Christmas is the happiest time of the year. At least it’s supposed to be, Moms are expected to work tirelessly throughout the Christmas season to ensure that the holiday is absolute perfection for their families. The gifts are to be wrapped with precision, decorations hanging from every available bough, food that could be lifted from the pages of Bon Appétit magazine, all done without breaking a sweat. Tis the season for family and frolic, yet our Bad Moms are stressed beyond their imagination this holiday season. Why? Because their mothers have arrived.
This Christmas, Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) are enter the holiday season feeling the pressure of Christmas present. With all that need to be done, they agree that this is the Christmas where they make the rules. Amy decides that they are going to have a low key holiday. However, that goes against the everything Ruth (Christine Baranski), Amy’s mom believes and expects as she arrives in a tornado of holiday perfection, trailed by her blissfully oblivious husband Hank (Peter Gallagher). Ruth is a perfectionist, a task master extraordinaire who expects no less from her child. Amy, tired of trying to get her mother’s approval, decides to change the traditions.
Kiki’s Mom Sandy (Cheryl Hines) is the clinging, overbearing type who’s behavior could be classified as stalker; if she were not Kiki’s mom. Sandy’s need to be close to her daughter crosses the comfort zone in so many ways. Kiki decides to see Dr. Karl (Wanda Sykes), the family therapist, who explains the maternal process of insanity in hilariously truthful detail.
Isis (Susan Sarandon) shows up at Carla’s house unexpectedly. She seems to only show up at Carla’s door when she has run out of money. She is on the other side of the maternal spectrum, the hands off type. Carla has had to fend for herself for years and expects her mother to take off without a moment’s notice.
I enjoyed the first Bad Moms, but I was hesitant to watch the sequel because there was a chance that it would not be as good as the first. I quite surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. It made me snort laugh more than once. This is the perfect movie for a Girls Night Out. Grab your BFFs and head to the theater to take a break this holiday season!
Bad Moms Christmas Opens November 1st.
4 out of 5 Stars
Second review by Barnetty Kushner
It’s very rare when a comedy’s sequel outshines its predecessor. From
start to finish Bad Moms Christmas will keep you laughing hysterically. It
really is no surprise with the addition of the bad grandmas it was bound to
happen.
With writer-director duo, Josh Lucas and Scott Moore at the helm again
serving exactly what its audience requested. Our three bad mom role models
played by Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn are back and tackling
the joys of Christmas. Yeah right! For a mom, Christmas is the most
hellish time of the year. The insane amount of stress involved with the
constant shopping for everybody. Demanding children wanting that one gift
that every child wants and every store is sold out of. Pictures with
Santa, the decorating, the cleaning, the exhausting family dinners, and
lastly, trying to impress your mother (aka grandmas).
The film takes place roughly 18 months after the first one ends. Amy (Mila
Kunis) has finalized her divorce and is still dating Jesse (Jay
Hernandez). It’s six days before Christmas, and Amy decides she wants to
have a low key Christmas with her kids and beau. Her overly critical
mother, Ruth (Christine Baranski) arrives in town and hijacks Amy’s
Christmas wanting to create an over the top, keep up with the Joneses, buy
the kids every possible materialistic gift imaginable.
And then poor Kiki (Kristen Bell) is still running herself ragged with her 4 young children
and her clingy mother Sandy (Cheryl Hines) who is so obsessed with her
daughter, she chooses to dress like her, cut her hair like her, and to
Kiki’s dismay, purchases the home next door. And, finally Carla’s (Kathryn
Hahn) self absorbed, adrift mother, Isis (Susan Sarandon) who only comes
into town when she needs money. Amy, Kiki, and Carla are on a mission to
take Christmas back from all the chaos and madness that goes with
“celebrating” Christmas. It’s bad moms vs bad moms–who will reign
supreme?
A perfect girls’ night out movie–full of unexpected laugh out loud
moments. I’m glad to see Hahn is given more screen time to show off her
comedic chops. Moms will relate all too well to the stress that involves
just being a mom and now the lengths mom’s go to for the perfect
Christmas. We all wish we could shove an elf at the mall, steal a
Christmas tree from Foot Locker, and get drunk at the mall food court. Yes,
that all happens! If you take this movie for what it is, pure hilarity and
just flat out entertaining, you will enjoy every second of it. If you’re
hoping it’s the next Oscar winner, forget it! It’s from the writers of the
Hangover, you can’t expect anything less, but pure unadulterated
entertainment.
4.5 of 5 stars
