A grounded, soulful, celebratory comedy about three mothers and their adult sons. The film explores the stage after motherhood, Otherhood, when you have to redefine your relationship with your children, friends, spouse, and most importantly, yourself.
On Mother's Day, feeling marginalized and forgotten, longtime friends Carol (Angela Bassett), Gillian (Patricia Arquette) and Helen (Felicity Huffman) decide to drive to New York City to reconnect with their adult sons, and in the process, they realize their sons are not the only ones whose lives need to change. A journey to relate becomes a journey of rediscovery that forces these women to redefine their relationships with their children, friends, spouses and most importantly, themselves.—Netflix
Daniel Lieberman (Jake Hoffman), Paul Halston-Myers (Jake Lacy) and Matt Walker (Sinqua Walls) grew up together. Now, living in NYC, they ride with Daniel on his way to propose to Erin (Heidi Gardner). Using his key to enter, he comes across a naked man at his fridge, and she comes out of the bedroom mostly naked, surprised to see him.
In Poughkeepsie, NY, Carol Walker (Angela Bassett), Gillian Lieberman (Patricia Arquette) and Helen Halston (Felicity Huffman) meet every Mother's Day to commiserate their sons not recognizing the day and shutting them out. The mothers lament that they have been so much together, and still their boys cannot find time to share any of their lives with them.Gillian gives piano lessons to kids to be close to kids. Helen is too obsessed with her looks and image. Carol is hanging on to a large house in which she lives alone. Their boys were friends when they grew up together.
Matt is launching a new sports magazine. Gillian feels that Erin is not right for Daniel. Paul stopped calling Helen when she married Frank (Damian Young). The mothers are tired of being ignored and call it sick, emotional, waterboarding. They coin the term "Otherhood" for their state.Gillian mentions swooping in on them, but then takes it back. Helen motivates them all to do a road trip to surprise them.
Carol wants to get a hotel room, but Helen says that the boys can deal with their mothers visiting for a week.Carol is buzzed into the apartment by Matt. She finds a female undergarment on Matt's couch and immediately starts tidying up Matt's apartment. Helen loses her nerve and books a hotel room. Gillian tries at Daniel's, but as he doesn't answer also gets a room. Both Carol and Gillian call to report their progress, but Helen lies that she is staying with Paul.The next morning, Helen shows up at Paul's. When she introduces herself to his other gay roommates, she complains he never came out to her, although she always knew.Gillian also sees Daniel but is visibly resentful of the surprise. Daniel retorts that Gillian and her life, and he has his and prefers it that way. Gillian straightaway tries to set up Daniel with a Hebrew girl and says that Erin is not right for him. Daniel tells her that he broke up with Erin. Gillian gives Daniel Alison's number.
The moms meet up to compare notes. Their talk motivates Helen to move out of the hotel.That night as she preps a meal for Paul's housemates Calvin (Mario Cantone) and Miles (Tim Bagley), his boyfriend Andre (Frank De Julio) tells her a lot of his insecurity comes from abandonment issues as, after her divorce, she never had time for him. She was Pre-occupied with dating, hosting charity events and was hurt after the divorce.When Gillian returns to Daniel's he's out, so she enters through an improperly closed window. He's gone out with Alison (Molly Bernard), a divorced Hebrew woman whose number Gillian gave him. He cuts the date short as she triggers his memory of his recent breakup. Daniel remembers how Erin cheated on him with her trainer, after he was prepared to commit his whole life to her. Alison tries to counsel Daniel that he has to let go of the past and move on.
At dinner at Paul's, when Helen shares that he'd never come out to her, he says that he had with his father years ago, she gets upset. Paul says that Helen has a habit of taking some deeply personal for others and making it about herself. Once alone, he apologizes, but she gets upset all over again when mentioning his boyfriend's theory that his abandonment issues because of her.
Matt returns home late at night with a woman named Angel (Elizabeth Cappuccino), whom he has been seeing for 4 months. Turns out Angel is 17 years old and is still in high school. Angel says that she came home with Matt as he promised her to make her a model in his magazine, but she was only a model for children's clothing so far. Matt is horrified and Angel leaves. Carol was hoping to have dinner together with Matt. Carol is shocked to learn that Matt doesn't work for a sports magazine, and the magazine is called "All Balls", which is an erotic magazine for men.
The next night, Matt tells Carol he has a work party that night for his magazine, of which he is art director. Although not invited, they give Carol a makeover in Erin's salon. Erin tells Gilian that she is moving to LA in a week. Gillian apologizes for having been hard on her when she dated Daniel.The women accompany Helen to the restaurant where she is to have lunch with Paul, and he reveals he was sperm donor for lesbian friends. Upsetting her again, Gillian and Carol witness it.
Carol crashes Matt's work party while Helen and Gillian plan to go clubbing. She gets drunk with Julia (Afton Williamson) (a woman who works in micro-lending) and when he sees her he tries to get her to go home. Instead, she calls the girls to go out. They live it up, getting pizza, going clubbing and dancing all night.
In the morning, Julia stops by Matt's to leave something of Carol's. When Matt realizes she hadn't returned, he gathers Paul and Daniel and they find their three moms, nursing hangovers in Gillian's hotel room.Afterwards, the three go together to get presents for Paul's sperm baby. In the shop, the truth comes out that all three of their husbands cheated on the same weekend. Helen divorced hers, Gillian forgave hers and Carol didn't know about it.Helen blames Gilian for Daniel's failure. She alleges that Gilian put enough doubt in Daniel's mind about Erin that when he found one mistake, he completely gave up on her.
Then each mama gets closure with her son. Carol tells Matt she is going to focus on herself for a while.Helen pushes Paul into giving her an address of the lesbian mothers. The lesbian mother recognizes Helen and confronts her. But she also agrees that as a Grandmother she understands what Helen is going through. The mother allows Helen to hold the baby.Gillian apologizes to Daniel about Erin, tells him how she'd forgiven his dad for infidelity and convinces him to go after Erin.
Julia helps Matt to write the 10 things he knows about Carol, which he sends to her with a bouquet of her favorite flowers. She angrily throws out her deceased husband's fishing paraphernalia.Daniel catches Erin's moving van, offering to drive her to LA.
One year later at Gillian's house in Poughkeepsie, before Daniel and a pregnant Erin tie the knot, Carol comes. She's with Matt who is dating Julia, on return from time in Europe after selling her house. Paul is also present with his boyfriend, the lesbian mothers who got his sperm and their daughter, Helen's granddaughter.
