MOVIE TITLE: Military Wives
RATING: PG-13
LENGTH: 1 hour, 52 minutes
Movie Review Mom GRADE: B
IN A NUTSHELL:
Loosely inspired by true events, this dramedy features British military wives who have to go on with their lives while their husbands are off on a tour in Afghanistan. There are currently about 75 Military Wives
While I actually really like military movies, it’s nice to see one that focuses on the spouses back at home and explore the struggles they go through. When one of the wives tells her husband everything she does to keep the home fires burning, he says, ““I’ve always said you should be paid for what you do.” Indeed.
My own father and son have been in the military, so I’ve personally seen how, when a soldier is called into action, the entire family serves.
From the director who brought us the movie The Full Monty
TIPS FOR PARENTS:
- Lesbian couple
- LOTS of alcohol and talk of alcohol when there isn’t any around
- Teddy bears in an inappropriate position
- Talk of promiscuous teenage behavior
- Some profanity
THEMES:
- Military service
- Friendship, sisterhood
- Loss and love
- Sacrifice
- Patriotism
- Doing your duty
- The power of music
THINGS I LIKED:
- Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan make a delightfully contrasting pair.
- It’s hard not to get teary eyed a few times, even though the movie is predictable and manipulative.
- At the end of the movie, you get to see video clips of the military wives in real life who started the choir. Their efforts inspired the BBC TV special “The Choir: Military Wives”. Their motto is “Stronger Together”.
- Hopefully, this movie will inspire you to reach out to military families. Years ago, I lived near Camp Pendleton in San Diego. Our church put together Mother’s Day gift baskets for the wives, knowing that they probably wouldn’t receive anything otherwise because their husbands were away on duty. It was such a huge hit that we ended up doing it for other special holidays too. Even the smallest kindness lets the spouses know that they are not forgotten and that our country appreciates their sacrifices while their soldiers are away.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
- The background music during the scenes makes the film feel like a Hallmark movie….not that Hallmark movies are bad. It’s just really cheesy and address the military spouses’ experiences at a very surface level.
- The movie focuses on military wives who live on base. Not all military families live on base and are even more isolated with little support.
- Lisa acted like a crabby teenager.
- Extremely formulaic and predictable.
- It never made me laugh out loud. The humor is hit and miss.
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