There are some perks for pastors. As an “influencer” sometimes I’m invited to free screenings for movies. They want our feedback, and they want us to spread the word about various “faith-themed” movies.
Andy Erwin, one of the directors and producers, did our wedding video since CavWife knows him. The Erwin brothers had previously produced October Baby. So we were interested to see their latest movie, Mom’s Night Out. CavWife was hoping they’d have a free promotional shirt like the one for October Baby. She was disappointed in that regard.
After the success of October Baby, the Erwin brothers have been able to up the ante regarding producers, actors and distribution. Patricia Heaton and her husband David Hunt are executive producers and also act in the movie. They also got Sean Astin to play the husband of the main character, Allyson. It is been picked up for distribution by Tri-Star.
The movie is about a young mom who is struggling with the realities of parenting. It was her dream to be married and have kids, and she wonders why she isn’t happier. One part of the struggle is that her husband, Sean, travels quite a bit for work. You quickly get the idea that while her kids are a handful, she also sets the bar incredibly high for herself.
She decides that she needs a night out with the girls, and Sean complies. She sets up a night out with her friend Izzy and their pastor’s wife, Sondra (played by Heaton). The other women have their own issues. Izzy is married to a man who is essentially afraid of children. And they have twins. Sondra is struggling with being the perfect pastor’s wife and their slightly rebellious teenaged daughter. Each of the women have different struggles, and need something of a break to laugh and relax.
This is what sets up the humor. It is something like Date Night without the uncomfortable comedy you expect with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. Nothing goes right for these women. Or for the 2 younger husbands who are watching the 5 kids along with Sean’s life-long friend who never grew up. Into the mix throw in Allyson’s sister-in-law, Bridget, whom they run into while exploring “Plan B”. As it turns out, her son is not being watched by the Baby Daddy like she thought. The 3 women decide to help Bridget and things just keep getting crazier culminating in a trip to the police station.
As a “faith friendly” movie, there is the “come to Jesus” scene, for lack of a better term. It happens with Allyson in the lobby of the police station after the 3 women have been arrested. The huge tattooed biker Bones played by Trace Adkins tries to reorient her. Two issues arose for me.
1. He wasn’t the right guy. I had the same issue with October Baby. In both movies it was someone the character didn’t know or barely knew. In OB it was a priest, even though the main character was a Protestant. In this case Bones starts with “I grew up in the church” and you discover that he has no real connection with the community of faith. I understand that wisdom can come from unlikely people. CavWife disagree with me on this, she thinks they use this in both movies because the main character isn’t listening to the people who would normally speak into her life.
2. The message was superficial. He rightly mentioned that it was her parenting standards that were hard to live by. He basically gives here a Runaway Bunny version of the gospel- God loves you no matter how far away you run. While she needs to know of God’s love, I figure she also needs to understand that parenting is difficult for 2 reasons. You are a sinner raising sinners. This means that God is going to sanctify you through the process of parenting. The struggles of parenting reveal our own sinfulness and weakness precisely so we will pursue the God of grace more profoundly. This also means that God is using you to restrain the depravity and enhance the dignity of your children. That, too, requires looking to the God of grace in increasing measure.
But as the movie wraps you see that 3 of the story lines have been resolved sufficiently. Allyson is more comfortable with parenting. It is still difficult, but she isn’t crushed under unrealistic expectations. She and Bridget also have a better understanding and appreciation for one another. The Baby Daddy also seems to have begun to take his responsibilities seriously. Sondra and daughter have resolved their issues and she is more at home with herself instead of trying to project an image.
The story line of Izzy, who is pregnant again, and her fearful husband is never really resolved. It hangs out there because they never had her tell him that she was expecting a child. Sondra notices that she is pregnant, but that conversation gets derailed rather quickly by other events. They missed something here.
Sam-wiseSean: What you do is ….Allyson: Hard.
Sean: Important.
Those weaknesses aside, the movie was enjoyable. We both laughed often. There were some interesting ways in which they told the story, including a cameo by the Erwin brothers during a fantasy sequence. They arrive to take away the kids because she’s been a bad mother. The movie was clean. There was no foul language or crude humor. It was family appropriate aside from a few minor acts of violence. But even those were mild and surpassed by much of what kids may see in a video game. It made for an enjoyable movie with a positive message. So, think about seeing it when it arrives in theaters on May 9th.
Leave a comment