Mom's rule. Finally women talking about men the way men talk about women. Written by two men. The stars of Bad Moms are the writers--- Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (Wedding Crashers/ the Hangover). These guys prove comedy, created by a team that keeps total control of a project, works. Moore and Lucas wrote and directed Bad Moms and this total control has made for a winner and near perfect editing/ timing.
Mila Kunis leads the pack of once enslaved women striking out in ways men have and with mouths every bit as raunchy. When Kunis catches her husband whacking off to interactive porn on the internet, she throws him out, keeps the two kids and begins a new life with the moms also suffering from mom fatigue. But Bad Moms is about a bigger picture than Momhood. It is about women in a man's world breaking out of suffocating roles and stereotypes and rules of what a lady should be and should sound like.
The fast paced plot is filled with unexpected twists with Christina Applegate heading the fascistic, Gestapo like PTA also including Jada Pinkett Smith. But it is Applegate who is so repulsive that she grabs your attention until one of the mom's pulls a revolt in a supermarket, by throwing parties, by a night on the town, by going to a bar to pick up a man and by their language which is truly grabworthy. Refreshing. Men become objects to these once objectified women and their power surges forth and spews into your laps along with a sound track that is unbeatable. Foreigner, DNCE, Walk the Moon. How did they manage to get such contemporary pop so quickly into the sound track while they are still hits and edit these tracks cleverly into this fast tour de force with dialogue that will leave you wondering what she said or what was that? Or pass me a Kleenex for my tears. Laughter will do that. The audience laughed so loudly that many of the lines were missed and a second viewing of this delicious comedy would be appropriate. Two criticisms: the lighting is too washed out like the golden oldie term Doris Day lighting and the child actor Oona Laurence overacts and ceases to be adorable. Her broad acting blocks the forward movement.
But Kathryn Hahn and, Kristen Bell make up for any lull and heat up the screen. Hahn has never been so good. She is the driver of the sexual experimentation and language and while she usually plays a character actress, here she shines in the spot light of leading f****** lady. She is hot to trot all over town-- the PTA, wherever she can find some action and then some. Bell is a great sidekick to the madness the moms create in supermarkets and while driving hubby's hot red sports car without his permission. ooo la la. To defy hubby is hallowed ground and more importantly to become president of the PTA so that Applegate Is sterilized, debunked, finished. The plot is silly but fun. The relief of frustrated overworked, under-appreciated women is a joy to behold. We need more films about these kinds of women who just might scare a few of the men in the audience, but what the hey, this film gets down in all the right places and a good scare for testosterone is a long time coming. Don't miss Bad Moms for a real treat. You too may admire its chops. And develop a new set of your own by taking some lessons from how these moms stand up for their rights.
Don't miss Bad Moms which will wake you up and then some.
Advertisement