Movie Reviews

‘Crappy Mother’s Day’ review: Title is 33% accurate

Agreed.

May 2, 2021

Crappy Mother’s Day starts with a faux newsreel complete with over the top 1950’s narration. It is filled with corny jokes (“Mother’s Day is when moms can save the dirty dishes until tomorrow!”) that set the tone. This is going to be a movie that aims low. The film is a family comedy about three generations of women. They all meet on Mother’s Day leading to a zany family reunion.

The movie never offers up much. Within moments, Crappy Mother’s Day highlights its haphazard atmosphere. When Sarah (Kristen Krak) and her fiancé (Addison Anderson) unexpectedly run into her mother (Jackie Debatin) and her fiancé Dimpy (Bill Rutkoski) the tone is all over the place. Within the space of a few minutes, things run from silly comedy to serious drama.

At least, that seems to be the intention. The comedy is filled with zingers that are only missing a rim shot. The jokes are a mix between forced awkwardness and uninspired visual comedy. What makes matters worse is the wooden delivery from the cast. It is hard to tell if this is more a problem of the writing, as it is prevalent throughout Crappy Mother’s Day.

Along with the poorly written jokes is the choice of music and sound effects. Bumbling tubas and oddly placed strings fill Crappy Mother’s Day. Oddly, this makes it impossible to take the jokes seriously. It is as if they are spoofing comedy instead of actually trying to be funny. If so, the writers do a wonderful job as nothing will cause laughter.

When Crappy Mother’s Day makes an honest attempt to be serious, it is even worse. Much like the funnier moments, it is hard to tell whether these scenes actually mean something. Since all the characters are so over the top, trying to feel pity or understanding them is impossible. Ultimately, the audience is always kept at arm’s length making for a difficult watch.