Bad Moms Movie reviews

Party Like a Mother

Movie Review

Siddharth Martis

3 / 5

Bad Moms is a film written and directed by Scott Moore and Jon Lucas. It stars Mila Kunis (Black Swan, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Kathryn Hahn (Bad Words, The Visit), Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, House of Lies), and Christina Applegate (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Samantha Who?) along with Jada Pinkett Smith and Annie Mumolo.

Amy Mitchell (Mila Kunis) puts her family first, second, and third. But her man-child husband, high-maintenance kids and idiot boss are taking a toll. She gives and gives, and gives and gives, and then gives a little more, but it’s never enough. When the alpha moms (Christina Applegate, Annie Mumolo and Jada Pinkett Smith) at her kids’ school push her too far, Amy finally snaps. Good Amy becomes Bad Amy really fast -- and she doesn’t go alone. Teaming up with two other misfit moms (Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell), Amy gets a jolt of freedom that shakes up her life and might even make her a better mom. So call a sitter, put on your comfy pants, and pour yourself a double Chardonnay, because these moms are about to get bad.
Bad Moms is one of the most surprising films I’ve seen all year. Though not necessarily a great film, or even a good film, Bad Moms is a well-made comedy that makes the most out of its shopworn premise and reaps a large amount of laughs in the process. Subverting my expectations at every turn, Bad Moms works because it maintains a constant tone. Too often nowadays, “edgy” comedies lose most if not all of their bite in their transition into the third act, where they devolve into schmaltzy sentiment. This proved to be far from the case as Bad Moms is truly, excuse the expression, bad.

Mean spirited throughout and gleefully irreverent, Bad Momsworks in spite of its occasionally bad writing thanks to a handful of great gags and fantastic performances from its talented cast, especially Kathryn Hahn and Christina Applegate, who both deliver some of their best work, while adding dimension to their characters as does Mila Kunis and Kirsten Bell who were also brilliant in their respective roles.