See Mother's Day!

"Mother's Day" is the latest star studded ensemble comedy from director Garry Marshall ("Pretty Woman," "Valentine's Day"). Bringing together Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson and Julia Roberts along with Jason Sudeikis, it's a celebration of mothers everywhere. This big-hearted comedy invites us all to enjoy the laughter, tears and love as three generations come together in the week leading up to Mother's Day.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of viewing Mother's Day the movie and being part of the Q & A afterwards with Gary Marshall. Mother's Day was hilarious, entertaining and it tugs at the heart.

With different plots addressing everyday circumstances and concerns, it brings to life that humor, understanding and acceptance must be a part of our daily lives or we lose sight of what really matters. Life is about family, joy, love, humanity, patience, humility and growth.

Without giving the plot away I'm going to focus on Jennifer Aniston (Sandy) and Timothy Olyphant (Henry) who were married and have two sons. The relationship depicted on screen was the exact opposite what society deems the typical co-parenting relationship should be. These two parents respected one another, communicated and most importantly animosity and hostility were set aside. It was pointed out that after a few years they "got the co-parenting relationship down" and they were now friends.

The key is that in those first few years of working out the kinks they knew that everything they were working towards was for the betterment of the children. How beautiful to see this type of dynamic on the big screen and having a Hollywood director see the importance of co-parenting and setting the normalization of what needs to be presented. Thank you Gary Marshall for highlighting what should be the typical behavior of parents that co-parent.

Co-parenting relationships are depicted as vicious, dark, angry, bitter, uncompromising and an all out war. Unfortunately this is the norm in movies to get a few laughs and in turn people think society should partake in this shameful behavior. However in Mother's Day, it was the exact opposite, to top it off it showed how the kids were healthy, happy, well adjusted and in tune with both parents.

Without spoiling what will be a great experience, I do recommend you seeing the movie and taking mental notes. Observe the dynamics of their relationship, be aware of how jealousy can destroy a bond, visualize what you'd like to see in your co-parenting partnership and make that happen. It will take practice, patience and both parents willing to understand that the children come first in order for it to work.

*The YouTube link provided is when I had the opportunity to thank Mr. Marshall for showing parents that are divorced and are able to co-parent amicably, most importantly putting it on the big screen so that this can be the new accepted norm. Thank you Mr. Marshall for bringing life to characters that we can all relate with.