Amy Mitchell (Kunis) is a young mother of two – technically three, if you include her slacker husband Mike (David Walton) – who has a tendency to run late for everything she has to do, ranging from her home life as a parent to her career at a coffee company. But when she inadvertently catches her dear husband essentially cheating on her in an online relationship with a dairy farmer, she tosses him out and her lateness leads to perhaps the worst day ever; topped off by a PTA meeting (lead by Applegate's overly domineering Gwendolyn) that enforces inherently impossible rules for a simple bake sale. Publicly calling it quits to the entire committee, she ends up making friends with two other mothers with kids at the school – the sexually-promiscuous Carla (Kathryn Hahn), and the stay-at-home mother of four Kiki (Kristen Bell) – and officially declare themselves to becoming "bad moms"; lazing about from their usual duties and having actual fun, which leads to a clash against Gwendolyn's strict and proper teachings. With Amy pushed into going against her in the PTA election, the trio must go about and have fun while facing relationship issues and the almighty power that is Applegate.
As far as comedies go, the story is a rather tame one – three women go about and have some fun, including hosting a massive party with booze and what have you, with some form of moral at the very end. And whilst the whole ordeal is quite generic, right down to the romantic subplot between Kunis and "sexy widower" Jay Hernandez, it's difficult to say that it is still somewhat entertaining. The jokes are as vulgar as one would expect from the Hangover guys, and rarely make much of a mark, but it's more of the commentary given towards the way mothers are somewhat supposed to act by today's standards that the film mostly thrives with. Alas, this isn't that much, as the remainder stays to standardised plot deviancies which even make their way towards child drug use. In short: a simple but partially entertaining story that goes by way too safe.
Whilst on the outset Mila Kunis would appear to be unideal casting as a mother of two older children, her younger appearance is quickly pushed out of mind to make way for a fun lead performance that barely does anything new other than giving the actress a new spin to previous roles in the likes of Ted and Friends with Benefits. Her biggest positive actually comes from her chemistry with co-stars Bell and Hahn, as the three bounce off one another naturally. Kristen Bell's plain and overly accepting mother figure adds a sense of benightedness towards proceedings, with a very minor subplot regarding her husband believing it's her duty to be a mum adding little other than some form of character growth in the film's final moments; whilst Kathryn Hahn is there just to show just how great she is in a comedic light. She truly shines in a role that no other actress could have really done. Christina Applegate's 'female dog' of a PTA President makes for a partially terrifying but well-done performance, whilst her lackeys Jada Pinkett Smith and Annie Mumolo add little more than moral support. Jay Hernandez is your typical beefcake love interest who seems just a little too perfect to truly accept as being real; David Walton seems to childish a former love interest to take seriously, let alone be in a long-lasting marriage with; Amy's children Oona Laurence (recently seen in Pete's Dragon) and Emjay Anthony are the basic child characters (Type A personality Ivy Leaguer and lazy son), while further players like Wanda Sykes are kinda just there.
Production-wise, there's isn't anything stellar to point out. The directing work of Lucas and Moore lends to very little stimulating imagery but instead more driven performances from their actors and actresses, while Jim Denault's cinematography is hardly worth mentioning. The editing looks fine; the constant soundtrack changes are debatable for their over usage but doesn't warrant much need for mass hysteria... for a film that began its principal photography in January this year, it may look and feel a little rushed but in actuality looks good enough for a comedy of its stature.
Bad Moms is a Mom-Com that's light on the comedy but heavy on the Mom stuff. With a bunch of ideal actresses who do sell their roles really well despite no inherent depth to them and a story that, whilst plain and simple, lends itself to plenty of scenarios that are worth a minor laugh. It's only slightly one of the better comedies in recent months purely for how fun it can be - although the preferable audience for this feature may be stuck inside being good moms. 4/10.
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