Mother's Day is a 2016 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Marshall, Tom Hines, Lily Hollander, Anya Kochoff-Romano and Matt Walker. It features an ensemble cast, led by Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Shay Mitchell, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Timothy Olyphant, Britt Robertson, Jack Whitehall, Héctor Elizondo, and Margo Martindale. Filming began on August 18, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. It was released in the United States on April 29, 2016 by Open Road Films and grossed $48 million worldwide.
Mother's Day | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Garry Marshall |
Produced by |
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Screenplay by |
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Story by |
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Starring |
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Narrated by | Penny Marshall |
Music by | John Debney |
Cinematography | Charles Minsky |
Edited by | Bruce Green Robert Malina |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Open Road Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 118 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million |
Box office | $48.4 million |
The film is similar in format to Marshall's previous two ensemble romantic comedies with holiday themes: Valentine's Day (2010) and New Year's Eve (2011) and was the final film of his career prior to his death in July 2016.
Screenplay
This article needs an improved plot summary. (June 2016) |
As Mother's Day nears, a group of seemingly-unconnected people in Atlanta come to terms with their relationships with their mothers. Sandy (Jennifer Aniston) is a divorced mother of two boys whose ex-husband has recently remarried a younger woman, Tina (Shay Mitchell). Sandy is still getting used to this when she meets Bradley (Jason Sudeikis), a former marine, in the supermarket. Bradley's wife, a Marine Lieutenant, has recently passed away, leaving him with their two daughters and missing her terribly. Miranda (Julia Roberts) is an accomplished author who gave up her only child Kristin (Britt Robertson) for adoption at birth; as the adult Kristin has her own daughter and mulls over marrying the father, she contemplates the missing part in her life and her friend Jesse (Kate Hudson) encourages her to search for her birthmother. Meanwhile, Jesse and her sister Gabi never see their own mother, so they're surprised when their parents suddenly show up, and plenty of catching-up is in order.
- Jennifer Aniston as Sandy Newhouse
- Kate Hudson as Jesse
- Julia Roberts as Miranda Collins
- Jason Sudeikis as Bradley Barton
- Timothy Olyphant as Henry
- Shay Mitchell as Tina, Henry's new wife
- Britt Robertson as Kristin
- Jack Whitehall as Zack Zimm
- Héctor Elizondo as Ramon Navarro/Lance Wallace; Credited "and as always Héctor Elizondo"
- Margo Martindale as Florence, Jesse's mother
- Sarah Chalke as Gabi, Jesse's sister
- Robert Pine as Earl, Jesse's father
- Aasif Mandvi as Russell, Jesse's husband
- Cameron Esposito as Max, Gabi's wife
- Jon Lovitz as Wally Burn
- Loni Love as Kimberly
- Lucy Walsh as Jody
- Beth Kennedy as Gwenda
- Sandra Taylor as Lexy
- Ella Anderson as Vicky Barton
- Jessi Case as Rachel Barton
- Grayson Russell as Tommy
- Matthew Walker as Randy
- Lisa Roberts Gillan as Betty
- Kate Linder as Gigi
- Jennifer Garner as Dana Barton
- Paul Vogt as Tiny
- Owen Vaccaro as Charlie
- Scott Marshall as Sam
- Christine Lakin as The Hostess
- Rory O'Malley as The Customer
- Larry Miller as The Motorcycle Cop
- Sean O'Bryan as The Male Cop
Development
In April 2013, Dennis Dugan confirmed that he would next develop Garry Marshall's comedy film Mother's Day.
Casting
On June 30, 2015, four cast members were announced, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, and Jason Sudeikis, with the film to be directed by Garry Marshall and scripted by Anya Kochoff-Romano and Lily Hollander. Brandt Andersen produced, along with Wayne Rice and Mike Karz. On July 22, 2015, Open Road Films acquired US distribution rights to the film, and it was revealed that Matt Walker and Tom Hines would co-write the script. On August 21, 2015, Ella Anderson joined the film's cast to play Vicky, Sudeikis's character's daughter. On August 26, 2015, Timothy Olyphant, Britt Robertson, Shay Mitchell, Jack Whitehall, Loni Love, and Aasif Mandvi joined the cast. On October 6, Hilary Duff was confirmed to appear, but she declined due to scheduling conflicts with filming the second season of her show Younger.
Filming
Principal photography on the film began on August 18, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. Though shooting her part required only four days, Julia Roberts was paid $3 million.
Mother's Day was released domestically on April 29, 2016 by Open Road Films.
Box office
Mother's Day grossed $32.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $15.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $48.4 million, against a production budget of $25 million.
In the United States and Canada, pre-release tracking suggested the film would gross around $11 million from 3,035 theaters in its opening weekend, trailing fellow newcomer Keanu ($10–14 million projection) but besting Ratchet & Clank ($8–10 million projection). The film grossed $2.6 million on its first day and $8.4 million in its opening weekend, finishing 4th at the box office, behind The Jungle Book ($43.7 million), The Huntsman: Winter's War ($9.6 million), and Keanu ($9.5 million). In its second weekend the film grossed $11.1 million (an increase of 32.5%), finishing 3rd at the box office, behind Captain America: Civil War ($179.1 million) and The Jungle Book ($24.5 million).
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 146 reviews and an average rating of 2.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Arguably well-intended yet thoroughly misguided, Mother's Day is the cinematic equivalent of a last-minute gift that only underscores its embarrassing lack of effort." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 18 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Richard Roeper gave the film zero out of four stars, saying, "...nothing could have prepared us for the offensively stupid, shamelessly manipulative, ridiculously predictable and hopelessly dated crapfest that is Mother's Day."
Peter Bradshaw, writing in The Guardian, gave the film one star out of five, calling it "as feelgood and life-affirming as a fire in an asbestos factory neighbouring a children's hospital."
Accolades
Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
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Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Comedy | Mother's Day | Nominated |
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy | Jennifer Aniston | Nominated | |
Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Actress | Julia Roberts | Nominated |
Worst Supporting Actress | Kate Hudson | Nominated |