Bad Moms (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – When three overworked and under-appreciated moms are pushed beyond their limits, they ditch their conventional responsibilities for a jolt of long overdue freedom, fun, and comedic self-indulgence.

My Take – The marketing for this film has tried to play it off as a female version of The Hangover series, with a theme of going against the social norms and honestly does fine at it. This is a comedy that is aimed at a female audience, but men can enjoy it, too, well at least I did. The script does allow a lot of criticism for the current obsession for mothers that try too hard to follow the Martha Stewarts (who has a cameo in this) and the stereotypes of the perfect mother. Despite the stellar cast, this female led film was expected to crash and burn like most comedies now days, especially looking at how the delightful remake of Ghostbusters did due to the whole feminist thing going against it. Some complained it was pointless, some complained it was just milking a franchise that is heavy in nostalgia, and others complained that it was pandering to the female-driven audience as opposed to the fan base that had supported the franchise in the first place. Despite the good critic reviews, it became a major loss for Sony, and killed any hopes for a sequel. But this one on the other hand is the little summer film that could, taking a $20 million budget and already matching that amount after the first weekend. And with strong word-of-mouth and good reviews it continues to make decent money in a crowded summer schedule. This film also has a heavy feminism touch, yet hasn’t received the male-bashing you’ve been seeing from Ghostbusters. Of course this is certainly not the best film to arrive at the silver screen, but it is also exactly what you expected from the trailers. Directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have certainly created a film geared toward the mom audience and I have no doubt most in this category, and a few significant others, will laugh their heads off.

The story follows Amy (Mila Kunis) is a mom that has to do everything. Her two kids Jane and Dylan are completely dependent on her. She shuttles them to school, does their homework for them, and takes them to all their extra curricular activities. On top of this she works a part time job which is actually a full time job because her boss Dale (Clark Duke) completely takes advantage of her. Lastly, her deadbeat husband Mike (David Walton) is having an affair online and she kicks him out. She’s completely under-appreciated and she also has to deal with the judgmental head of the PTA Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) and her cronies Stacy (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Vicky (Annie Mumolo). On the particular day we join her, she has a really terrible day and after they call an emergency PTA meeting where they go through what they can’t put in items for the bake sale (trust me the list is just ridiculous). Amy decides to quit after being called out for being late to the meeting. She heads to a bar and bumps into Carla (Kathryn Hahn). Carla is the mom that no one wants to associate with, she ignores her kid and tries to bang the husbands of the other moms. Another mom shows up named Kiki (Kristen Bell) who followed Amy there. Kiki is the mom with 4 kids who doesn’t have any time to herself and was inspired by Amy’s speech. They drink together and bond over the difficulties of being a mom today. They decide to be bad moms and after a drunken trip to the grocery store, they resolve to try things a little differently going forward. What follows is an infinite assortment of gags, both whimsy and slapstick, but squarely rooted in crude comic territory. While the premise isn’t really original, and the shenanigans they get up to are reminiscent of previous films, the payoff is in the well-earned laughs. We owe this in no small part to Hahn, who once again steals the show every time she is on screen and one of the main reason why this film is immensely watchable. Prepare for loose-lipped one-liners, frequent F-bombs, multiple references to other films and TV shows (don’t miss the short but hilarious stab at Creed), and before you know it, you end up watching a raunchy film about motherhood; If that makes any sense. Even so, the icing on the cake is the ensuing sorority row between Gwendolyn and Amy, resulting in the latter running for PTA president. After Hahn‘s promiscuous antics, Applegate is the exact opposite but the icy itch with a capital B that we all love to hate. Again one shouldn’t be surprised that the film has a plot geared towards mothers and the issues they face.

I myself began to roll my eyes at the cheesy drama of the plot and the emphasis on superficial things like sex, alcohol, and a bit of drugs. However, the second act packed that sentimental punch that really hooked me into the film. The morals embedded in the over dramatic speeches and symphony laden sequences are very powerful and may teach significant others and kids an important lesson. I applaud the directors for being able to drive such a message in a comedy like this, but that certainly gained bonus points in my book. Again, mothers will feel this point the most, but those who have an open mind might feel it in your heart as well. The slapstick comedy softens the pointed message about just how powerless mothers are against the onslaught of unrealistic expectations. This film is obviously targeted directly at stressed-out moms but dads should watch too. If nothing else, it exposes the gender inequality that persists in parenting and the bigger injustice of ‘perfect moms’ shaming other moms for not meeting politically correct standards. When Amy gives her election speech and confesses all the ways she is a bad mom she starts a sisterhood chorus of bad moms all needing to offload their guilt about the things they have not done for their children. While it’s always possible to find aspects of a film that could have been made better, this film deserves praise for going in to bat for the most honorable profession on the planet. This film definitely isn’t perfect. The tone gets slightly uneven, the soundtrack is overindulgent, and the final moments doesn’t quite match the comedic wrecking ball of the second half, but if you are a mother this is your guilty pleasure. The real strength of the film is how well Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell work together and they all give great performances. This is the best job I’ve seen Mila do in a comedy in a while. She has the chops to do the dramatic stuff too and although she initially seemed like odd casting, she was great. Kathryn Hahn finally found the right movie to showcase herself, she’s the mouthiest and the loudest of the moms but she steals most scenes she’s in. Kristen Bell played her role pitch perfect. I’ve talked about before how versatile she is, she probably could have played Mila‘s role but she hits the right notes and rounds out the main 3 well. Christina Applegate was also good as Gwendolyn, the movie gives her some humanity at the end which was a nice touch. Jay Hernandez and Jada Pinkett Smith are likable. On the whole, ‘Bad Moms’ is an enjoyable low-brow comedy for women that men can enjoy as well.