2389. A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)

Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell

Director: Scott Moore, Jon Lucas

Running Time: 104 mins

A Bad Moms Christmas is an American film and the sequel to Bad Moms. While preparing for a nice, relaxed Christmas, the moms are hit with a surprise as each of their mothers decides to come and stay for the holidays, wreaking havoc on their plans.

I really enjoyed the first Bad Moms. Funny, charismatic and energetic throughout, with the added bonus of a heartfelt story at its core, it was a great watch. Its festive sequel, on the other hand, doesn’t quite succeed in all the same areas, and although it still proves a fun watch with its entertaining lead characters and decent jokes throughout, it’s unfortunately missing the same depth that made the first such a likable film.

First off, however, there’s no doubt that A Bad Moms Christmas achieves its main objective, that is being a funny comedy. Much like the first film, the energetic trio of Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn make for some great laughs throughout, and although they’re not quite as tightly knit a leading group as in the first film, each of their characters has a moment to shine throughout, and that’s complemented with the same irreverent humour that we saw last time out.

There’s an argument that the film is a little crude, and I won’t deny that some of its cruder jokes don’t quite land as well as they intend to, which can backfire when the film is really trying to go all out as a raunchy, off-the-wall comedy. However, there are far, far cruder films out there that get far less criticism, and although that brand of humour may clash a little with the traditional Christmas atmosphere, there are undoubtedly enough good jokes throughout to keep you laughing and fully entertained.

On the flipside, however, A Bad Moms Christmas fails where Bad Moms shone brilliantly, and that’s in the emotional depth of its story. While Bad Moms was of course first and foremost a good comedy, the reason that it stands out in my mind so much is the passionate delivery of engrossing core themes, namely pointing the finger at overly pushy parents, as well as celebrating the role of mothers in everybody’s lives, and giving due consideration for everything they do for us.

In this film, however, the movie’s core message is a lot less passionate and heartwarming, and often even comes off as a little mean-spirited. Of course, the core idea is still the same, celebrating mothers in whichever form they may come, but most of the film centres on our three leading ladies getting (often rightfully) angry at their mothers’ various bizarre behaviours, and that doesn’t help to get you on side for the positive message the film is trying to bring across.

As a result, the movie lacks a pleasant emotional core that the best Christmas movies are so full in, while also paling in comparison to its predecessor’s brilliant main themes. All in all, though, this is still a very fun film with good humour and entertaining performances across the board, and although it may not have the depth to really stand out, it proves thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless, and that’s why I’m giving A Bad Moms Christmas a 7.2 overall.