Bad Moms (2016)

“Bad Moms” stars Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Christina Applegate.  Released on July 29, 2016, the film is about an over-worked mother and her new friends who go on a quest to liberate themselves from their responsibilities.

The film is directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who are known for writing The Hangover and 21 & Over.  While not the best comedic writers in the film business, Lucas and Moore did manage to be responsible for making The Hangover one of the most successful R-rated comedies ever.  In 2013, they made their co-directorial debuts with the R-rated comedy, 21 & Over, which I haven’t seen yet.  While a modest box office success, it was met with negative reviews.  So now we have their second R-rated comedy as writers/directors that shows a group of moms being bad.  You can’t get any specific than that.  It does have a nice concept and a remarkable female cast, but are they enough to make you wish you have a bad mom yourself?

Pros:
The performances were decent.

Kunis, Bell, and Hahn made some good chemistry together.

The humor was hit-and-miss.  Some of them were funny, while some were either flat or forced.

Cons:
Predictable storyline.

A couple of dramatic moments were a bit weak.

Felt a bit longer than its running time (101 minutes).

Final thoughts: It doesn’t quite reach the same comedic heights as The Hangover, but “Bad Moms” is a suitable R-rated comedy about mothers who cuss, party hard, and get totally wasted.  The cast was enough to drown out its predictable story and the humor offered some passable laughs, especially from Hahn.  It’s not a “rush-out-to-see” kind of film.  It feels more like a ‘ladies‘ night’ kind of film, and I thought Jon Lucas and Scott Moore did a nice job at expressing that.  I would mostly recommend it to those who wanted some good R-rated laughs, just don’t expect it to be a great R-rated comedy.

C+