Learn how to be a good mom by admitting you're a bad one!
Bad Moms
Grade: B+
Director: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Screenplay: Lucas, Moore
Cast: Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Kathryn Hahn (Captain Fantastic)
Rating: R
Runtime: 1hr 41 min
by John DeSando
Part raunchy comedy and part sharp social commentary, Bad Moms should please those seeking a Bridesmaids relief in the summer doldrums and those seeking insight into modern motherhood. Directors and writers (Hangover) Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have a bold entry into summer comic stakes already well represented by the female-driven Ghostbusters.
Amy (Mila Kunis) is a highly functioning mom with 2 adorable kids, a demanding job, and a slacking husband, Mike (David Walton). I like the set up because it is all too real—stressed out modern mom trying to be perfect.
What ensues is liberation of the motherly spirit, with a little help from her two buddies, Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn). Booze and rowdiness ensue with some crisp dialogue (pop culture allusions abound e.g. Ike Turner and ISIS), the kind I found lacking in the other buddy film recently, Absolutely Fabulous.
Although combat with the uptight PTA president, Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate), has an arc you could predict, the commentary about the clash between good-mom and bad-mom is frequently spot on, especially as Amy parses the meaning of “bad mom.” It’s not what you’d expect, but it is so insightful and encouraging that all good moms and dads will embrace the bad.
Some of the sexual humor, notably from socially-rough Carla, downright challenges the R rating but in a good way because without it the bad mom theme has no strength or rather is just too boring to stand on its own. The adults in our preview audience roared as the humor became bluer and bluer, and not just because they were at a free film.
If you are a mom of any color and size, or a dad who cares, this fantasy will move you to shake your head in agreement that being a good mom means you have to be a bad one. Go figure.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
