Although it was marketed as a chaotic movie about rebellious mothers who were just tired of being good, Bad Moms actually had a decent (if not predictable) storyline. The seriousness of the storyline, however, meant the inclusion of characters that were just downright unlikeable – and not just the villains of the story either!
Centered around newly-separated mom Amy, the story touched on several fairly important issues that are relatable to almost any audience: how to deal with a cheating spouse, being overworked and underappreciated, beating a corrupt system and just being a genuinely decent human being through it all. While those were all topics that made the film seem a bit more real, most of them proved a bit played-out and didn’t add enough of a heartwarming feeling to make up for the rest of the movie and all the missed opportunities there.
Amy and her two kids (mostly her daughter) were some of the only likeable characters in the film. Even her newly-acquired bad mom besties – one a complete pushover and the other a lazy, mean spirit – were simply too extreme in both directions to really relate to. Luckily, Kiki started standing up for herself by the end of the movie, but of all the horrible characters to go through a transformation, hers was the only believable development. (10-year olds don’t learn how to make frittata or magically start enjoying homework, and former bullies certainly don’t spill all their woes to the person who finally puts them in their place.) The only other ray of sunshine in the film was sexy widower Jesse, who served as the polar opposite of Amy’s lazy, selfish soon-to-be ex-husband. Even though he was shown as the perfect guy, he actually seemed genuine. Maybe it was because his passion wasn’t lost in his nice-guy persona; regardless, he made Amy an even better lead character.
Other than the characters, my biggest disappointment was the comedy of it all. The trailers made this movie look like a hoot from beginning til end, but I only caught myself actually laughing a total of three times – that’s once every thirty minutes. I was HUGELY disappointed at the lack of truly funny writing. The laugh lines were few and far between, and the chaotic montages of rebellion were too ludicrous to deliver any real humor.
Some people in my theater seemed to think differently, though. There was a bit of laughter around me at some points when my eye rolls would give Judge Judy a run for her money, but most of the people viewing the movie with me were at least 20 years older than me. Then again, maybe some of them actually were moms and could relate to things a little better than I was able to. Either way, I would recommend seeing this movie only if you find clichéd, ridiculous and over-done jokes within your realm of humor. I, however, was looking for a laugh-out-loud, fresh cache of comedy, and I was thoroughly disappointed.
