Though it doesn’t quite do for mothers what “Bridesmaids” did for single women, “Bad Moms” is a riotous comedy that left my theater echoing with shrieks, snorts and cackles. These aren’t the type of wry jokes that leave audiences nodding, smiling or chuckling politely; instead, they’re the ones that leave you wondering the next day if it was your Pilates class that made your abs so sore (nope). Written by the team behind “The Hangover,” “Bad Moms” could easily skate along only on its very funny, often very raunchy jokes, but it also makes a much-needed argument for the difficulties of modern motherhood and how the pressure to be perfect is damaging both mothers and their kids. It does this amidst enough synonyms for vagina to crash Urban Dictionary and with genuine heart and sentiment that somehow don’t feel out of place in its sea of delightful filth.
Mila Kunis stars as Amy Mitchell, a harried mother of two who is struggling to juggle parenthood and a job at a coffee company. She receives little help from her husband, Mike (David Walton), and lots of judgment from PTA president Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate). Her kids’ schedules are as packed as hers is, and 12-year-old Jane (the always great Oona Laurence) is already worried about getting into an Ivy League school. At an emergency Power-Point-heavy PTA meeting, Amy snaps and refuses to play the game that Gwendolyn and her lackies Stacey (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Vicky (Annie Mumolo) insist on enforcing. Instead, she heads to a bar and bonds with single mom Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and stay-at-home mother Kiki (Kristen Bell) over the pressures they face to be perfect.
Over a lot of booze, Amy and her new friends opt out of trying to do everything right, and lean into being bad moms: ones who take her kids to school in her husband’s muscle car instead of an SUV and who bring store-bought (gasp!) donut holes to the sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free bake sale. Enough wine flows on school nights to make even Amy Schumer proud. Gwendolyn attempts to keep the women in check, but this only makes them rebel more and leads to a fight for power in the upcoming PTA election.
“Bad Moms” wins points for creating six distinct female characters and crafting dialogue to fit each one; jokes aren’t interchangeable between the moms at the heart of the film. Something Hahn’s foul-mouthed Carla says wouldn’t feel right delivered by Bell’s coming-out-of-her-shell Kiki. There are funny lines, but many of them are funny specifically because of who is saying them. Momolo’s dumb, eager-to-please Vicky plays well off Smith’s caustic Stacey. She’s aggressive in a way that differs completely from Applegate’s Gwendolyn, who’s wholly believable in her villainous ambition.
But it’s Amy and her friends who get the most laughs, and not just because they get the most screen time. Hahn is a go-for-broke comedienne here, contrasting with her more subtle work in shows like “Transparent.” It’s a big, scene-stealing performance but she strikes the right chord with perfect comedic timing. She’s been great for years, but this is a step up. Kunis gets to show off a wide range, reminding the audience why she’s been cast in projects as varied as “Ted” and “Black Swan.” She’s funny and sexy, without any sense of vanity, and winds up wearing more food than she eats. Other than “Frozen,” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Bell hasn’t always picked films that live up to her talents, but the combination of physical comedy and dialogue in “Bad Moms” is a perfect fit for the actress. And while there isn’t a straight man (woman) here to serve as a balance, the film still works, and a pair of cameos are so pleasantly surprising that I won’t spoil them here.
Described as “grateful husbands and devoted fathers” by the official website, writer-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have not only created a hilarious comedy, but they’ve also made one with surprising insight and honesty into moms’ experiences. From Amy’s experience as the oldest person at a startup to the mothers’ love for their imperfect children, the film manages somehow to be both authentic and comically over the top.
But for however funny it is – and it is struggling-to-catch-your-breath-funny at times – ”Bad Moms” follows its characters’ leads and is far from perfect. The movie features unnecessary narration that disappears after we’ve been introduced to Amy’s life, and it takes a little time to bring the audience onto its wavelength. It’s also surprisingly lazy on the costuming front, whether it’s a brief Zumba scene where multiple women are wearing the same print or all of the ridiculous outfits worn by Hahn’s Carol — she’s funny enough that her clothes don’t have to be part of the joke. While the film is wonderfully generous to its female characters – even Gwendolyn – a lot of the humor comes at the expense of the movie’s men, varying from Carla’s less-than-bright son to Amy’s loser husband and her idiot millennial boss (Clark Duke). It feels unbalanced in parts, but the scales have been tipped the other way for so long that it isn’t offensive.
We’re five years out from “Bridesmaids,” and the idea of the raunchy female comedy no longer feels as revolutionary as it once did after the likes of “Trainwreck” and “Sisters.” But because the novelty has worn off, movies in this mold have to actually be funny, and “Bad Moms” certainly succeeds there. However, its heart is also in the right place, and that’s rarely more clear than in its credits scene. Each of the actresses appears next to her real-life mother, and they share stories that are as likely to bring laughter as tears. Pairing the off-color comedy with heartwarming moments is a tough act, but “Bad Moms” ably balances both roles. [B]
