AVS Forum banner

Moms' Night Out (Blu-ray) Official AVSforum Review

1K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Woobieizer 
#1 · (Edited)


All Allyson and her friends want is a peaceful, grown-up evening of dinner and conversation... a long-needed moms’ night out. But in order to enjoy high heels, adult conversation and food not served in a paper bag, they need their husbands to watch the kids for three hours—what could go wrong?



The Review at a Glance:
(max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:
( Max score: 100 )

85



Details:

Studio and Year: Sony Pictures - 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Feature running time: 99 minutes
Genre: Comedy

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, English/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Starring: Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, David Hunt, Andrea Logan White, Trace Adkins
Directed by: The Erwin Brothers
Music by: Marc Fantini
Written by: Andrea Nasfell & Jon Erwin
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: September 2, 2014


"What could wrong?"


My Take:

Moms’ night out is a roadshow style comedy that follows a group of burnt out moms that are desperately in need of a little rest and relaxation away from the rigors or motherhood. To that end they makes plans for a girl’s night out evening at a fancy restaurant in the hopes of unwinding. Mom’s Allyson, Izzy and Sondra team up and head out leaving husbands Sean and Marco to watch their little ones, while Sondra leaves specific instructions that her teenage daughter Zoe remain home and NOT out with her shifty boyfriend. Things quickly go awry when they arrive at the restaurant and discover Allyson made the reservation for the wrong day. From there a series of mishaps, misunderstandings, and a misplaced infant lead them to an unforgettable evening of adventure that brings each of them to the realization that perhaps life at home isn’t as bad as they thought.

Moms’ night out blends a light Christian theme with overtly silly situational humor and what appears to be an underlying message that fathers aren’t capable of watching their kids for one evening. I am pretty sure that truly wasn’t the intent however the dads in this one are only one step shy of being children themselves. The first two acts are poorly written and go from one predictably outlandish gag to the next. The context about gender roles escalates along with it and continues into the finale which hits the brakes and gets a little too schmaltzy as all is well that ends well. Which leaves you wondering about the filmmaker’s agenda. Conceptually speaking the premise is fine but the execution/unevenness of the script in terms of tone if off putting. I didn’t find any of the characters to be especially interesting but had no real issue with the casting choices. When all was said and done I didn’t find Moms’ night out to be original or funny, just boring.


Parental Guide:


The rating is for mild thematic elements and some action.

AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100/EXCELLENT = 83-91/GOOD = 74-82/AVERAGE = 65-73/BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**



Audio: 80
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


  • Dynamics:
  • Low frequency effects:
  • Surround Sound presentation:
  • Clarity/Detail:
  • Dialogue Reproduction:
  • Low frequency extension * (non-rated element): NA


Video: 90
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


  • Resolution/Clarity:
  • Black Level/Shadow Detail:
  • Color Reproduction:
  • Fleshtones:
  • Compression:


Moms’ Night Out comes to Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 23 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of XXX Mbps.

This is a high quality video presentation that seems a perfect match for the source material. Colors are deeply saturated with eye pleasing vitality and delineated depth. Images are resolute, with stable sharpness, crisp detail and appreciable subtle refinement. Contrast is dynamic without being overpowering and blacks are respectable in depth with discernible detail in low lighting and shadows. I didn’t see any signs of video related artifacts and thought that in general video quality was excellent.

The lossless soundtrack competently delivered the elements present in the recording. Dialogue was well intonated with crystal clarity and good room penetration. The presentation offered an open soundstage across the front with definitive channel separation and good dynamic range. Surround use was limited to spatial cues and occasional panning effects that enhanced dimension. This was noticeable during the chase and bowling alley sequences and created a fair sense of envelopment in the rear of the room. There weren’t any sub bass frequencies contained in the mix however the subwoofer was used to provide low bass emphasis that extended the low range content associated with the soundtrack’s elements.

Bonus Features:
  • (HD) 5 deleted scenes
  • (HD) Blooper reel – 5 minutes
  • (HD) The heart of Moms’ Night Out – 4 minute featurette
  • (HD) Casting Mom’s Night Out – 6 minute featurette
  • (HD) The art of improv – 4 minute featurette
  • (HD) The art of action – 5 minute featurette
  • Filmmaker audio commentary
  • Ultraviolet Digital Copy





Final Thoughts:

Moms’ Night Out takes a decent premise for a situational comedy and overloads it with pallid humor and misplaced themes that result in a flat and boring genre entry. It comes to Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment featuring excellent high definition video quality, crystal clear lossless sound and a middling assortment of bonus material. For those that might be curious my advice would be to catch Moms’ Night Out on cable TV.







Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews



Reference Review System:

JVC DLA-RS4910 3D Ready 1080p High Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Calman 5 & C6 Meter from Spectracal)
Stewart Filmscreen - Studiotek 130 G3 100” 16x9 Screen
Carada Masquerade Horizontal Masking System
Marantz AV8801 11.2 Channel Audio/Video Processor
Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier
B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 Seven Channel Amplifier
Oppo BDP-103D Universal Disc/3D capable Blu-ray Player (With Darbee video processing)
Panasonic DMP-BDT310 3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
System Controller: Apple iPad/iRule Pro HD Universal Remote Control
Canton "Ergo" Series speakers
Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers
SVS PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)
SVS PC12-NSD
APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
Wireworld, Better Cables (Silver Serpent) - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package
 
See less See more
1 15
#2 · (Edited)
I lol several times.

Ralph, your reviews is honest and fair, this will make a great cable tv find.

I liked this movie. I thought the characters were developed and cast accordingly. However, I do not feel this is a shot to dad's ability to sit the kids..

This is a - daddybag's kick/punch - free movie.

Alabama shot, directed by Alabama brothers. Southern draw approved!!


MOMS' NIGHT OUT Patricia Heaton, Andrew Erwin: Photo by Saeed Adyani


That's Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band on Andrews shirt.



 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top