Grade (C+)
Not overly ambitious but still loaded with plenty of cheap laughs.
“BAD MOMS” stars; Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate, Jada Pinkett Smith and Annie Mumolo. This story follows three moms, tired of the pressures, judgment and lack of time for themselves and decide to abandon their responsibilities of trying to fit in with the rest of the mothers, and cut loose with some much overdue freedom.
When this film was released I read a good amount of negative reviews and with a busy schedule I never had a chance to see it in theaters. I didn’t have high hopes from all the poorly used ‘Bad Movie’ puns in various reviews, but I was optimistic. I never let reviews sway whether I go to see a film since I myself write film critiques, and after watching this film I have to admit it gave me what I expected, and more.
The story-line was not at all ambitious, and yes it takes us to all the places we have already been in films like these down to the party montages but it was still entertaining. Now if you are sensitive, take things overly serious, or dislike raunchy humor then this film will not be for you. However if you can find laughter in an exaggerated story about moms cutting loose from their mundane, over-stressed lives to act like they were in college again, then you will find some fun in this one.
Jokes come from various crude angles and its mildly fatiguing but among the routine one-liners were some moments of hilarious dialogue. The characters were rather generic but still entertaining and likable. Kathryn Hahn was as hilarious as she was raunchy and she said many things that made my chin drop. I laughed much more than expected and regardless of not being very engaged in the story, I was still involved enough to enjoy the humor. It isn’t a film I will rush out to see again but it was a serviceable movie with more comedic creativity than expected.
The cast as a whole were pretty good and they all had a fun chemistry with one another. They each had their moments to provide some laughs, and they all deliver some amusing scenes throughout the run-time. Mila Kunis was able to carry the story and her dynamic with Applegate’s character was cliche but still fun. As for Christina Applegate, she was great, she added life to a common character and felt every-bit the part. She created an exaggerated persona of people we have all encountered in our lives and comedic range was fun to watch
With the quality of the raunchy humor, a more creative story-line to fit this theme could have went a long way but in the end it was still a good time. There were plenty of scenarios and scenes not just moms can relate to, and with what it delivers for its genre, it is certainly worth a watch.
Time: 100 min
MPAA Rating: R (For sexual material, full frontal nudity, language throughout, and drug and alcohol content)