Review of Bad Moms (2016) by Sheree A — 02 Sep 2016

Note: This review contains SPOILERS.

I wanted to see this movie because of the cast alone. All of these women are amazing actors, and I can see the appeal of wanting to act in a female driven story line. The problem is it's obviously written by men. It's also a rehash of just about every Hollywood predictable plotline ever created in the past 30 years.

Add to the fact that this is not reflective of a mother's real struggle. These moms have: money, flexible work hours with flexible employers, invisible support systems in place to magically get rid of their children whenever it is convenient (um- that's only effective for MEN).

What would have made this more believable - and funnier- is:

Kiki has to bring her 4 kids to the PTA meeting, and consequently the bar. She wouldn't have been able to stay and bond because she a) wouldn't have felt right about her kids being in a bar and b) her kids would have broken something/knocked something over/ had a temper tantrum/ combination all of the above.

Carla would have possibly been fired for sneaking her friend and her friend's daughter into her place of work. And anyone who works in a high-end spa doesn't have the kind of schedule that's flexible to galavant around whenever it suits her.

Amy's boss may have a ton of young and irresponsible staff, but Amy's constant tardiness isn't beyond reproach. It's obvious she had a lot of perks, and it's implausible that a part-time staffer who's an outlier in the corporate culture would be the glue that holds the entire company together.

I despise that Kiki's growth as a character was demonstrated in a crass comment that suddenly and miraculously changed the power dynamics of her marriage relationship overnight.

There appeared to be only 6 male characters in this movie (Amy's ex, Amy's new boy toy, Amy's boss, Kiki's husband, the Soccer coach and the principal). The only semi-interesting, non-cardboard 1 dimensional character in the movie was the Principal, who managed to appreciate a well rolled joint.

How could this movie have improved?

1) A woman writes and directs it next time.

2) Showing more depth of character, complexity and REALISTIC challenges mother's face.

3) Something with more edge, better balance to the characters (Amy needed to actually be a "BAD MOM" for example), so that the lines delivered gave more comedic punch.

Don't bother watching this. It's a disappointment from start to finish.

My only hope is that the actors were paid well and that it is a stepping stone for better things in their career.