Julia Roberts has re-teamed again with her “Pretty Woman” director Garry Marshall in “Mother’s Day” — but this time to terrible results, according to critics.
Reviews for the dramedy, which opens wide Friday ahead of the actual Mother’s Day holiday next weekend, and the film earns a paltry nine percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In the tradition of Marshall’s ensemble rom-coms “Valentine’s Day” (in which Roberts also starred) and “New Year’s
All three A-list actresses play women confronting the trials and rewards of motherhood — in its many varied forms. Intended to be heartwarming and funny, those who reviewed the film found it instead to be terrible, cheesy and funny … for the wrong reasons.
In his review, TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde, wrote: “It is no spoiler to reveal that every possible complication or difficulty in this movie resolves itself in the most pat, predictable and dully cheerful way possible, with lessons learned and hugs distributed.”
Here are six more of the most vitriolic reviews:
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal:
“You can survive this comedy, which was directed by Garry Marshall (he also did ‘Valentine’s Day’ and ‘N
Glenn Kenny of The New York Times:
Kenny’s headline speaks for itself: “‘Mother’s Day’ Is a Goopy, Glossy Sentimental Mess.” And the review doesn’t get any better from there. The movie has “10 times more respect for contrived sentimentality than for film grammar, is bereft of genuinely amusing jokes,” and while “there are laughs, albeit inadvertent; the biggest comes courtesy of the production’s no-doubt overworked sound department, when Ms. Robertson utters ‘I have abandonment issues’ without moving her mouth.”
Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com:
“Do you like films that are so wildly overstuffed with characters and subplots that the finale requires a child’s life-threatening asthma attack, a karaoke-related injury and a recalcitrant vending machine to bring two characters together at last?” Sobczynski asks. “Are you OK with movies that feature characters who are unabashedly racist, so long as they are wacky racists? Have you lain awake late at night wondering what Julia Roberts might look like if she happened to be sporting Moe Howard’s hairdo?” If so, “Mother’s Day” might be for you, as long as you can put up with the “staggeringly incompetent blend of silliness and schmaltz.”
Neil Pond of Parade Magazine:
“The large, talented cast is largely wasted with little to do but go with the flow of the overly sweetened, sentimental twists and turns, the not-so-surprising surprises and the eventual resolutions and wrap-ups,” Pond writes. “But the sap eventually sucks all of them under.”
Jody Mitori from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“The draw of ensembles is the chance to see favorite actors appear together in one movie, but here, more isn’t better. Instead, the film serves as a reminder of better work the cast members have done together — [Margo] Martindale and [Timothy] Olyphant in acclaimed TV series ‘Justified,’ Roberts and [Hector] Elizondo in the 1990 hit ‘Pretty Woman,’ and even Aniston and [Jason] Sudeikis in the so-so ‘Horrible Bosses.’”
Sara Stewart of the New York Post:
“There is a time and a place for ‘Mother’s Day’ — airplane channels and second-rate cable networks need material, too. But listen: There are many ways to honor your mom. Making her watch this tripe is not one of them.”