Day in order to enjoy the film, it’s one that can be watched over again at any time of the year, something which I shall look forward to doing myself!