Bad Moms

Year: 2016
Genre: Comedy
Directed: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Stars: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate, Jada Pinkett Smith, Annie Mumolo, Oona Laurence, Emjay Anthony, David Walton, Clark Duke, Jay Hernandez, Wendell Pierce
Production: STX Entertainment

So you're thinking of buying a ticket to Bad Moms. Maybe you saw the trailer and you thought the premise looks interesting. Maybe the collective star-power of Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Christina Applegate was just too tempting and you're just jonesing for a fix of bacchanalian comedy. If you do I would like to be the first to welcome you to Half-Baked R-Rated Comedy Land where original ideas are warmly welcomed before being sanitized, pacified and made soullessly marketable for the sake of a healthy domestic box-office. Please take notes and pay attention; with any luck after watching Bad Moms you too can make a mediocre comedy befitting exploitation and completely lacking substance.

First you need an "original" comedic idea. It's easier than it sounds, all you need is to take something innocuous and/or innocent, mix it with a few symbols of marketable rebellion and touch on a few cultural lines of demarcation while feigning social commentary to make it look edgy. You also need a sassy title; one that takes a monosyllabic trigger word and somehow links it with the plot, like Bad Santa (2003) or Sex Tape (2014) or Old School (2003). Voila you got your script!

literally the exact same joke...

"Wait a minute," I hear you cry, "Doesn't a script have like scenes and dialogue?" Not in Half-Baked R-Rated Comedy Land it doesn't. All you need is a few locations on standby, a general idea of the plot you want (heroes journey, the rebirth, rags to riches etc.) and a couple of willing actors willing to chew the scenery and improvise their way through. No need for comedic setups and payoffs when you got game actors, willing to make funny noises and find ever more creative ways to say the word "c**k". Also make sure to have basic coverage in every scene and get some establishing shots on your way to set. Don't worry the editor will find the film in post.

Now let's take on Bad Moms specifically and see what makes it tic. Firstly in today's day-and-age it's very in vogue to appeal to women. We've come along way since The Sweetest Thing (2002); thus films in general, but comedies especially need to address the lingering frustrations of working women in the best way two dudes who wrote The Hangover trilogy (2009-2013) can. Again it's frightfully easier than it sounds. Just envision a permanently besieged female protagonist whose life resembles a Family Feud (1999-Present) survey where the the question is "What are the biggest complaints your wife has." Then make the answer to those growing frustrations "f**k it!" because let's face it, chicks are basically men without penises.

And of course, if you find yourself questioning your directorial decisions. If you feel a light and dishonest treatment of the real problems of division of household labor, child-rearing, life-work balance and generational entitlement is just too glib; remember the acronym BARP. It stands for Booze, Attitude, Recreational Drugs, and Partaaay with emphasis on the taaaay! Just because comedy can be a force for change doesn't mean it should be. The raucous screams of vodka soaked party-goers will do just as well.

Final Grade: D-