Bad Moms (2016)

Review

100min

Genre:         Comedy

Directors:     Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

Cast:           Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell…and more

Writer:        Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

-Synopsis-

A young working mother struggles to keep up appearances and balance her career with the demands of parenthood; but when she finally hits breaking point, going rogue is the only option as she recruits her fellow mothers on a spree of irresponsible and unadulterated fun, to the dismay of judgemental fellow parents in this irreverent comedy where the mommas aim to misbehave.

The title and trailer alone should give you a hint of what you’re dealing with here; this obviously isn’t perceptive high-brow comedy, and these ain’t exactly accurate representations of your average American mom, despite what reality TV and ‘Sex and the City’ might have you believe. But ‘Bad Moms’  aims to let women have a go at what the boys have been getting away with for years, with humorous if forgettable results.

Mila Kunis stars as the young working mom who finally succumbs to the pressures of being a “good parent”, and decides to co-opt two fellow mamas into being “Bad Moms”; Kristen Bell as the chirpy oddball stay-at-home mom and Kathryn Hahn the hypersexual, straight-talking divorcee alpha-female, stealing the show by expertly delivering the film’s best lines.

Together they embark on a quest to “live it large”, with occasionally hilarious consequences; but their fun gets cut short when they butt heads with the boss of the PTA at their kid’s school, a wealthy and ruthless seemingly perfect mom played by Christina Applegate. And rather predictably, this clash for the hearts and minds of the school’s kids and parents leads to a feel-good realisation of what it means to be a “good mom”, in today’s increasingly competitive and judgemental society.

The film essentially plays like a cross between ‘How to be Single’ and ‘Bridesmaids’ with some ‘Mean Girls’ thrown in the mix, so it certainly postures as an outrageous comedy. But despite the title and the odd piece convincing off-colour humour; ‘Bad Moms’ lacks a real irreverent streak and ultimately masquerades as a genuine “R-rated” comedy, when in fact it has a rather formulaic and sentimental mainstream core.

‘Bad Moms’ is really a moderately budgeted Hollywood feel-good celebration of motherhood, amusing warts and all. Not exactly an original comedic delight, but has more than a few strong laughs which make it a marked improvement on the recent and awful ‘Mother’s Day’, and other comedies of that ilk.

We suspect it may have a limited impact beyond its target audience, but those who most relate to the characters and message will live vicariously through these “bad” but well-meaning moms, letting their hair down like they might never in real life.

The Bottom Line…

An unabashedly lewd & crude comedy which is betrayed by blunt sentimentality and formulaic execution; ‘Bad Moms’ lacks any real creativity or novelty but has its fair share of genuine laughs, plus the versatile and dependable Kathryn Hahn in its corner, it’s not the best comedy out there but it ain’t the worst either.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Bridesmaids (2011)

When her best friend suddenly gets engaged; a single woman’s depressing life becomes consumed by an escalating rivalrly with a wealthy bridesmaid for the affections of the bride, as things outrageously escalate in the lead-up to the wedding in this blockbuster Paul Feig comedy dubbed the female ‘The Hangover’.

Directed by Paul Feig and starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy among others.

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