Moms’ Night Out

Posted on May 4, 2014 at 9:48 pm

B+
Lowest Recommended Age: 4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action
Profanity: Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Some drinking, references to substance abuse
Violence/ Scariness: Characters in peril, mostly comic, taser, tattoo parlor
Diversity Issues: Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters: May 9, 2014
Date Released to DVD: September 1, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN: B00KO6EC4A
© 2014 AFFIRM Films/Sony Pictures Entertainment & Provident Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
© 2014 AFFIRM Films/Sony Pictures Entertainment & Provident Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

It may feel like a kinder, gentler, sweeter version of “Adventures in Babysitting” or “The Hangover,” but this charming story manages to avoid getting syrupy, even when everyone settles down in the midst of chaos for a little talk about God’s love. It helps that the conversation is with a scary-looking tattooed biker type played by country star Trace Adkins. It is a very funny movie with an exceptionally likeable cast and a warm-hearted, surprisingly touching tribute to moms and their families, as endearing as a Mother’s Day Card made from a paper plate covered with smeared finger paint and glittery macaroni.

Three moms are just hoping for a night away from cranky toddlers, crankier teenagers, and the perpetual chaos of parenthood, only to stumble into an even greater chaos that (spoiler alert) teaches everyone some important lessons about what really matters. Allyson (adorable Sarah Drew of “Grey’s Anatomy”), is a “clean freak” fighting a losing battle against the most powerful mess generators ever known, young children.  She thinks it would feel comforting to be locked away in a bare white room in a straight jacket. The result: Allyson feels like “the Bruce Banner of stay-at-home moms,” literally tackling a child about to put his finger in his mouth because she is worried about salmonella.  Danger seems to lurk around every corner.  Panic never subsides.

Allyson has a devoted, sympathetic husband (Sean Astin as Sean), but that only makes her feel that she is failing him, too.  Plus the readers of her mommy blog have dropped from four to three. Allyson looks up to Sondra (a nicely wry but heartfelt Patricia Heaton), her preacher’s wife, and thinks of her as “my Oprah, my Dr. Phil, my Gandalf.”  And her closest friend is Izzy (Andrea Logan White).  She has not quite figured out a way to tell her husband, who is very insecure about taking care of their twins, that another baby is on the way.

All three moms are in desperate need of some grown-up time, in grown-up clothes, eating food they did not cook and won’t have to clean up after, with purses emptied out of sippy cups and disinfectant wipes.  So, they make plans for an all-too-rare girls’ night out, get all dressed up, and head out for a very fancy restaurant.

Unfortunately, they never get past the snooty hostess (the always-great Anjelah Johnson-Reyes of “Bon Qui Qui”).  Instead, they find themselves caught up in a vortex that includes a missing car and a missing baby (the child of Sean’s sister), with trips to the emergency room and the police station, a tattoo parlor and cosmic bowling. Adkins has a nice scene as a tattooed biker with some surprisingly good advice. Every mom will relate to Allyson’s “pyramid of co-dependency” and the particular bleakness of feeling that you are living your dream and still cannot feel happy about it.  And to the mantra of the airplane directions for use of oxygen: If you are travelling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person.  And to “finding the meaning, joy, and purpose in all the craziness.”

Parents should know that the movie includes some peril (no one badly hurt), minor injuries, a character who gets tased, and references to alcoholism.

Family discussion: Why was it hard for Allyson to feel like she was doing a good job?  How do you find purpose in the craziness?

If you like this, try: “Adventures in Babysitting” and “Ramona and Beezus”

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Google Salutes Audrey Hepburn

Posted on May 4, 2014 at 9:42 am

Today Google pays tribute to Audrey Hepburn, a movie star of impeccable elegance and grace on what would have been the 85th birthday.  It’s a great reason to watch these unmissable classics.

Roman Holiday Hepburn became a star and won her first Oscar for playing a runaway princess who meets up with a handsome reporter (Gregory Peck). Peck loved to tell the story about how he surprised her in this scene.  He did not tell her what he was going to do with his hand and that reaction from her is pure Audrey, no acting involved.

My Fair Lady Hepburn plays Eliza Doolittle, the flower girl who wants to learn to speak English well enough to work in a flower shop and ends up enchanting royalty and, an even tougher task, the irascible Professor Higgins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr3h2_p2iyw

How to Steal a Million The most glamorous art thieves ever are Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole in this glossy romantic comedy.

Sabrina A chauffeur’s daughter dreams of marrying her employer’s handsome playboy son (William Holden) until his stern businessman brother (Humphrey Bogart) tries to distract her.  This was Hepburn’s first film featuring gowns by the man who would become her signature designer, Givenchy.  Their work together made her a fashion icon.

Breakfast At Tiffany’s Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, a party girl trying to take care of herself in New York, but fighting her feelings for the writer downstairs.

Funny Face Hepburn stars with Fred Astaire in a musical about a bookish girl who accepts a modeling job in Paris so she can meet her idol, a French philosopher, but finds herself falling for the urbane photographer to the music of George Gershwin.

Two for the Road One of the wisest, wittiest, and most romantic films of all time follows a young couple (Hepburn and Albert Finney) as they travel through Europe in different stages of their relationship, from meeting as young students to newlyweds, new parents, disappointed early middle-age, and the possibility of renewal.

Charade Hepburn stars with Cary Grant in the most romantic thriller ever made, a sophisticated crime caper to a swoony Henry Mancini score.

Audrey_Hepburn

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Screen-Free Week 2014 Starts Tomorrow

Posted on May 4, 2014 at 8:58 am

Check out these ideas to help your family detox from television and the internet.  And before you turn off your computers for a week, watch this to remind you what we miss when we look at screens instead of each other.  Be sure to stay for the end.

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App — A New Movie to Watch With Your SmartPhone On

Posted on May 4, 2014 at 8:00 am

It was only a question of time.  If people are going to check their phones while they’re watching a movie, then why not make an app specifically designed to accompany the movie?  The movie is called (of course) “APP.”

By downloading “Iris-App the movie” from the app store (iPhone or Android devices only) or texting “IRIS” TO 97-000, one can access a piece of software that syncs with the audio of the movie and displays additional material designed to enhance the story. It’s important to note that the app for “APP” has been engineered as a supplementary ingredient, not an essential one, intended to punctuate certain moments rather than adding a wealth of new information. While it invites an engaged viewership, it’s not required, an outcome bound to please the community of academic theorists and forward-thinking creatives who have been tossing around the possibilities of transmedia storytelling for over a decade….

The app, called “Iris” like the evil artificial intelligence in the movie, offers no interactive components. However, it’s not exclusively time-based. Users launching it in advance of the movie are greeted with a launch page and a start button, which you’re encouraged to press as the movie begins. But unlike the famously trippy “Dark Side of the Rainbow” experience—the syncing of “Wizard of Oz” to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” which has provided the centerpiece for countless stoned dorm room soirees—the app actively engages with “APP” by synching with its audio. Similar to the way the “Shazam” app recognizes songs by processing audio files in real time, Iris anticipates certain moments in the movie’s plot and displays additional footage that fleshes out some of the details.

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Understanding Media and Pop Culture
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