MOTHER'S DAY

(2016) Might as well lay this out first, and take the abuse straight off: I love Jennifer Aniston.  I don't know why, to me there is something about her that just seems real and unpretentious; like the kind of gal pal you could sit and have one rowdy night of drinking in a bar with.  Maybe it's because I've met Lisa Kudrow (not a friendly gal) and Courteney Cox (polite, no issues, and all business), but sight unseen Aniston is the Friend I think I'd most like to have as a friend.  She's also the main reason I watched Garry Marshall's last film as director, Mother's Day, which centers around a few loosely connected plotlines of various moms and the holiday's effect on them.  Sandy (Aniston) is okay with being divorced until her ex-husband (Timothy Olyphant) surprises her by marrying his much-younger girlfriend, awakening feelings of inadequacy in her, especially when the new step-mommy - nice as she is - plays up to her kids.  Jesse (Kate Hudson) is a wife and mom who has managed to keep her marriage to an Asian man a secret due to her parents' conservative, racially-insensitive views ... even as her sister Gabi (Sarah Chalke), living across the street with her female partner, is out enough to not care - until, on Mother's Day, Jesse's parents show up on their doorstep for a surprise visit.  Meanwhile, Bradley (Jason Sudeikis) along with his young daughters, is still mourning the death of his wife the year before, while new mom Kristin (Britt Robertson) is dodging pressure to marry from her stand-up comic-wannabe boyfriend Zack (Jack Whitehall) - while home shopping guru Miranda (Julia Roberts), unmarried and without kids, is trying to ignore the holiday entirely even as a surprise is heading her way.  A lot of characters and storylines, yes - and it's part of why the film doesn't quite work, even though I liked it much better than I thought I would; there are moments of both good comedy and drama, and with a cast like this it can't be a total loss.  But overall, while the sentiment is strong the execution is a bit scattered emotionally.  Worth a look, but could have been so much more; and Julia, what's with that hair? (rated PG-13)  6.5/10 stars