Mother's Day

Sandy, a divorced interior designer with two sons, runs into Bradley, a widowed father of two daughters, while shopping in Atlanta. Both are juggling complicated relationships and the looming Mother's Day, and their casual chat hints at a growing connection. The encounter also hints at how their ex-spouses and past loves color their present lives.

Kristin, adopted at birth and a mother herself, contemplates marrying the father of her child, Zack. Her friend Jesse urges her to search for her birth mother, sparking questions about identity and belonging. The dynamic foreshadows the theme of mothers and mother figures running through the day.

Jesse and Gabi each navigate relationships with partners and children, while their racist and homophobic parents, Earl and Florence, arrive and challenge them. The families must confront who their daughters are and whom they love. The tension accelerates as old prejudices threaten fragile new bonds.

Kristin visits Miranda in Atlanta as she promotes a new book, and their relationship heals after years apart. The reconciliation leads Kristin to ask Zack to marry her on live television, with Miranda participating in the ceremony. It becomes a celebration of mothers and chosen families.

Sandy hopes to land the job designing the stage for Miranda's talk show, but a chain of delays makes her late for the design meeting. When she finally presents, she speaks bluntly and humorously about her life, catching Miranda's attention and winning the job.

Jesse and Gabi's families are confronted by their parents when the couples gather in a camper-van. Russell's mom intervenes via Skype, and the pressure forces Russell to make up with Jesse. The moment underscores the broader theme of mothers guiding relationships.

The families, including Russell's mom traveling from Vegas, converge as they prepare for Mother's Day. A park setting becomes the backdrop for reconciling differences and celebrating the maternal bonds that tie the group together.

Sandy visits the hospital for her younger son's asthma attack, while Bradley is there after a mishap at the Mother's Day party leaving him with a broken leg. He helps her free herself from a vending machine—an awkward but telling moment—and his daughters' encouragement nudges him toward seeing Sandy in a new light.

Sandy's ex-husband Henry has remarried a younger woman, Tina, which complicates Sandy's feelings about her own relationships. The development reinforces the film's theme of evolving families and the many forms maternal love can take.

After their hospital encounter and the support of his daughters, Bradley starts to view Sandy less as a casual acquaintance and more as a potential partner. He begins to recognize the caregiver, stability, and humor that Sandy brings to his life.

With the design job secured, Sandy becomes a valued part of Miranda's production team, helping to shape a show that centers on mothers and families. Her relationship with Bradley slowly deepens in the background as both navigate their complicated pasts.

The Mother's Day celebration brings all the intersecting stories together—Sandy, Bradley, Kristin, and the others—into a single, accepting day. Families come to terms with who they are and who they love, reframing their bonds around the power of mothers and chosen families.