Mother's Day

First Hit:  Schmaltzy in so many ways, and yet I was touched by the four major mother’s day stories.

The stories are:  A divorced mother Jennifer Aniston (as Sandy) dealing with her husband’s new young wife Tina (Shay Mitchell) and he children’s interaction with the new step-mom.

Britt Robertson and Julia Roberts (as Kristin and Miranda respectively) who represent an adoptive child finding and reconciling with her mother.

Jason Sudeikis (as Bradley), whose wife was killed while serving her country, raising two girls alone and how will he treat this emotive day.

Lastly Kate Hudson and Sarah Clarke (as Jesse and Gabi respectively) as sisters who have marriages (one sister marries a foreigner and the other is in a gay marriage) that their parents reject.

As with most Garry Marshall films, the film has multiple interrelated stories and they are not hard hitting. Even though they aren't amazingly dynamic or intellectually challenging, the stories touch on themes the general population knows about and has experienced in some way.

Marshall makes it easy for the audience to laugh about these situations, which really have much deeper roots and societal impact.

Aniston is really good. I loved when she was sitting in her car while in the grocery store parking yelling to herself about her situation. As the mother who is now dealing with a rival, she’s tells this story well. Mitchell is good as the new step-mom. Robertson is very good as the young mother being hesitant to marry her child’s father because of the uncertainty she has from not ever meeting her biological mom. Roberts’ smile makes her role as TV sales spokeswoman work well. When she meets her grandchild for the first time, the emotion welling up in her is perfect. Sudeikis is strong and funny as the dad learning how to be the sole support for his two smart wonderful daughters. Hudson and Clarke are great as sisters hiding their lives from their parents. The screenplay, although its grit level is softball in nature, was written by Tom Hines, Anya Kochoff Romano, and Matt Walker. Garry Marshall directed this with his usual easy listening manner, which was entertaining, included funny bits, and there were a couple of tears due to my own life experiences.

Overall:  Although it’s a light softball type film, there are deeper roots Marshall is letting the audience ponder.

Valentine's Day

First Hit: A funny, cute and lighthearted romp with a huge cast ensuring its popularity.

Did I say huge cast? Here is a partial listing: Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Taylor Swift, Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Alba, Hector Elizondo, and Anne Hathaway and that’s not everyone who is in this film.

This cast alone would drive people to the box office but it is also a Garry Marshall film and it opened on Valentine’s Day weekend so it was almost guaranteed to be successful. I saw this with my partner on Valentine's Day and there were lots of couples in the theater.

From an entertainment point of view, this film was also a success. The story lines are varied; from old time lovers still deepening and rekindling their love to young lovers discovering their next steps. There is a counterpoint of people who struggle and don’t particularly like Valentine’s Day.

The film begins with a man asking a woman to marry him, she says "yes" then has a change of heart. It segues into a boy living with his grandparents and having a crush on his teacher and he wants to give her a valentine but the teacher is deeply involved with a man whom she discovers is married.

There is the story of a mother returning from her overseas Army assignment to be with her love for just 18 hours before she has to return to her assignment. Then there is a football player announcing he is gay which will allow him to be public with his relationship.

These and many more stories were packed into this film. It would be hard to not relate to at least one of them in some way.

I won’t comment on all the performances but bring up a couple which I thought were worth noting. I enjoyed Biel being more physical in her comedy than in previous films. She was very enjoyable to watch. I enjoyed both Garner and Hathaway in their respective roles as teacher and part time phone sex operator. Marshall doesn’t take a lot of risks in this film (which is true to form for him) but he doesn't need to, the story and actors bring it all together under his guiding hand.

Overall: This was a well marketed film that delivered enough laughs and story line to keep me interested for the entire film.