BY MELISSA ANTOINETTE GARZA
Truth be known, I was never a fan of THAT ‘70S SHOW. I thought it was a tamed down attempt to recapture the underground success of DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993). The episodes I did watch were in syndication and it was easy to see that the two stand-out stars were the female leads. Both Laura Prepon and Mila Kunis had presence, comedic timing, and an outstanding acting ability. If anything displays the sexism in Hollywood, it’s the fact that Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace secured large acting roles before their female counterparts.
Now, it seems that both Prepon and Kunis have surpassed the men and both are doing amazing work. Prepon was gold in the true-story KARLA (2006) where she portrayed Canadian serial killer Karla Homolka. Prepon was also terrific in the NETFLIX series ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK.
Kunis has found her own success in high-grossing, well-received films. She co-starred in both THE BLACK SWAN (2010) and FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (2011). The movies couldn’t be further apart and provided Kunis the opportunity to show her versatility.
I love movies about friendship. I love seeing when a group of women or men get together and form a strong united front. Films like THE HANGOVER (2009), KEANU (2016), MEAN GIRLS (2004) or WAITING TO EXHALE (1995), are so engaging and fun to watch. The connections made on screen are believable and can make one think and smile about their own BFFs.
I saw the trailer for BAD MOMS and it peaked my interest. Though I’m not a mom, I can personally understand the demands and expectations that all women are often forced to feel they have to live up to. It reminded me of movies like THE FIRST WIVES CLUB (1996) and THE OTHER WOMAN (2014), both of which I enjoyed immensely.
After watching SUICIDE SQUAD for the fourth time, I decided to go see BAD MOMS. Kunis stars as Amy Mitchell. She’s a working woman in her early 30s and a married mother of two. Her husband Mike (Dave Walton) acts like a child. When Amy is disappointed her son obtained a D on a test, Mike high-fives him for not failing. Later, she walks on Mike cheating online with an internet whore.
She kicks him out, but still tries to be the perfect mom. She cooks breakfast, brings the dog to the vet, eats in her car, and goes to every PTA meeting that the PTA President Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) schedules. Amy shows up late to a last minute meeting much to the chagrin of Gwen. As punishment, Gwen attempts to put Amy in charge of a bake sale with a list of dietary restrictions. Drained and pushed to the limit, Amy shocks everyone says ‘no.’ She then leaves and goes to a bar.
At the bar, she sees fellow mom Carla (Katheryn Hahn). Carla is looked down upon everyone. She’s a single mother who drinks heavily, sleeps with married men and in any other film would be a character the viewers should hate. Instead, here she is a sympathetic woman who teams up with Amy. Though, Carla is flawed, she has a heart and is fiercely loyal to her friends. Much of the persona she displays is without question the result of being looked down upon by the community. It’s a defense mechanism of sorts and though the film doesn’t delve deeply into it, certain comments make it very apparent. In one scene, Carla confides that Amy is the only mother who ever spoke with her. Also, when Carla is seen with her kid, she gets emotional and though it’s difficult for her to express love, she forces herself to admit it to him.
Kiki (Kristen Bell) runs to the bar to find Amy. She tells Amy that her standing up to Gwen was amazing. The three form a quick alliance. Kiki doesn’t have any friends and is desperate to make some. Her husband however is an overbearing dick who seems to believe he lives in the 1950s. He makes Kiki take care of all 4 kids without help and is upset when he finds her out with Amy and Carla. Kiki finds strength with her friends as they encourage her to stand up for herself.
The three decide to be “bad moms.” Amy stops cooking for her kids, doesn’t go to work, drives her husband’s expensive small car, and basically does whatever she wants.
When Gwen sees that Amy is serious about fighting the system, she decides to go after Amy’s kids. She makes certain that Amy’s daughter is benched on the soccer team. When Amy finds out Gwen is screwing with her, she decides to run against Gwen to become PTA President.
Then the gloves are off and the three women go head-to-head with Gwen and her two friends.
Overall, the film was fantastic. It is pretty much what you expect when you go into it. There aren’t any surprises that floor you, but it certainly is a film that demonstrates the strength of women. It shows the difficulty single and married moms endure. It shows the loneliness felt by women who only interact with their kids and the number of menial tasks that women are forced to do every day. Still, it isn’t preachy. It’s definitely a feminist picture, but it doesn’t hit you over the head with it. It delivers its message in an amusing, straight-forward way that anyone can enjoy.
One unique aspect to this film is that the villains have sympathetic sides. Even Gwen expresses her emotional attachment to the PTA. I’ve loved Christina Applegate forever. I adored MARRIED WITH CHILDREN. The barriers it broke and the balls-to-the-wall, take-no-prisoners attitude of the show is unsurpassable. It’s right up there with ALL IN THE FAMILY and THE JEFFERSONS for both comedy and political commentary. Applegate brought her brilliant comedic timing and excellent acting to the table. She portrayed a strong independent woman who carried her own baggage that wore on her.
Applegate reminds me of actresses from the 1930s. She has a Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Vivien Leigh style to her. I would love to see her take a leading role in a drama. If they ever remade A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) again, she would portray an amazing Blance Dubois. I would love to see her as Norma Desmond in a remake of SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) or if they ever decide to remake THE STEPFORD WIVES (1972) properly, she would be perfect for Joanna Eberhart.
I love seeing her in comedies as she is brilliant in every single one. Even if she has a poor script, she sells the material. Still, we definitely need dramas and suspense films showing realistic strong women and Applegate is perfect to pick that up and run with it.
Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell portrayed their characters splendidly as polar opposites that help each other grow. They were fun and brought out the best in each other. I’m a long time fan of Bell. I first saw her in the Lifetime movie GRACIE’S CHOICE (2004) which I highly suggest. She was also the best part of THE BOSS (2016). Even when the dialogue was uneven and only given to allow Melissa McCarthy to throw in a punchline afterwards, Bell was the one that made the scene watchable. She was so likable in the role that even when McCarthy was irritating and shrill, the viewer kept watching because of Bell.
Hahn is also a fantastic actress. She’s both a hilarious comedic actress and a powerful dramatic one. She was one of the great highlights in WE ARE THE MILLERS (2013) and did magnificent as the devoted girlfriend who is cheated on in the Amazon series TRANSPARENT (2014).
As for Mila Kunis, she was great in the lead. She kept me laughing throughout the film. She sold the sentimental and sweet moments ensuring the audience sympathized with Amy and rooted for her to win. Kunis, I see doing fantastic as a lead in disaster style films. She has an action-esque quality to her. I’m not talking SHARKNADO (2013) territory by any means. Instead, I’d love to see more serious films like THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974) or THE POSEIDON AVENTURE (1972) made again. If the cast and character development is the focus rather than CGI, we could definitely see these types of film garnish attention. Kunis would be perfect as the woman leading people to safety. She could reprise a version of the Gene Hackman character Frank Scott from THE POSIDEON ADVENTURE. Kunis’s ability to deliver significant speeches and captivate the viewers by doing so, definitely makes her an asset to the film industry.
Hopefully, we will see more movies that cast women in the lead role. We have so many strong, confident and capable actresses. I would love an action movie with a realistic woman in the lead. As much as people like KILL BILL (2003) and LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER (2001), we’re hungry for a three-dimensional, naturalistic female action hero that beats the enemies with her mind rather than her hand. One of the best examples of a female action hero is Nancy in the horror classic NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984). Nancy didn’t fist-fight or karate kick Freddy. She set up booby-traps and played him. Anna Kendrick recently showed her chops as Martha in the action-comedy MR. RIGHT (2015). She was phenomenal and used her words and guns to fight. Only when she had no choice did the character use her fists as weapons. This is the type of character that Kunis would shine in. She’s got a natural flare to her that would work so well in that capacity.
As for BAD MOMS, though formulaic, the movie still shined against inferior films that carried similar plots. It stayed away from the raunchy toilet humor, which I appreciated. It also steered clear of stupid fights that movies with women always seem to have. There was never any turmoil between the friends. They didn’t get jealous of one another or act trivial. It’s such a false negative stereotype that women can’t get along. I’ve been best friends with Winkler for well over a decade and we have never once fought. We have a blast together making trouble and poking fun at old colleagues that were dicks. Women are not these nitpicky crybabies. Sure, there is a subset of people who act that way, but they come in both male and female – and without question they suck. Why Hollywood loves to display women in such a demeaning and childish manner is beyond me, but BAD MOMS rose above it and delivered a refreshing and realistic portrayal of the strong female bond and understanding among great friends.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
