Bad Moms is like if the cast of Mean Girls grew up, married overgrown men-children, had a mess of kids and decided to live their high school drama again.
Although Tina Fey had nothing to do with this movie, the basic plotline and even some specific scenes are eerily reminiscent of the 2004 teen drama millennials know and love.
Starring Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell, Bad Moms follows three mothers fed up with their normal routine lives. It’s set against the backdrop of a PTA election and is complete with a set of “mean moms” that run the school.
Sound familiar? It gets better.
A quick rundown of all the mom cliques? Check.
Mean moms led by a sassy blonde? Check.
An emotional climax scene that takes place in a school gym, with women shouting out their confessions? At least one of them doesn’t even go there? Check and check.
For this reviewer, drawing those connections was what made the movie enjoyable, whether or not they were done on purpose — well, those connections, and Carla, the slutty mom to Kunis’ perfectly put-together Amy Mitchell.
Hahn plays Carla to the fullest. The audience watches as she teaches Amy to loosen up a bit, whether it’s threatening to sleep with the husbands of other PTA members, giving Amy a free spa day or trying to understand her teenage son who still watches Sesame Street. Carla is the vehicle for most of the laughs and Hahn, versatile in both drama and comedy, portrays the character perfectly.
Bell is cute as Kiki, the overwrought stay-at-home mother of four. She gamely follows Kunis and Hahn through their hijinks, all the while sporting a handmade beaded necklace proclaiming her official job title, “MOM.”
Kunis however, seems to be a victim of poor casting. The role is overdone. She seems to be reprising her role as Jackie from “That ’70s Show,” only now it’s 15 years down the line and she’s stuck married to Michael Kelso — the character, not you, Ashton.
Multiple lines poke fun at Kunis’ age — 32, same as her character. The plot was written so that she had her children young, but even at 32 she doesn’t seem old enough to be the parent of two middle school students.
The plot is straightforward and predictable, and the jokes are too. However, this reviewer went during a screening that seemed to be completely full of moms. Though it isn’t clear whether their verbal exclamations and raucous laughter was due to the complimentary drinks or pure mirth at the expense of Kunis and co., there were plenty of them.
Moms and those who were in their late teens to early 20s when Mean Girls had its heyday will love this movie. Everyone else will at least crack a few smiles.
It isn’t a summer blockbuster, but Bad Moms will make for an enjoyable evening when it hits Netflix in a few months.
