Moms' Night Out

Fun movie about three moms simply trying to enjoy a harmless night out on the town. RELEASED 2011 and directed by The Erwin Brothers, “Moms’ Night Out” is a dramedy about three mothers in Birmingham (Sarah Drew, Patricia Heaton & Andrea Logan White) who go out on the town while their husbands & a friend watch the kids (Sean Astin, Robert Amaya & Kevin Downes). Alex Kendrick plays the pastor and Sammi Hanratty the teen daughter. Trace Adkins appears as a tough biker while David Hunt is on hand as a helpful cabbie. Andrea Logan White plays a friend of the three moms while Harry Shum Jr. appears as her ex-beau. This is a family friendly dramedy with a little edge and slight faith-based elements (limited to one comical church scene and one exchange at the end). The "inept dad" theme is tiresome and unrealistic (it seemed to me like the children lacked discipline). But there are some gems to mine, like the female lead being overwhelmed by her own doing. In short, she set an absurd standard for herself and labored under her self-imposed expectations. The church bathroom scene is hilarious. Have you ever had a meltdown over something trivial due to pent-up frustration and were embarrassed to discover that someone saw/heard you? There’s another laugh-out-loud sequence when someone is innocently doing something, which is inadvertently telegraphed to a bunch of others, but offering the wrong impression. BOTTOM LINE: This is a fun movie with several genuinely humorous moments and a lil’ bit of mind/spirit food. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hours 38 minutes and was shot in Birmingham, Alabama, and Pelham, which is just South. WRITERS: Jon Erwin and Andrea Nasfell. GRADE: B