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‘A Bad Moms Christmas’: Uneven but Still Very Funny
By Sandra Olmsted
With A Bad Moms Christmas, writers/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore bring it on with a follow up to their popular 2016 comedy Bad Moms. In this installment, Kiki (Kristen Bell), Amy (Mila Kunis), and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) struggle to make Christmas the best ever because making Christmas perfect is the “Super Bowl for moms.” For each of them, there’s a new wrinkle; their moms have shown up at their houses for Christmas, and they’ve brought a lot of baggage with them. Can Kiki and Amy have the Christmas they want without disappointing their mom, and can Carla not be disappointed again? Like all good comedies, A Bad Moms Christmas has some seriousness underneath and takes on mother-daughter relationships with laughs and a stellar cast.
Kiki has four kids, a house, and a husband. Now it’s Christmas, and her clingy mom (Cheryl Hines) is coming, so the pressure is really on. It’s not just the clothing with Kiki’s likeness on them that has Kiki freaked out, it’s that her mom thinks she must watch Kiki fall asleep. When Kiki and her husband aren’t just sleeping when they discover her mom in their bedroom, Kiki insists on mother-daughter counseling with Dr. Karl (Wanda Sykes cameo). Will Kiki and her mom come to terms with those much-needed boundaries?
Carla, who works as a spa’s waxing specialist and tries to be a good, single mom to her son, can’t believe her mom (Susan Sarandon), who lives a rock ’n roll lifestyle, showed up for Christmas. They revisit old scams and enjoy each other’s company; however, Carla’s mom usually only shows up when she wants money. Although Carla can forgive her mom for anything, even ruining her first date with the exotic dancer Ty (Justin Hartley), can Carla forgive her mom if she bugs out before Christmas Day?
Amy is planning a mellow Christmas, which is what her children want. Amy’s super-critical mother (Christine Baranski doing mean, snarky, and funny better than anyone as usual) has her own plans for a perfect Christmas because her grandchildren need to know that the first Christmas since Amy’s divorce must be perfect. Amy’s plan is sledding, togetherness, and Chinese take out with her boyfriend, Jessie (Jay Hernandez), her friends, and all their kids. Will Amy have the strength to stand up to her mom. Faced with these impossible moms, Kiki, Carla, and Amy decide to make Christmas their own, but will their mothers let them?
Although clearly written by men and geared to the same audiences that enjoy the many raunchy R-rated comedies that have become so popular, A Bad Moms Christmas does offer some insight into the complexities of how mothers and daughters establish adult relationships. The cast is chock full of top-notch comic actors and actresses, so the humor works. Mood gets warmer and fuzzier and the humor more situational than laugh out loud funny in the second half.
While this holiday film is not for the family, it is ideal for over-stressed adults looking for an escape from creating perfect holiday experiences for everyone else. Rated R for crude sexual content and language throughout, and some drug use and running 104 minutes, A Bad Moms Christmas, a STX Entertainment release, is in theaters now.
