I'm starting this post at 2:49am. I'm just too wired to sleep after seeing a sneak preview of
Moms' Night Out!
Not only am I jazzed because it's so well done, but because it's so inspiring! It really makes me want to do my part in getting other films like it into theatres.
Sarah Drew (
Grey's Anatomy, Mad Men, Castle) plays a frazzled mother of three, who can't quite seem to stay on top of her dream job: raising her three adorable children. Her loving husband, played by Sean Astin (
Lord of the Rings, Rudy) urges her to do something for herself, so she arranges, well, a moms' night out with her best friend, played by Logan White (
Sarah's Choice, Brother White, Revelation Road), and her pastor's wife, played by Patricia Heaton (
Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle), who took comedy to an entirely new plane. The night goes hilariously wrong.
And yet the comedy is hilariously right! Some years ago, our friend Jeff Allen invited us to his show at a NYC comedy club. He could have powered a lear jet with the laughs his clean comedy brought that night. It was quite noticeably more appreciated than any of the other comics who were less creative with the English language. Their laugh meters would have been powering lawn mowers in comparison.
I really hope we see a similar response with
Moms' Night Out. This is some seriously funny stuff, and you don't have be concerned about being dragged through the sewer around the next bend. The most vulgar moment is when Patricia Heaton's character texts someone and her autocorrect fills in "p--p." I'm not spelling it out of respect for the memory of my dear grandma who washed my mouth out with soap for saying that word. But if she were around I know she'd love this film!
A lot of the humor comes straight out of those adorable children. The film was cast by Bev Holloway (
Beyond the Mask, Like Dandelion Dust, The Ultimate Gift), who has been a MasterClass instructor at
MasterWorks. There are some lines the children say that Joyce and I are going to be quoting to each other for weeks!
Kevin Downes (
Courageous, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius) produced (
The Lost Medallion, Like Dandelion Dust) and also played the best friend of Sean Astin's character. Kevin, Sarah and Sean were all on hand after the screening to answer questions by Joe Battaglia, who ran "Live from The Lamb's" when I was an intern at The Lamb's Church of the Nazarene in the mid-90's.
Kevin shared how they literally watched storms split so that filming could go on. He drove to Sean Astin at about this time of night to hand him the script because that fit with Sean's schedule.
Sean said that because of his friendship with Kevin all he had to do was flip through it to see if there was anything bad in it. Sean commended the film team for mentioning Jesus. He said that we all have to count the cost when you speak the name of Jesus (in reverential tones). He pointed out that it never gets a neutral response. People are either filled with joy, antagonistic or curious.
Sarah,
who spoke about her faith on The View, said, "Moms are unsung heroes. They're raising eternal beings." This next part I didn't get down, but she basically said that these eternal beings can grow up to be cynical and focused on themselves or filled with joy and focused on helping others. She said, "Moms need an award. You won't get it from this culture, so here you go!" Not only is the film a reward for moms, it's a gift to everyone who's ever had a mom! This film can help everyone on the planet have a better appreciation for their mother!
I also have to give a shout out to my friend Jason Burkey (
October Baby) who performed with me in
For the Glory and
The Screenwriters. He plays a DJ who brings the bowling alley to life with his jumping tunes, but he was so transformed for the character we didn't know it was him until the credits rolled.
Speaking of the credits, be sure to stay to the end for a very fun scene they said was intended for the main story but had to be cut for time.
We're going back opening weekend, which starts Friday, so we can watch Jason knowing that it's him, and to laugh ourselves silly again! We also want to support its opening weekend, since those are the critical days in the life of a film, and because of what I said at the top about this inspiring more films like it, we want this one to do very well.
Even if you've already figured out your Mother's Day gift, add this to the list. You'll both be so glad you did!
Well, we watched it opening weekend and we loved it just as much. As we walked out, Joyce said, "Well, there were some lines I missed the first time because I was laughing so hard."
Even the Huffington Post posted a great review:
Moms' Night Out: A Film for the Family
Christians might also want to know:
* A fictional married couple makes out.
* There are a few acts of violence.
* The word p--p is spelled out on screen.
That's about it!
Now taking applications for the MasterWorks Festival theatre program: 
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