★★
Interested in seeing some dick jokes masquerading as progressive mainstream cinema that celebrates women? Go see Bad Moms.
In the latest offering from The Hangover writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, Mila Kunis plays a mother who decides to take some time for herself after she catches her slacker husband cheating online. She meets some fellow moms (Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn) who are also tired of being treated like human garbage, so they do some drinking and say ‘fuck’ a lot. The film also throws in Christina Applegate as the Stepford PTA president and a widower love interest whose only job is to be a hot B plot.
The greatest problem and disappointment about Bad Moms is that it’s merely OK. It had the potential to not only explore what a shitfight motherhood can be, but to do so in a funny and appealing way. Sadly, it feels like the writers suddenly had an epiphany that women watch movies and that maybe they should cash in on the ones whose husbands loved the Hangover series. Yeah, us ladies swear and like sex too; what a twist!
Lucas and Moore’s particular brand of humour, with its lack of subtly and patently racist and sexist undertones, is as present as ever. The majority of the punchlines involve cocks, hand jobs and women uttering profanities, because apparently that is the epitome of edgy. This comedy is occasionally permeated with overt and sloppy motherhood revelations, perhaps to make us forget the film was written and directed by two blokes with the whitest names on the planet. The only genuine moment comes in the credits when the actresses sit down with their own mothers to swap stories.
You also won’t find any intricacy in the characterisation of Bad Moms. The only truly charming character is Hahn’s Carla, and her entire personality consists of creative swearing and getting her bang on. I’m averse to going down the dark #NotAllMen road, but the lack of complexity in the male characters and heterosexual relationships is just as problematic as any basic bro movie. Rather than exploring the nuances of motherhood and relationship dynamics, they merely do a gender flip without actually improving anything.
That isn’t revolutionary, it is lazy writing that reinforces stereotypes and runs away from every opportunity it has to address real issues.
Bad Momsopens in cinemas on Thursday August 11.
