A Bad Moms Christmas

Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon, Cheryl Hines, Jay Hernandez, Justin Hartley, Peter Gallagher, Wanda Sykes, Christina Applegate, Kenny G
Directed by: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three moms (Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell) try to give their kids the best Christmas possible, while dealing with their own unresolved issues with their mothers (Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon, Cheryl Hines).

Review:

Tim: While I enjoyed the idea of the original movie, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the final product. I can't say I had the highest hopes going into the sequel. This is one where the expectations proved true. A Bad Moms Christmas might not be a bad movie, but it's a step down from the first film. It's okay, but never more than that.

The idea of having the mothers of the OG (that's original group) bad moms was a good one. It helps us better understand their characters. I liked that direction for the sequel. It felt like a worthwhile continuation of the story of these three women. It also helped give us more insight into why they are the way they are. Now, there are some logical lapses that happen as a result of this direction. For example, it's a little much to believe all three of these mothers would show up for Christmas basically at the same time. This is especially true of Susan Sarandon's character. It just felt too convenient. Still, the basic idea here was a good one.

The biggest problem I had with the movie is that the moms' moms completely overshadow the characters from the first film. While Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon, and Cheryl Hines were well cast, I would much rather have spent more time with Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn. It felt like Kunis, Bell, and Hahn were shortchanged here because we spend so much time with the older women. The balance felt off there. We needed more time with the characters we already had a relationship with. It's odd that this choice was made. Baranski plays her character well, but she's so unlikable. It felt like we had way too much time with her. She's decent in small doses and it was overload here. Cheryl Hines was fine, but her character felt too unrealistic to me. I know there's moms like this, but it was taken a bit too far. Like Baranski, Hines eventually gets on our nerves. Sarandon is the best actress out of the three, but her character is a bit unlikable too. And we spend so much time with her. It was just odd that we got so much screen time with three less likable women than the ones we've already spent a film with. It just didn't work as well as expected.

The story was fine, although it was a bit predictable and color-by-numbers. I can't say I found the film especially funny. I might have chuckled a few times, but it wasn't all that humorous. I recognize I'm not the target demographic here, though. Still, too much of the film felt disconnected from reality. It was hard to take it seriously. The movie tries hard to make an emotional point about mothers and families, but it was hard to believe in a wholesome message when the whole point of the film is an R-rated bad moms story. The disconnect felt larger in this one than in the original. Are they actually good moms? It felt like this movie had less of a focus on what it was trying to accomplish.

While I liked this movie less than the original, it's not a bad movie. The cast obviously had fun working together and the movie does try to make some valid points about mothers and daughters and the things we never tell the people we love. Still, this movie represented enough of a quality drop that I'm kind of hoping they don't turn this into a trilogy.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Bad Moms, Daddy's Home, Daddy's Home 2