In theaters Mother’s Day weekend: Life of the Party and Breaking In
By Tyde Dermody
This Sunday is Mother’s Day and Hollywood is taking advantage of the occasion by releasing two movies about a couple of very different mothers.
The week’s new releases in theaters are Life of the Party and Breaking In. So which one should you spend your money on? Let’s take a closer look.
Life of the Party
Melissa McCarthy stars in the comedy as Deanna, a recently-divorced woman who decides to improve her life by re-enrolling in college. This is less than welcome news to Deanna’s daughter Maddie when the pair end up sharing a class. What follows is a comedic journey of self-discovery as Deanna plunges herself into the campus experience.
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Life of the Party sees McCarthy re-team with frequent collaborator (and always husband) Ben Falcone. He directs the film from a script co-written by himself and McCarthy. Co-starring are a slew of very funny women, including Maya Rudolph, Gillian Jacobs and Julie Bowen.
What are the critics saying?
Life of the Party isn’t screening for critics ahead of it’s release, so there is no word on how it is being received just yet.
Previous McCarthy/Falcone collaborations, however, were met with mainly negative reviews. Their first feature Tammy garnered an RT rating of 24% and follow-up The Boss did slightly worse with a rating of 22%. It is probably safe to assume that this latest effort will land somewhere in that range.
See it in theaters if:
- You are looking for a fun, light way to spend Mother’s Day.
- Tammy and/or The Boss appealed to you.
- You are a fan of Melissa McCarthy.
Breaking In
Shaun (Gabrielle Union) takes her daughter and son on a weekend getaway to a highly-secluded and high-tech vacation home that was owned by her late father. Shortly into their trip, a group of men break into the home in pursuit of something hidden inside it. Shaun escapes and finds herself on the outside of the seemingly impenetrable home, with her children – and the intruders – still inside.
Breaking In comes from Rampage scribe Ryan Engle and V for Vendetta director James McTeigue. Notable co-stars include Ajiona Alexus (young Cookie Lyon in Empire) and Billy Burke (Charlie Swan in The Twilight Saga.)
What are the critics saying?
As with Life of the Party, Breaking In is not being screened for critics before it hits theaters on Friday.
When a movie is not screened for critics it is usually a sign that reviews may not be favorable once they do come in. Director James McTeigue does have the critically-acclaimed V for Vendetta under his belt, but his following films were all met with much less positive reviews. I would predict that Breaking In stays under 30% when all of the reviews are tallied.
See it in theaters if:
- You are a fan of home-invasion movies.
- You’re looking for a thriller to see this weekend.
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So what are you planning to see in theaters this Mother’s Day? Will you go for the laughs with Life of the Party or the thrills with Breaking In? Both movies open in theaters this Friday, May 11th.