Fresh off her wedding and honeymoon, Jennifer Aniston is back at work, seen here in Atlanta on the set of Mother’s Day, directed by Garry Marshall. You’ll recall, Garry Marshall also directed Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. It’s almost like he doesn’t know that holidays are already schmaltzy. Mother’s Day will be released in time for Mother’s Day 2016.
Last year, around this time, we were wondering about Jennifer Aniston’s Cake which had just been confirmed to be part of the TIFF lineup. After TIFF, Jen hired an Oscar strategist and went about working on an Oscar campaign that ultimately didn’t work. But the point was that she wanted to be taken seriously, that she deserved to be considered alongside the Julianne Moores and the Cate Blanchetts of the world. It might not seem like Mother’s Day fits into that plan but maybe, maybe it’s about asking audiences to perceive her differently – as a mom? Even if it is in the context of a romantic comedy? IF that’s what we’re doing here, I don’t hate the strategy. For so long she was doing the “hot girl” thing and that may have been working against her in being cast in dramas that required her to appeal to a different demo. Or…nah. Perhaps I’m giving this a lot more thought than she did.
Anyway, in Mother’s Day, Jen plays a divorced mom whose ex-husband Timothy Olyphant just remarried a young beautiful woman who wants to be the best stepmother ever to her kids. Um, I think they might have just sold me on this movie based on Timothy Olyphant.
