Every Mom Needs a Moms’ Night Out

After two days of crazy (but fun) activity surrounding the upcoming movie, Moms’ Night Out, I finally get some time to just sit and enjoy the quiet. It doesn’t happen as often as you’d think. All my kids are in school full time, but this working mom thing is hard! Working moms, stay-at-home moms, work-from-home moms, single moms, all of us moms. Whatever our day-to-day turns out to be… it’s all just so hard sometimes. If anyone tells you it isn’t, they either have a ton of help… or they are lying.

Tuesday night I was invited to attend the Red Carpet Premiere of Moms’ Night Out. The movie officially opens on May 9th (just in time for Mother’s Day) and although I’ve seen a screening of it a few months back, I had never attended a true Hollywood Movie Premiere before. I don’t get invited to things like this… I’m just the mom. I’m just the blogger. I’m just some woman who struggles with raising her kids and trying to figure it all out. This movie was different. This movie I wanted to be at. This movie I felt I had a connection with.

I love this movie for so many reasons, but take a look at the trailer and get a glimpse for yourself…

Besides the fact that this is just plain and simple funny, it shows so many of the struggles we go through as parents, no matter what our background is. The cast is incredible and have brought their own parenting experiences into the mix. Starring Sarah Drew (of Grey’s Anatomy fame), Patricia Heaton (The Middle and Everybody Loves Raymond), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), and Trace Adkins, among many other super talented actors, this story will resonate with moms, dads, and the kids. It’s the kind of movie you can actually bring your entire family to… and not be embarrassed by sex or violence or bad language… none of it here. The movie is rated PG. Making a movie about parenting struggles can be a hot topic, but the filmmakers have done such an incredible job of being honest while not in any way demeaning the moms portrayed in the movie. That is something that isn’t easy to do. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the fact that this is considered a “faith-based” film. If you are squeamish about the mention of God or Jesus, you probably will be just as squeamish watching this movie. But let me share my thoughts on this. When I first saw the screening at the ENMN Conference, I had no idea what the background of the filmmakers was. I had no idea they were all Christians or specialized in making these types of films. I don’t go out of my way to research what religion people are. I wanted to see the movie because, hey… I’m a mom and I thought it would be a funny take on motherhood… and parenthood in general. And it was. No question there.

As a semi-religious Jew, I have to say I did squirm a little when towards the end of the movie, the big “J” name was mentioned. My first thought was… oh, you just blew a great movie. I was disappointed, felt that my religious background was dismissed, that this was only geared towards Christians. I had no problem at all with the mention of God or the mention of having faith, but bring up the “J” word… you lost me. And then I went home and stewed on it a while.

Yes, the movie is faith-based, but it was a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good movie. It spoke to me on a very simple level… motherhood. These women would be my friends, they’d be the ones I chat with at school pick-up, they’d be the ones I met for coffee and shared our parenting troubles. The fact that they go to church wouldn’t make me not be friends with them. So why would the mention of the “J” word, when these people were clearly religious, make me stay away from the movie? It wouldn’t. It shouldn’t. It was one word. ONE. Out of the entire movie, one word shouldn’t dismiss the validity and the honesty and humor. And the second time I saw it… at the amazing Chinese Theater in Hollywood… it didn’t bother me at all. Not. At. All. 

So… back to the red carpet. OMG so much fun! 

As I said before, everyone involved with this movie was exceptionally nice. Since I had never been on the red carpet before as press (or as anything else) I had no idea what to expect, but I honestly can say this was one of the most fun events I had ever attended. I’m not usually star-struck when it comes to celebrities, but people… some of the Grey’s Anatomy cast was there. Holy cow… I felt dizzy. I adore that show… and all the actors. Serious fan-girl spasms.

Not only did I get the chance to talk to the actors on the red carpet, I had the chance to see the movie for the second time (and loved it even more) and then attend the after-party at Lucky Strike. And yes… the actors were at the after-party as well. I know everyone wonders is they really show up. They really do!

Wednesday was Movie Junket day. This was a first for me as well, but it was incredible. We had the chance to ask questions of the actors and really get a feel for who they are and what is coming up next in their careers. Of course, I was the one too shy and uncomfortable to ask questions, and I hope I didn’t sit there with my mouth open too much. I just loved listening to how this movie all came together and getting some insightful tidbits from them directly.

Patricia Heaton has always amazed me. I still watch the reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond late at night. I’ll overlook the fact that my husband texted me during the interview and wanted me to tell her he had a crush on her. Really? How did I not know this? One of the things I didn’t realize is that she had two small sons and was pregnant with her 3rd son during the first season of Raymond. Talk about multi-tasking. She then went on to have a 4th son… FOUR boys? I can’t even imagine. While her sons really enjoyed the movie, none of them wanted to come to the premiere. You know, it’s just that acting thing that Mom and Dad do. I get that… sometimes I think my kids are going to be more impressed with things I do than they are. I also found out that she was instrumental in getting Sarah Drew to play the title role of Allison. She recommended her to the filmmakers and they fell in love with her too. Patricia believed in this movie so much that she came on as a Producer as well.

Sean Astin I had met back at the ENMN Conference when I first screened this movie. What a life he’s led. The son of actors Patty Duke and John Astin, he was so up front about the fact that he had kind of a crazy childhood. With a bi-polar Mom and a hippy Dad, he said the best thing about his childhood was that he always knew he was loved. In the movie, one of the characters says, “You all beat yourselves up so much, it must be exhausting.” It’s so true. We tend to focus so much on the things we do wrong that we don’t see the things we do right. If our kids grow up and know that they are loved… that’s the best take-away we can give them as a parent. One of the things I love about Sean is the love and respect he has for his wife. He gets that moms need to have a separate identity other than that attached to their husband and children. He also has an unwavering respect for the work that goes into being a mom. I can only hope my husband talks about me the way he talks about his wife.

Talking with filmmakers (and brothers) Andy Irwin and John Irwin is like talking with your own brothers. They are both fathers and ran much of the movie’s scenes past their wives for input. The entire theme of the movie, that moms do everything for everyone else but rarely does anyone do anything for them, is going to resonate with everyone. John is calling this a “MomCom” (Mom Comedy) and hopes that it will be the start of a genre of recognizing how important moms are. The movie took 2 years from reading the draft of it to the final release date. That’s a long time to focus on one project. There were lots of questions about a sequel… and no definitive answer. Maybe a “Dads’ Night Out?”

Sarah Drew is more gorgeous in person than she is even on TV or the big screen. I have a girl crush on her. There, I said it. I love her. But in that I-want-to-be-your-best-friend way, not in a stalker kind of way. She has my favorite scene in the entire movie (I won’t give it away, but it happens in the beginning). She completely encompasses everything that I have always felt as a mom. With three kids in the film, she is struggling with not being good enough… for them, for her husband, and for herself. The chaos that comes with the every day can get overwhelming… and the beauty of this movie is that is shows that it’s okay to have a meltdown every now and then… it’s okay to rely on your friends and your husband. It’s okay to just live in the moment and not have to be perfect. None of us is perfect… not the wife with a great husband, not the single mom who is just trying to do the best she can for her child, and not the Preacher’s wife who has to hide her struggles with her teenage daughter. WE AREN’T PERFECT. AND THAT’S OKAY! 

Sarah summed it up perfectly when she said, “Motherhood is isolating.” I think that’s why so many of us start blogging. Did I mention that Sarah’s character, Allison, is a blogger? Okay… just go see the movie. It would be the perfect treat for the entire family for Mother’s Day.

I was invited to the premiere and junket for Moms’ Night Out through my affiliation with the Entertainment & New Media Network. I was not provided compensation in any way for my post. All opinions are completely honest and my own.