Allyson (Sarah Drew, Grey's Anatomy) is a stressed-out mom of three young children, trying to keep her household from descending into complete chaos while architect husband Sean (Sean Astin, Lord of the Rings) is often away on business. She is also trying to launch her fledgling blog, but it isn't going so well. Her best friend Izzy (Andrea Logan White) pretty much seems to have it all together, even though her husband Marco (Robert Amaya) is terrified of toddlers (and luchadores and bikers, but that's another story) and she has twin toddler sons. Allyson's role model is her pastor's wife, Sondra (Patricia Heaton, Everybody Loves Raymond), who seems to know just what to do in every situation, whether it be with church members, her husband and his ministry, or her teen daughter, Zoe (Sammi Hanratty). But things aren't always as they appear.
Allyson decides she needs a girls' night out and invites Izzy and Sondra to join her, leaving husbands Sean and Marco in charge of the kids. Allyson is none too happy when Sean's videogame-loving/ kid-hating best buddy Kevin (Kevin Downes) comes over to help AND Sean's little sister Bridget (Abbie Cobb) asks her to babysit her infant son while she starts a new job, but Allyson goes on with the night out, determined to do something for herself. Surely, the night will go perfectly, right?
For starters, the elite restaurant they had planned to dine at doesn't have their reservation, so they end up at the local bowling alley, the same place Bridget has just started her job. Why they didn't just choose another restaurant is anybody's guess, but seeing Bridget sets off a chain of events that involves the gaggle of women off searching for Bridget's infant son Phoenix, who was left in the care of Bridget's ex Joey. The women eventually end up at a tattoo parlor run by an imposing man named Bones (Trace Adkins), well known to Bridget, who hops on his bike and joins the search. In addition to the baby hunt going on, dads Sean and Marco, with Kevin in tow, take the kids to a local arcade, where comedy and injury ensue. There's also some nonsense with Allyson's "stolen" van, which contains all of the ladies' cell phones that have been sequestered in the van to prevent any disruptions of their night. Naturally, this leads to no one being able to reach each other and chaos erupts, eventually leading to the involvement of the police, a biker gang and a bunch of church members.
When all is said and done, the moral of the story and the driving force behind the film is that moms are very important. The job they do is hard and they are under-appreciated. The film does wax a bit preachy at times, but not overly so, and it does show that everyone has their flaws and past mistakes, but that doesn't stop them from trying to be the best that they can be. I can personally say that, had I spent the evening going through what this group did, more than a few F-bombs would have been dropped, but I don't recall one curse word throughout the entire film, which is pretty rare these days.
Moms' Night Out comes with a handful of special features including some deleted scenes, a blooper reel and featurettes on the making of the film, casting the film, and the action and comedy improv involved. There's also a commentary on the film, which was a bit amusing.
While Moms' Night Out is not the best movie, it's a cute romp and one in which the entire family can enjoy without fear of objectionable material, unless coloring on walls is considered objectionable. And it might be, depending on your taste in art and décor, and your kids' access to paint. I do have to commend the way mom Allyson handles the situation, though.
