Plot: What’s it about?
Allyson (Sarah Drew) simply needs a beak, a mom’s night out, if you will. She and her friends decide to do just that, but things quickly go awry. Moms’ night out sets out to offer a more family oriented take on women hitting the town and getting together with friends for a much needed escape from their routines. Drew headlines the cast which also features Sean Astin as Allyson’s husband as well as Patricia Heaton, Andrea Logan White, and Trace Adkins of all people. There’s plenty of chaos throughout the film, but very little laughs, actually. Sarah Drew simply started to irritate me after a while. She’s stuck front and center as well. We just don’t get a strong leading presence from her. The rest of the characters don’t fare much better. The storyline following the husbands is just juvenile. There’s a painfully unfunny sequence where one of the characters is hauling around a birdcage in his car and he’s trying to get in and put the bird back in its cage. It was hard to watch after a point. The main plot involving the moms isn’t especially funny either as they scurry around town trying to find one of the lady’s son.
I can respect the good intentions behind this film, but the final product disappoints. There are many things that worked well in a film like Bridesmaids, and one of those things was that it didn’t hold back. The family angle along with a PG rating don’t translate well to a film like this. It’d be more fun to see a story of women who just want to cut loose be unleashed and not limited. I am not saying that the rating stops it from being a successful film, but it certainly doesn’t help. The biggest problem is that the characters aren’t likeable or especially funny in the slightest. We pretty much know the outcome of the story early on as well. I wanted to enjoy it, but couldn’t. Skip it.
Video: How’s it look?
I didn’t like the film, but the transfer is worry free. Colors are accurate and spot-on consistently. Details are always strong as well as clear background shots as well. The print didn’t show any noticeable flaws or grain either. Fans (You know who you are) should be pleased. The image is AVC encoded with a 2.40:1 ratio.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The DTS HD track also impresses. This is certainly a busy film with lots going on, so the track stayed relatively active throughout. There’s some music throughout the track and plenty of background noises as well. Vocals were clean and natural sounding with no major issues. Like the transfer, this track will please those who enjoyed the film.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – The directors and a producer sit down to provide their notes on the film. A wide variety of topics are discussed which makes this track an easy listen, if you’re so inclined.
- Deleted Scenes – 5 extended bits show up here, nothing of importance.
- The Art of Action – This takes a look at a car chase seen in the film.
- The heart of Moms’ Night out – This is only a brief look at the importance of moms.
- Casting Moms’ Night out – This takes a look at…you guessed it, the casting process.
- The Art of Improv – We see where the cast let loose and how the script was just their starting point, basically.
- Bloopers
- Previews
- Digital Copy
