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Director Garry Marshall ruins another holiday in "Mother's Day," an ensemble comedy whose segments range from cloying to downright obnoxious.
The story flits around several characters in Atlanta: Sandy (Jennifer Aniston), the divorcee irritated that her ex Henry (Timothy Olyphant) has married a ridiculously younger woman (Shay Mitchell); sisters Jesse (Kate Hudson) and Gabi (Sarah Chalke), who haven't told their bigoted parents (Margo Martindale and Robert Pine) that they are, respectively, married to an Indian-American, Russell (Aasif Mandvi), and to a woman, Max (Cameron Esposito); Bradley (Jason Sudeikis), dealing with teen daughters while mourning his deceased Marine wife (Jennifer Garner); Kristin (Britt Robertson), who has difficulty committing to her boyfriend and baby-daddy, Zack (Jack Whitehall); and Miranda (Julia Roberts), a home-shopping host visiting town.
As he did with "Valentine's Day" and "New Year's Eve," Marshall and his four writers spend more time awkwardly dovetailing the plot threads than creating original characters or fresh jokes. This time, though, the scenes are painfully humorless — no worse than the moment when Jesse and Gabi's parents make a "surprise" visit and learn the truth about their daughters' spouses.
There are a few moments of genuine emotion, mostly created by Robertson and Whitehall, but they are lone flowers in a desert of sitcom contrivance.
'Mother's Day'
Opens Friday, April 29, at theaters everywhere; rated PG-13 for language and some suggestive material; 118 minutes.