Bad Moms Movie – Photo credit: youtube.com
I’ve been impatiently waiting to see “Bad Moms“, and yesterday finally grabbed my sis-in-law, kissed the hubby and kids good-night, and headed straight for a movie treat. And what a treat it was!
This hilarious yet sentimental comedy had me laughing, tearing up, and leaving most of my “mommy guilt” on the movie theater seat. I said most of it, still gotta worry about some stuff after all…
Think of it as the mommy/female version of the Hangover movie. A comedy aimed at destroying the gender stereotype of smother mothers everywhere. You know the mothers I’m talking about…The ones who spend hours making their babies’ homemade foods only to give you the side eye when you pop your store-bought jars of pureed carrots from your stained diaper bag. Or the ones who raise their eyebrows when you don’t volunteer for at least two extra-curricular activities, or bring non-homemade goodies to the school’s bake sale…
In “Bad Moms”, Amy, a devoted 32-year-old working mom to her two kids, bends over backwards to emulate that stereotype. So she runs from kids’ drop-offs to annoying work meeting, then to two-hour-long PTA meetings and unending bake sales…all the while her husband’s cheating on her and she’s nearing a mental breakdown. Until the day she decides enough is enough, and goes on a “bad mom” trip…And the rest is an artfully orchestrated sequence of funny, inspirational and at times downright emotional, yet oh so real moments…
I loved watching Amy (played by the amazing Mila Kunis), as the “good mom gone bad”, put her childish, cheating husband out and decide to stop coddling her kids so much, so she can have a real life. The neurotic, “doormat mom” Kiki (played by Kristen Bell) had me jumping off my seat when she told her hubby to figure out how to care for their kids on his own. And the overly sexed-up, hilarious Carla (Kathryn Hahn) had me in stitches as she sought to make out with pretty much anything reminiscent of a male sexual organ, while unapologetically being her own kind of “bad mom”.
The thing is, I could find myself in each and every one of these women. I, and most moms out there, have been there. Trying to fit in the annoying work meeting with the kids’ pickup schedule. Bringing store-bought brownies to the bake sale (albeit on a beautiful platter, pretending they just came out of the oven). Saying yes to the school PTA meeting when all you really want is go home and lay down. We’ve also been on the other side of the spectrum too, obsessing over every detail, and checking to make sure the baby’s diapers are bio-degradable. Or just skipping that last diaper change, giving hurried instructions to the babysitter so we could enjoy a night out with the girls.
I know I have…And I know I’m not the only one. It still stings a bit when I remember this fellow mom bragging about what an honor it is to give birth “naturally”, after I had just delivered my first baby via emergency C-section. Or the unsolicited advice from other women about pretty much everything from how to feed your kid to how much time you should spend with them…And the silent shame and guilt at being an ambitious working mom hustling for my dreams, instead of focusing every single minute of every waking day to my kids…Feeling like I had to get it (and keep it) together, at work, at the kids’ school, on the playground, or as I try to pee alone. Exhausting! Utterly, definitely, unbelievably exhausting!
Being a mom has never been so hard as it is today. In our ultra-connected, social-media driven society where our kids are over scheduled, over-stimulated, and frankly over-spoiled, we feel the need to do it all, and do it all perfectly all the time. To be the mom who takes her kids to all the swim meets and piano lessons and soccer games, while making sure their school projects are the best, that they eat enough protein and look perfect on every Instagram picture. Truth is, that seemingly perfect mom, is so tired she falls asleep as soon as she sits down somewhere, and has to buy extra packages of concealer to make it through a regular workday. No wonder she doesn’t exactly think about sex (unless it’s scheduled ahead of time) or still wears her mom bra from her last pregnancy five years ago…
Bottom line: none of us is perfect, and none of us is a perfect mom. And it felt so good to see our fears, awkward, happy and crazy mommy moments translated on-screen in such a simple yet personal way. It felt so good to just kick my heels and for once, stop blaming myself for not being like the next mom. To just laugh at the mistakes, celebrate the good, and accept that there’s a “bad mom” in all of us, and that it’s OK.
I stepped out of the movie theater with a pep in my step, a fresh swipe of my Revlon lipstick bought on sale earlier, and a newfound appreciation for the woman inside. I can’t guarantee I won’t be late for the kids’ pickup next week, but what I’m sure of is, I’ll never look at myself the same again. Or at any other mom out there. We’re all doing the best we can, and that’s a heck of a lot already…
So for today, I’ll just enjoy being a “bad mom” and skipping the laundry…and the dishes too…Oh and by the way, we’re ordering out….
And if you’re still on the fence, check out the official trailer here:
PS: Shoutout to all the “bad moms” out there, you rock!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
