Bad Moms

Mila Kunis stars as Amy Mitchell, a well-meaning but frazzled mother of two, in the raunchy 2016 comedy "Bad Moms." Amy, alongside her friend Kiki (Kristen Bell) and a newcomer to her social circle, Gwendolyn (Jenna Fischer), struggles to balance her family's expectations with her own desires and needs. The film's narrative centers on the women's collective realization that they're no longer able to keep up the façade of perfect motherhood. As Amy navigates the demands of her job, her husband (David Walton) and children (Ovi and Emma Kunis), the pressure begins to take its toll. Her daughter, Jane, insists on participating in extracurricular activities while her son, Dylan, is constantly getting into mischief. Her best friend, Kiki, tries valiantly to keep pace with the expectations of motherhood but ultimately succumbs to burnout and exhaustion. Meanwhile, Amy is increasingly disenchanted with the seemingly impossible standards set by her friends and society at large. Amy meets her neighbor, Gwendolyn, whose daughter, Mabel, refuses to participate in a mother-daughter pageant. The two women bond over their shared disillusionment and the pressures they've endured from their families and friends. Kiki, too, joins the group after being pushed to her breaking point when she's forced to attend a school parent-teacher conference without being properly prepared. The trio forms an unlikely alliance, and over drinks one evening, they commiserate about the difficulties of motherhood. Their discussions devolve into a heated debate over the perceived shortcomings of their peers. Amy, Kiki, and Gwendolyn decide that the solution to their problems lies not in attempting to emulate the expectations of their friends or family but in embracing individuality. They start small by ditching their conventional responsibilities and giving themselves permission to prioritize their own wants and needs. They ditch their carefully curated Pinterest boards and abandon their plans for elaborate parties. Instead, they opt for a more carefree attitude towards life, and in doing so, they inadvertently challenge the values that have long governed their relationships. The women begin to shed their perfect mother personas, embracing their true selves instead of the idealized versions they've constructed. They engage in various vices, indulge in excessive spending, and abandon the carefully maintained façade of being well-organized and dedicated. As they start to break free from societal expectations, they inadvertently create tension among their peers, who struggle to accept their newfound individuality. Their newfound attitude attracts unwanted attention from a self-help author, Carla (Christine Baranski), who claims to have the answers that Amy and her friends are desperate to hear. However, Carla's message is nothing more than a thinly veiled commercial for her book, which offers little more than trite advice. Her advice resonates with some of the other mothers in the community, who begin to feel a pang of guilt and doubt in their own decision-making. In contrast, other mothers like Isis (Katie Finneran), whose daughter is a competitive cheerleader, begin to see the value in Amy and Gwendolyn's carefree attitude and opt to challenge their own roles as mothers. Throughout the film, Amy's relationships with her friends and family undergo significant changes. Her marriage takes on new depths as her husband learns to adapt to her newfound sense of individuality. Her relationships with her children, too, begin to change for the better as she finds more time to nurture and develop a deeper connection with each of them. The women are ultimately left to confront the reality that their individual pursuits don't necessarily have a positive impact on their family lives. However, they do come to understand the importance of maintaining healthy boundaries between themselves and the pressure that comes from the expectations of others. Ultimately, Amy and her friends emerge from their journey with a clearer vision of what it means to be a truly happy mother and a stronger sense of individuality.