What does it say about "A Bad Moms Christmas" that the funniest line in it is uttered by Kenny G? (Sorry, I can't quote it.) A deeply uninspired sequel to last year's surprise (and surprisingly sweet) hit "Bad Moms," this movie was made in a hurry and it shows.
No time to write a screenplay? No problem _ just have the characters say the same things over and over, namely variants on the following: "Being a mom is stressful," "Christmas is stressful," "Being around your mother is stressful," "Being a mom whose mother is visiting at Christmastime is REALLY stressful," and "Why am I not drinking wine right now?" (Oh, wait, nobody on-screen said that last bit; it was me, looking sadly at an empty popcorn bag.)
Essentially, "A Bad Moms Christmas" reunites mom pals Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn), along with their newly-introduced respective mothers Ruth (Christine Baranski), Sandy (Cheryl Hines) and Isis (Susan Sarandon), during the holiday season, where everyone gets stressed out, drinks/smokes a lot, squabbles and eventually finds the True Meaning of Christmas shining through. That's it. Everyone involved is clearly slumming (particularly the great Baranski, who occasionally seems _ quite gloriously _ to be floating somewhere above the film); nothing comes even close to being as memorable as the original movie's hoodie scene. Maybe it's fun to watch if you round up a bunch of friends and go to happy hour first? Then again, probably "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" is, too.
Happy holidays, moviegoers! By the way, Hollywood, could we please get the Halloween decorations put away before the Christmas movies begin?
