'Bad Moms' Review

From the writers of 'The Hangover' comes 'Bad Moms' with a stacked cast featuring some of Hollywood's best comedy actresses like Christina Applegate and Kathryn Hahn as well as being led by the wonderful Mila Kunis. It looked as if the magic from the first 'Hangover' would be channeled with a female twist to create comedy gold. Unfortunately, 'Bad Moms' is very much so a missed opportunity.

Amy (Mila Kunis) is overworked due to her career and making sure everything is fine for her kids. Her husband is no help at all and it is becoming too much for Amy as a PTA meeting for a bake sale finally sends her over the line and she cracks. Two other moms, Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) join Amy as the ditch their duties and do whatever they please. Their reckless antics lead them to clash with the PTA and its president Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) and her followings of perfect moms.

'Bad Moms' most definitely had the potential to be a great female comedy. Recently, female led comedies such as 'Bridesmaids', 'Pitch Perfect' and dare I say it, 'Ghostbusters' have been movies that I have really enjoyed. Quite a succesful trend in my book and when you take into consideration the talent involved, you have to say this had potential. Unfortunately, the comedy is not great at all. There are a few moments sure that will get a genuine laugh but it really is only a few. The jokes aren't great and really fall flat a lot of the time. 

Kathryn Hahn is one of my favourite comedy actresses having impressed me in the likes of 'We're The Millers' and her appearances in 'Parks and Recreation'. I can't add 'Bad Moms' to the list as I really did not like her in this movie. Her character's comedy just consisted of her being as loud as possible whilst saying any random thing that comes to her head. For me, this didn't work and got old really fast which hurt my viewing as she was hard to bear whilst on screen.

Other than Amy, there aren't really any likeable characters in this movie. They are all horrible people to begin with and if not they soon progress to be which doesn't help. The PTA committee which includes Christina Applegate and Jada Pinkett Smith's characters are a huge pain in the ass but they are meant to be so doing this to their characters makes perfect sense. However, when the three leads become reckless, they aren't really that fun and are just irresponsible. They are letting loose but putting their children at risk by just leaving them to fulfill their needs. I probably wouldn't mind as much if the comedy was actually good but I can't say that it was. 

The film will also plead for you to suspend your disbelief throughout the whole movie. Everything seems so way out of hand from Amy's work to the PTA to her relationship with her husband. For one, nobody is buying that Amy and her husband ever had something as they are terrible together and you don't see why she would be with him at all. Amy's schedule is also ridiculous to the point where it is far from believable. You get this feeling throughout the movie that everything that is happening in their lives is unrealistic but is needed for the story to work.

By the end of the film, the moms accept that they can't be perfect moms in one of the films better parts. It makes it clear that they should strive to try their best regardless and look to fix overhanging problems. The only problem with the ending is despite them accepting that not everything will be prefect, everything falls into place and is perfect. Amy's kids can suddenly do anything and her son especially has transformed from the start. Her job just conveniently works out for her as well so her life has turned out perfectly. This feels as if it is going against its message that it had spent time setting up and actually told fairly well. 

Overall, 'Bad Moms' seems to follow a trend and a huge problem with recent comedies, it's just not that funny. For a comedy, of course this means that it has failed at its main aim. Horrible characters really hurt this film. The cast does seem to try but it just doesn't work out which is a real shame for this disappointing movie.

Final Verdict = 

So have you seen 'Bad Moms'? If so what did you think of it? I hope that this review was useful for if you were planning on seeing the movie. I hope that you enjoy this movie more than I did if you do choose to see it. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

'The Boss' Review

Melissa McCarthy must have one of the most hit or miss careers in recent years. She's starred in hit comedies like 'Bridesmaids', 'The Heat' as well as last years hit 'Spy'. On the other hand though we have some that really aren't so good. The likes of 'Identity Thief' and 'Tammy' have really left quite a negative impact on her status. It seems as if most of the movies are either great or terrible with no in between. And 'The Boss' is exactly the same.

Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) is the 47th wealthiest woman in America until she's busted for insider trading leading to a jail sentence. Broke and hated, Darnell looks to old worker Claire (Kristen Bell) who reluctantly helps her out. After being given the task to take Claire's daughter to her scouts meeting, she comes up with a plan to build a brownie empire. Many rivals, old and new stand in her way as she looks to get back to the top.

Unfortunately for audiences, McCarthy's latest film is an abomination. This is supposed to be a comedy yet I have seen thrillers with more laughs in them. If you have seen McCarthy's previous films then you know exactly what you are going to get. However this time it seems like it's one too many as it fails miserably this time. The jokes in this are absolutely terrible. I don't think I've sat through a more painful start of a film this year where McCarthy and Cedric Yarbrough have one of the most unfunny and terribly acted scenes.

In saying that though McCarthy isn't completely terrible. She does what she does in every film and I think that you can see that the quality in the writing just wasn't there at all to allow her to shine. Co-star Kristen Bell also doesn't do terribly as a single mum who just looks to provide for her daughter. The two don't do a good job in the film but compared to some other performances, they were like Daniel Day Lewis.

'The Boss' features the single worst performance I have seen in a movie this year and unfortunately to you 'Game of Thrones' fans out there, it came from Peter Dinklage. I have absolutely no idea to who thought that this character would've been entertaining or funny. For this to have came from such a talented actor as well, it makes it hurt even more. I guess the director and the writers have to take a lot of blame for this due to creating this monstrosity.

The previously mentioned Cedric Yarbrough was also terrible in this film but thankfully he didn't appear after the first ten minutes. Claire's boss played by Cecily Strong also puts in a terrible performance which isn't helped by the awkward pauses in her scenes that don't do anything but make the film worse. I really could go on with the list of performances that really helped the demise of this film but there is just far too many of them.

I'm really struggling to think of anything good about this film. When I realised that the film still had over half an hour left, it saddened me. The movie is horrible to watch and really isn't worth your time. A comedy is supposed to make you laugh and 'The Boss' fails miserably at this.

Final Verdict = 

The worst film I have seen this year. 

So have you seen 'The Boss'? If so what did you think of it? If you choose to go and see it, 1. I hope you reconsider and urge you not to waste your time. And 2. I certainly hope that you enjoy it more than I did which isn't hard. Once again, thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!