A Bad Moms Christmas Review

R: crude sexual content and language throughout, and some drug use 

STX Films, Huayi Brothers Pictures

Directors & Writers:  Scott Moore & Jon Lucas

1 Hr and 44 Minutes

Cast: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Cheryl Hines, Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon, Jay Hernandez, Justin Hartley, Peter Gallagher, Oona Laurence, Emjay Anthony, Wanda Sykes

INTRO: Every year or so, there is a thread of Christmas movies that are released. They either entertain me, make me roll my eyes, or ultimately wish I was home in bed. Last year we had the string of R-rated Christmas comedies with “Why Him?,” ”Bad Santa 2,” and “Office Christmas Party”. This year, we have the thread of unnecessary sequels nobody friggin asked for with “A Bad Moms Christmas” and “Daddy’s Home 2” which looks like the same damn movie just with grandparents of the opposite gender. "Bad Moms 2" brings in the Grandmas, and "Daddy’s Home 2" brings in the granddads. As far as I’m concerned they’re practically the same movie. One has an R rating, and the other has a PG13 rating.

A Bad Moms Christmas follows our three under-appreciated and over-burdened women as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas. And if creating a perfect holiday for their families wasn't hard enough, they have to do all of that while hosting and entertaining their own mothers. By the end of the journey, our moms will redefine how to make the holidays special for all and discover a closer relationship with their mothers.

THE GOOD

CHRISTMAS CHEMISTRY

One of the best things from the first Bad Moms that carries over into this is the chemistry that is shared between Kunis, Bell, and Hahn. They always seem to have fun on and off camera that at different scenes of the three of them together their conversations feel as they just hang around and bullshit like regular friends do.

HAVE A HAHN HOLIDAY

With every chuckle that came to of me during this, the source came from no other the Kathryn Hahn. Granted my best laugh that I got came from Wanda Sykes, Kathryn Hahn tries her best to get you through her constant ad-libbing, and in some cases, it works. Her character Carla is vulgar and obscene, but sometimes she would say something that catches me off guard and make me laugh.

 

 

THE BAD

DON’T YOU LOVE IT WHEN A MOVIE HAS NO SCRIPT

I never wrote a review of ”Bad Moms” when it was released last year, but from what I remember, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it.  What made "Bad Moms" rather good in my opinion was the fun balance of comedy and its sweet message of how motherhood should be cherished no matter you’re independent or co.

It was weird that it was a female-driven movie though it was from Scott Moore & Jon Lucas who brought you “The Hangover,” “21 and Over,” and “The Change-Up” which were all 'dude bro' comedies. Since this is their first sequel they've ever written & directed (no they did not write “The Hangover” sequels), this is everything you would expect from a sequel by these names; A sequel that took everything that was meaningful from its predecessor and sucking the soul right out of it. 

What do you have here? A heartless and mean-spirited Christmas comedy that only the Grinch would enjoy. You can sense that this was exclusively made so it can make a quick buck for suckers who both loved the first “Bad Moms” and loooooves Christmas. Whatever heart and charm that was in the predecessor are gone due to constant nonsensical crass humor, a shit ton of ad-libbing,  and repetitious gags of frolicking that only pad out the runtime. 

Remember that hysterical montage in the first film where the moms raided a supermarket in slow-motion while “Hey Mama” by David Guetta played? That scene was such a highlight that they don't only recreate that montage once or twice. Shit, they don’t even do it three times. FIVE! They do that one montage five fucking times and every single one of them last two minutes long. That's ten minutes of this 104-minute film wasted on sequences of these moms having a fun time in various of places. It's humorous when it is recreated the first time around, but then they just beat that dead horse into an abyss.

I refuse to believe Lucas and Moore had a script for this. With every scene of conversation between characters, you have prolonged sequences of ad-libbing that has little to end. It's not that it is torturous where its nothing but crickets going on with some of the gags but some of them are just sluggish to get through. Shoot, this movie is so apart from the first film that Christina Applegate is not even in it. She only has a cameo, and somehow she provides one of the funniest jokes the film has to offer. It is her and (comedic goddess) Wanda Sykes who give two of the only solid belly laughs I got from the film.

MORE MOMS LESS FUN

So the movie's primary focus is the moms having to deal with their mom when they come around for the holiday. How is it handled? Poorly. With each mom dynamic the film provides, you get these sitcom level storylines that you’ll get from shows such as “Two and a Half Men.” I would bring up the Anna Faris & Allison Janney show, “Mom,” but you know what? That show is both good and funny. 

You have Hahn’s wildcard Carla dealing with her wildcard mom played by Susan Sarandon who is a deadbeat mom but has a heart of gold. That is a tolerable subplot. There’s nothing much to it especially since the primary subplot with her is trying to find a man. Everything that is done with that is unnecessary, but it is entertaining and pretty funny.

Then you have Kiki dealing with her overbearing and clingy mom played by Cheryl Hines who is attached to her daughter that she creepily ruins her sex life, has her face on every piece of clothing she has, and buys a home right next door. This subplot is a bit uncomfortable to witness since Hines’ character has you cringing with everything that she does, but it is also tolerable. 

But what is a real turn off is the primary storyline between Amy and her mom played by Christine Baranski. What’s their story? Oh her mom is a huge bitch and forces her way into Amy’s house for the holidays and tries to control her entire Christmas while their family just want a mellow holiday. She renovates Amy’s entire home, host extravagant parties, and hires a whole choir for Christmas caroling. It would be funny and believable if there were a logical explanation for how she is able to afford all of this. There’s no explanation to what Amy’s mom profession or what she actually do in order to do all this expensive shit for the holidays, but yet we’re supposed to just go along with it.

Besides that, there are no likable qualities to her character at all that you even start to get mad at Amy for not kicking her out once she enters into her home especially since she knows how her mom is. It’s almost as if Lucas and Moore told Baranski to be bitchy and only bitchy and if she asked if she could have fun with it, they would just say “BE BITCHY!” Even after Amy kicks her out during her climax, she pities herself cause her kids tell her off when you know Amy’s actions were justified. By that point, you just go, 

WAIT THIS IS HAS A BIGGER BUDGET?

Somehow, this movie has a bigger budget than the original “Bad Moms.” Where the predecessor cost $20 million to make, this cost a $25 million. What is strange about those numbers is that where the first film had a theatrical value to it, this has a poor picture quality of a “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movie and not any Wimpy Kid movie, but more like the one that came out this year. I’m not over exaggerating when I say that “A Bad Moms Christmas” is as poorly telegraphed and edited as the 2017 “Diary of Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.” 

But then again who am I to say? I took a friend to see the film, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the audience in the theater that I saw it was laughing to near death (but then again it was a theater in downtown Brooklyn, and honestly those viewers enjoy anything).

LAST STATEMENT

Though it may offer a few chuckles, “A Bad Mom’s Christmas” is a soulless unnecessary sequel that wastes its talented cast with a sitcom level script even with its boastful R rating. “A Bad Mom’s Christmas” is just plain ol’ BAD.

Rating: 1.5/5 | 32%

uper Scene: Carla finds a lover.