![]() ![]() The evening’s shares of ineptitude and haplessness are divided among the genders: While babysitting the kids, the men - Allyson’s supportive, patient hubby ( Sean Astin, low-key and likable), his mildly unconventional buddy (producer Kevin Downes) and Izzy’s absurdly skittish husband ( Robert Amaya) - run a parallel collision course of wackily unwelcome events. ![]() One reservation snafu and a few missed connections later, the women find themselves searching for a missing baby in a tattoo parlor, involved in a car chase ( David Hunt, Heaton’s real-life husband and fellow exec producer, plays a Cockney cabbie), and finally hauled into jail, where unbelievable comic mix-ups can always be sorted out unbelievably. Donning heels she hasn’t worn in years, Allyson and her pals head to fancy restaurant Chez Magique, where a harpist contributes to the “aura” and the manager is called “the visionary.” The screenplay, credited to Jon Erwin and Andrea Nasfell, has an ear for the way people talk, at least in sitcoms, and an eye for such everyday annoyances as uncooperative automatic towel dispensers and pretentious types. To avoid a meltdown, Allyson puts a Groupon to use and enlists her best friend, Izzy ( Andrea Logan White), mother of toddler twins, and their pastor’s wife, Sondra ( Patricia Heaton), who’s dealing with the demands of a teenage daughter ( Sammi Hanratty), for a night out. Attempting to find a sense of worth as a mommy blogger, she posts mostly self-deprecating rants: She’s a clean freak, a germaphobe, and a hopelessly helpful type. As young mother of three Allyson, Sarah Drew is a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The story, decidedly more caper than parable, is grounded in a recognizable sense of maternal angst, albeit one that’s explored in only the most superficial ways. Opening wide on Mother’s Day weekend, against the raunch of Neighbors and the animation of Legends of Oz, the Sony specialty-label release might prove just the après-brunch ticket for moms and their entourages, and social media buzz could boost the picture’s staying power in smaller markets. The material is designed to resonate especially with young parents and multigenerational families for whom small doses of nonjudgmental Christian sermonizing aren’t anathema. The comedy tends toward the broad and frenetic, but there are nicely observed bits too. Having focused on abortion in the drama October Baby, the directors dial down the faith-based angle several notches as they aim for comic hijinks. Through its central characters it commiserates with hardworking mothers, and through just about everyone else in the film, it pays tribute to them. The second feature from the Erwin Brothers ( Jon and Andrew) is the kind of film that spikes its wholesomeness with just enough wild to appear modern while holding tight to tradition. All heck breaks loose when a trio of churchgoing stay-at-home mothers take a rare leap into nightlife in Moms’ Night Out. ![]()
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