NAUGHTY & NICE
‘Bad Moms’ rebel against holiday pressures in sequel
Assequels go, “A Bad Moms Christmas” gets the job done, if just barely. Last year, when Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) first appeared as a weary trio of homemakers, they had a fresh take on domesticity: Women inspired to take back their lives from the crushing responsibilities of trying to be perfect moms.
Raunchy, funny and familiar, “Bad Moms” ended with a genuinely touching credit sequence in which the actresses sat down with real mothers and talked.
Nothing as real exists in the by-the-numbers sequel, in which the big inspiration for co-writers/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore is having each star cope with a Momma from Hell and, for eye candy, the nicest male stripper (spectacularly ab-defined “This Is Us” star Justin Hartley) anyone could imagine.
With plot twists that never try to make sense, the tone might be charitably called absurd. Whenever there's a lull, count on a merry montage with upbeat music as everyone dances, laughs or does whatever you can do without saying lines.
Worst grandmother here is a toughie. Rich, condescending and obnoxious Ruth (Christine Baranski) arrives with meek domesticated husband (Peter Gallagher) in tow. She's determined to give a splashy, huge Christmas bash that takes over Amy's house.
Kiki's mom, Sandy (Cheryl Hines), has boundary issues. Whenever she hugs her daughter, she smells her. She also has colored and cut her hair just like her daughter. When Kiki hops into bed with her mannequin-like husband, they're shocked to discover mom sitting in a bedroom chair and watching.
Carla's hippie con woman mother, Isis (Susan Sarandon), has zero interest in her daughter, much less her slow-witted grandson. All she cares about is getting the money to gamble.
Carla, however, gets the film's best Christmas gift. Fireman turned stripper Ty Swindel (Hartley) finds love at first sight with spa employee Carla as she waxes his privates.
Inevitably, everyone eventually bonds, hugs and gives life lessons. Nothing in this sequel is as inspired as Hahn's breakthrough turn in the original. Nothing approaches the giddy delights of summer's “Girls Trip.”
It's the veterans, able to give a polished spin to mostly risible material, who give “A Bad Moms Christmas” its sparkle.