Party Like a Mother
 Bad Moms is written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (The Hangover, 21 & Over). The film stars Mila Kunis (Black Swan, Friends with Benefits), Kathryn Hahn (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, We're the Millers), Kristen Bell (Frozen, Veronica Mars), Christina Applegate (Up All Night, Anchorman) and Jada Pinkett Smith (Collateral, Madagascar). "When three overworked and under-appreciated moms are pushed beyond their limits, they ditch their conventional responsibilities for a jolt of long overdue freedom, fun, and comedic self-indulgence". Bad Moms has been a big hit with audiences, what makes it so special?

I loved this film so much! I liked the trailer but when watching it I thought it was just going to be dumb fun or a solid comedy film at most...however, Bad Moms is hilarious and one of my favourite films of the year! I laughed consistently throughout, the plot has some interesting social commentary and the performances are great and incredibly likeable. It was also great to have a good cinema experience after having two negative ones in a row due to other audience members! Bad Moms certainly isn't a bad movie, I recommend you see it as it is such a feel good movie. 

This film is produced by STX Entertainment - they are a fairly new production company but I have to say, this is my favourite film of theirs yet. To be fair, out of their current 6 features, I have only seen 3 (The Gift, The Boy & Bad Moms) but I gave The Gift a very positive review and I have to say, I prefer Bad Moms! This certainly is the dark horse of the summer as I would not expect it to be one of my favourites of the season. 

The performances in this film are strong across the board - I can't point out one poor performance. Mila Kunis is fantastic and is back where she belongs and shines in terms of roles - I liked her in Jupiter Ascending (most didn't) but Kunis really does shine in Bad Moms. She is likeable, hilarious and is easy to relate to and feel emotion for - an excellent job! I was also really impressed with Kristen Bell - who knew she had such good comedic timing? She didn't really get a chance to showcase her comedic abilities in The Boss but she was hilarious in Bad Moms - probably the most surprising out of the whole cast. Kathryn Hahn is also very very funny - I literally cannot point out any actor who failed to be funny in this film. Christina Applegate heads up the PTA group and she is definitely one mean lady - Applegate did a really good job of making her character unlikeable. I also really liked Jada Pinkett Smith who didn't have too much to do but she was a good addition to the cast. All of these ladies all play mothers but they portray all different types of mums which was nice to see - single mums, stay at home mums, strict mums etc. Obviously the acting in this film isn't going to get any of these actresses Oscars but it is definitely above the standard set my most comedies these days. 

Similarly to how horror films have to be scary, comedy films have to be funny and Bad Moms is hilarious! I would compare my feelings to Bad Moms to last years Sisters which was one of my favourites in 2015 (another hilarious female comedy). The film is filled with great one-liners but also some really good comedic scenes. My favourites include the supermarket scene and the candidate introduction party - these were laugh out loud moments! I just thought it was great to see these mums let their hair down and go wild. Even when you think the film is making a dumb joke, it will be brought up again in a later scene which kind of gives it purpose which shows the writers have given this film an extra level of intelligence (e.g. the school project Kunis makes her son towards the start of the movie). Bad Moms is just an incredibly likeable film - likeable films are my favourite type of films as they have a great re-watchability factor. 

As I already mentioned, the film features many different types of mums as characters which was nice to see. The supporting cast also has some diversity which was good. I have to say though, Bad Moms does have some moments where it gives real life commentary - rules are getting a little extreme for parents to follow and it is a common thought that mums can never do enough to be known as a good or perfect mum. This isn't a heavy film and is only touched on through certain dialogue but when it is, it is nice to see a film that is tuned in to today's world. The plot for Bad Moms is a minor flaw as it isn't too clear and only becomes clear about half way through - Kunis' character is going to run for PTA president. However, like Sisters had a weaker plot, Bad Moms does but it is easily forgiven as it makes up for it in every other area. 

Another minor flaw is the editing which wasn't as sharp as it could have been. I thought there were way too many establishing shots showing the locations of scenes and I also thought some of the music choices felt very forced - even though I liked lots of the songs featured, they kind of did just come out of no where - fading in and fading out. 

Bad Moms is the funniest film of the year and one of my favourites of 2016 too. Kunis, Bell, Applegate and the whole cast do great jobs and are all hilarious. Speaking of hilarious, that is what this film is from start to end. Even though the editing is a little repetitive and the music choices are a little forced - they do help to create a likeable and fun tone. The plot isn't the clearest but it features some great social commentary. Bad Moms is a great flick and I am pleased to see it seeing success - like a mother - no film can be perfect but Bad Moms certainly tries its best to be and almost gets there.