Mother of the Bride

Story

Young professional Emma Winslow (Miranda Cosgrove) gets a surprise romantic proposal from her boyfriend R.J. (Sean Teale). She excitedly accepts but is concerned about how her mother, Lana (Brooke Shields), might react.

Flying home, Emma announces both her engagement and her intention to run her own business, with her previous employer Discovery Resorts sponsoring her destination wedding in return for publicity. Stunned by the news, Lana is concerned that this might not be what Emma really wants, but she insists that she’s happy for Emma.

After traveling to Phuket for the wedding, Lana meets up with her college friends Janice (Rachael Harris), Clay (Michael McDonald) and Scott (Wilson Cruz). While catching up, she discovers that R.J.’s father is Will Jackson (Benjamin Bratt), her ex-boyfriend who broke her heart in their college years.

As the wedding planning progresses, both Lana and Emma begin to advocate for themselves and follow their hearts, with Lana learning that it’s never too late for love.

Themes

Overcoming heartbreak; love; not losing yourself for others; grief; loss; regret; monetisation

Violence

Mother of the Bride has some violence. For example:

Lana hits a ball into Will’s groin, causing him to fall backwards to the floor in pain.
Lana drops her chair on Will’s foot, causing him to yell and limp backwards.

Sexual references

Mother of the Bride has some sexual references. For example:

Lana accidentally hits a ball into Will’s genitals, and there’s a close-up of Will clutching his groin area in pain. Janice later remarks that Lana had ‘hit the ball into his pickle’.
Janice frequently sexualises male characters, pointing out their body parts and referring to them in a sexual way.
Janice meets resort staff member Harley and jokes that she has ‘never ridden a Harley before’.
Lana and Janice stare at a much younger, shirtless man, with whom Lana ends up going on a date.
While on a date, a male character jokes that the date must be going well because Lana is ‘already talking about her caboose’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Mother of the Bride shows some use of substances. For example:

Characters sip cocktails in many scenes.
Four adult characters drink beer and get visibly drunk on a beach.
Characters drink shots at the wedding reception.
Janice suffers from a hangover.

Nudity and sexual activity

Mother of the Bride has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Men are shirtless in many scenes.
Lana walks in on Will when he has just stepped out of the shower. He’s naked apart from a hat over his genitals.
The engaged couple kiss, as do many other couples, including Clay and Scott.
Four characters go skinny-dipping together. Only their silhouettes can be seen.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in Mother of the Bride:

Billboards in London advertise McDonalds, Burberry, Hyundai and Coca-Cola.
Emma frequently discusses her social media engagement on Instagram, and the Instagram homepage is shown.
There are many close-ups of Singha beer, particularly on a beach alongside a tablet playing ‘We got the beat’ by The Go-Gos.
A character buys Lays and Pringles from a supermarket.
Emma works on an Apple MacBook and an Apple iPhone.
Staff wear uniforms with the Anatara Resorts logo.

Coarse language

Mother of the Bride has some coarse language, including ‘jerk’, ‘jackass’, ‘ass’, ‘hell’, ‘pissed off’ and ‘crap’. Also, referring to the wedding planner, Janice asks Lana whether she wanted to ‘tear her a new one’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Mother of the Bride is a witty, heartwarming and predictable romantic comedy.

Mother of the Bride has significant crude and sexualised humour, with many characters either sexualised or sexualising others. Because of this and its darker themes to do with heartbreak, grief and fear of being alone, the movie isn’t suitable for children under 10 years. We also recommend parental guidance for children aged 10-12 years.

The main messages from Mother of the Bride are about the importance of family and a strong support network. The movie also emphasises second chances and the idea that it’s never too late for love.

Values in Mother of the Bride that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, family relationships, persistence, resilience and self-belief.

Mother of the Bride could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:

communicating openly to avoid misunderstandings
getting the right balance between social media engagement and personal fulfilment
navigating grief and heartbreak.