Ten Stars or Less

run time: 98 mins
rated: PG
considered: Comedy
director: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
starring: Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, Trace Adkins, David Hunt, Logan White, Harry Shum Jr., Abbie Cobb, Robert Amaya, Kevin Downes, Alex Kendrick, Sammi Hanratty, Brett Rice

movie summary: Allyson (Sarah Drew) is a mother to three little kids whose husband is always on the road. She spends her days and nights watching the kids, cleaning up their messes, and trying to find five minutes everyday for mom time. She attends church one Sunday with the kids in tow, and after one of her sons causes a mess she spends the rest of the night in the closet hiding eating a whole box of chocolate until her husband finally gets home. He recommends that she try to find time for herself to distress and remember to find joy in the little things in life. The next day Allyson rounds up her two best friends Sondra (Patricia Heaton) and Izzy (Logan White) to plan a mom’s night out.

Allyson’s husband Sean (Sean Astin) is shocked to learn she has finally planned a night out for herself and the girls except it falls on a Saturday night when he plays video games with his best friend Kevin (Kevin Downes). He reluctantly agrees to watch the kids, while Izzy must convince her overly nervous husband Marco (Robert Amaya) to watch the twins so she can go out. He has a panic attack at the thought of watching the two kids alone thinking he could lose or them or they can get hurt. Izzy has a secret that she has just found out about before dinner but is very reluctant to tell Marco for fear it will give him a heart attack. Sondra is the pastor’s wife and they have a 16-year-old daughter Zoe (Sammi Hanratty), who she consistently argues with about wearing short skirts and dating guys outside of the church. All three mom’s definitely need a night away from their stressful everyday lives.

Saturday night finally comes, Allyson looks stunning in a dress she hasn’t worn in five years. Sean prepares the kids for a fun night with Kevin who drops by to hang out. Allyson grows weary of the potential disaster so offers not to go. Sean forces her out the door where she drives over to pick Izzy up. Poor Marco is left alone with the kids as Izzy darts out the door to freedom. The girl’s head over to Sondra’s house where they drag her out the door because she’s trying to stop Zoe from going on a date. In the car on the way to the hospital the girls spend the whole trip on their phones trying to solve problems at home even though they have only been gone 10 minutes. Allyson takes all their phones, shuts them off and puts them in the glovebox. She tells them it’s their night out and nothing is going to ruin it. Little do they know their night is about to be turned upside down.

Inside the restaurant Allyson finds out she booked the wrong night for their reservations. After throwing a fit at the counter the girl’s head across the street to go bowling. Allyson is surprise to see her sister-in-law Bridget (Abbie Cobb) working since she didn’t find a babysitter. Bridget finds out her ex boyfriend who is supposed to be watching the baby is out having dinner, the girls go back to the restraurant to confront him. They find out the baby is with the biker named Bones (Trace Adkins) over at the tattoo parlor. The girls run back out to the parking lot to find their minivan stolen so they take a cab to the parlor to find out the baby is not there. Bones offers to help the lovely ladies, hé spots Allyson’s van and chases it down. Sean meanwhile attempts to call Allyson but since the phones are in the van he can’t reach her to tell her that the kids are alright after a night out at the playland, but he needs to go to the hospital for a minor injury. The girls track down the potential babysitter only to find out the baby isn’t there either. Bones roughs up the guy while the girl’s head over to the police station to report a missing baby and vehicle. They break into the back of the police station to confront the officers who refuse to help these crazy women. Sondra gets tasered and the girls all end up in jail.

The girls just wanted a quiet night out but ended up on a wild goose chase across the city looking for their cell phones, van, and a baby. The girls have no way to call their husbands to come bail them out and explain what happened, so spend time in jail reflecting on their actions. Sean and Pastor Ray (Alex Kendrick) get word the girls are looking for Bridget’s baby so they start a search of their own who hope to get a different outcome than the girls.

my thoughts: Most of you reading this review will know nothing about this movie. There are a lot of mixed reviews out there on the internet in regards to how the characters are portrayed and how this story is faith related. I will disagree with the critics and say Mom’s Night Out is a very funny family oriented movie that should be seen by everyone.

The best parts of this movie besides solid acting performances, is the miscommunication amongst the characters that leads everyone to run around the city looking for the same things. The craziness that ensues had the audience and myself laughing out loud for the majority of the film. You really want everyone to have fun but you got to realize as soon as the guys are left with the kids that can only spell disaster.

The whole family will appreciate the message that is presented in the movie in regards to family time and personal time. Sure Sarah Drew’s character appears to be in over her head in regards to raising her kids and if she found a real babysitter or nanny most of her problems would fade away, but she loves her life just the way it is and wouldn’t change any of it for anything. She has been blessed with a great husband and kids but sometimes times get tough and she looses sight of what she has, this crazy night out reminds her of how great her life is and that she a great women who can handle any and everything.

Sean Astin leads a great supporting cast with three returning actors, Kendrick, Amaya, and Downes, from another faith-based movie about fathers called Courageous. If you haven’t found time to watch that movie yet I would recommend it. It is thought provoking with a powerful message about life and being a dad. I believe it is still on Netflix so you can round-up the family for that one too.

Mom’s Night Out will not please everyone, but if you go into with an open mind and expect to laugh from start to finish you will be happy with your ticket purchase. It was a fun experience to see a comedy that wasn’t all about swearing and raunchy subject matters. This is a clean-cut family movie with a tad bit of Christian morals and values in it.

my star rating: 7 out 10

imdb.com: 6.9 out 10
rottentomatoes.com: 14% out 100%
metascore: 25/100