Fun Mom Dinner

{{Infobox film

| name = Fun Mom Dinner

| image = Fun Mom Dinner.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Alethea Jones

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Andrew Duncan
Alex Saks
Naomi Scott

}}

| writer = Julie Yaeger Rudd

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Julian Wass

| cinematography = Sean McElwee

| editing = Jonathan Corn

| studio = {{Plainlist|

June Pictures
Gettin Rad Productions

}}

| distributor = Momentum Pictures

| released = {{Film date|2017|1|27|Sundance|2017|8|4|United States}}

| runtime = 81 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

}}

Fun Mom Dinner is a 2017 American comedy film directed by Alethea Jones, from a screenplay by Julie Rudd. It stars Katie Aselton, Toni Collette, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Adam Scott, and Adam Levine.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2017. It was released on August 4, 2017, by Momentum Pictures.

Plot

When four moms come together for a "fun mom dinner", the night takes an unexpected turn.

Cast

Toni Collette as Kate
Molly Shannon as Jamie
Bridget Everett as Melanie
Katie Aselton as Emily
Adam Scott as Tom
Rob Huebel as Andrew
Adam Levine as Luke
Paul Rust as Barry
Sam Lerner as Alex
Kathryn Prescott as Zoe
Jaz Sinclair as Olivia
Hart Denton as James
Paul Rudd as Brady
David Wain as Wayne
John Early as Alfred
Jessie Ennis as Francesca
Jessica Chaffin as Jen
Emmersyn Fiorentino as Grace
Owen Vaccaro as Lucas
Caleb and Matthew Paddock as Henry

Production

On June 22, 2016, it was reported that Alethea Jones would direct Fun Mom Dinner from a script by Julie Yaeger Rudd, featuring a cast including Toni Collette, Molly Shannon, Bridget Everett, and Adam Scott. Filming began that day in Los Angeles.{{cite web|last1=McNary|first1=Dave|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/toni-collette-molly-shannon-fun-mom-dinner-1201801464/|title=Toni Collette, Molly Shannon to Star in 'Fun Mom Dinner' (EXCLUSIVE)|date=June 22, 2016|work=Variety|publisher=Penske Business Media|accessdate=July 16, 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Wright|first1=Megh|url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/06/molly-shannon-bridget-everett-toni-collette-and-more-to-star-in-fun-mom-dinner.html|title=Molly Shannon, Bridget Everett, Toni Collette, and More to Star in 'Fun Mom Dinner'|date=June 22, 2016|work=Vulture Comedy|publisher=New York Media|accessdate=July 16, 2016}} Julian Wass composed the film's score.{{cite web|url=http://filmmusicreporter.com/2016/11/09/julian-wass-to-score-fun-mom-dinner/|title=Julian Wass to Score 'Fun Mom Dinner'|website=Film Music Reporter|author=filmmusicreporter|date=November 9, 2016|accessdate=November 9, 2016}}

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/12/sundance-2017-premieres-midnight-special-events-robert-redford-rashida-jones-1201864406/|title=Sundance 2017: Robert Redford, New Rashida Jones Netflix Series, 'Rebel In The Rye' & More On Premiere, Docu, Midnight & Kids Slates|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|first=Dominic|last=Patten|date=December 5, 2016|accessdate=December 5, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sundance.org/projects/fun-mom-dinner|title=Fun Mom Dinner|website=Sundance Film Festival|publisher=The Sundance Institute|accessdate=January 18, 2017|archivedate=November 17, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117055652/https://www.sundance.org/projects/fun-mom-dinner|url-status=deviated}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sundance.org/pdf/film-guide/SFF17_FilmGuide_Web_Dec12.pdf|title=2017 Sundance Film Festival: Printable Film Guide|website=Sundance Film Festival|publisher=The Sundance Institute|accessdate=December 13, 2016|archivedate=December 20, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220174451/http://www.sundance.org/pdf/film-guide/SFF17_FilmGuide_Web_Dec12.pdf|url-status=deviated}} Prior to Sundance, Momentum Pictures and Netflix acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/01/fun-mom-dinner-momentum-netflix-sundance-film-festival-1201890093/|title='Fun Mom Dinner' Racks Up Near $5M In WW Deals As Momentum, Netflix Buy Sundance Film|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|date=January 19, 2017|accessdate=January 19, 2017}} It was released in a limited release and through video on demand on August 4, 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.etonline.com/movies/219897_exclusive_fun_mom_dinner_poster_julie_rudd_interview/|title=EXCLUSIVE: Meet the Moms of 'Fun Mom Dinner' -- and Check Out the Movie's Poster!|website=Entertainment Tonight|publisher=CBS Television Distribution|first=John|last=Boone|date=June 19, 2017|accessdate=June 27, 2017}} It was released through Netflix on December 31, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/11/whats-new-on-netflix-december-2017.html|title=What's New on Netflix: December 2017|website=Vulture|publisher=New York Media|first=Andrew|last=Lapin|date=November 30, 2017|accessdate=April 29, 2018}}

Reception

=Critical response=

Fun Mom Dinner received generally negative reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 33% approval rating, based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 4.45/10.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fun_mom_dinner|title=Fun Mom Dinner (2017)|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media|accessdate=November 14, 2019}} Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fun-mom-dinner|title=Fun Mom Dinner Reviews|work=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|accessdate=September 4, 2018}}

Reviewing the film for The New York Times, Nicole Herrington called it a "thin script" but praised the chemistry along the leads, and Everett's performance.{{cite web|last1=Herrington|first1=Nicole|title=Review: 'Fun Mom Dinner' Means a Night Out Without the Kids|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/movies/fun-mom-dinner-review.html|website=The New York Times|date=August 3, 2017|accessdate=August 5, 2017}} Christy Lemire reviewing for Roger Ebert's website gave the film one-and-a-half stars on the basis that the film "makes the repeated mistake of banging us over the head with its running gags and needlessly spelling everything out, making the movie feel longer than its 81 minutes," and summarizing that "These are indeed moms, and they do have dinner, but the “fun” part is in short supply."{{cite web|last1=Lemire|first1=Christy|title=Fun Mom Dinner Movie Review & Film Summary|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fun-mom-dinner-2017|website=RogerEbert.com|publisher=Ebert Digital LLC|accessdate=August 5, 2017|date=August 4, 2017}} The A.V. Club gave the film a "C" grade calling the film uninspired, and "undeniably disappointing when a movie called Fun Mom Dinner isn’t, well, much fun."{{cite web|last1=Rife|first1=Katie|title=Moms run mild in the bloodless Fun Mom Dinner|url=https://www.avclub.com/review/moms-run-mild-bloodless-fun-mom-dinner-258949|website=The A.V. Club|publisher=The Onion|accessdate=August 5, 2017|date=August 3, 2017}}

=Accolades=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Nominee ! Result
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" \| 2018 \| Guild of Music Supervisors Awards \| Best Music Supervision for Films Budgeted Under $5 Million \|style="text-align:center;"\| Howard Paar \| {{Nom}}
Yoga Awards \| You Too Award \|style="text-align:center;"\| Alethea Jones \| {{Won}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Nominee

! Result

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2018

| Guild of Music Supervisors Awards

| Best Music Supervision for Films Budgeted Under $5 Million

|style="text-align:center;"| Howard Paar

| {{Nom}}

Yoga Awards