I have two reactions when I see trailers for Bad Moms:
“That is the worst thing I’ve ever seen,”
and then,
“OMG, I kinda want to see it…(I mean, the music does make it really fun.)”
According to Rotten Tomatoes, I’m not alone: 96% of people want to see it. Music aside, though, this is really upsetting. This movie is super stereotypical. We should be outraged, not intrigued.
First, let me give you some background on the movie, created by the writers of the ‘Hangover’ and starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Christina Applegate:
Mila Kunis is a stressed-out working mom pulled in way too many directions, and ultimately stands up to the super-Type-A PTO President Christina Applegate in front of the entire school community. A mini-war is waged and Kunis’ character creates a following of moms who feel that it’s impossible to be a “good mom.” So, instead, they decide be “bad”; they break bake sale rules, do whippets at a house party, take shots at a bar and make out with each other.
It’s “’Hangover’-meets-cliché-mommy-wars.”
So my ridiculous-bone says, “Let’s have a laugh,” while every other sensible bone in my body says, “All women should be insulted by this Hollywood monetization of female stereotypes.”
Here’s why:
- It’s 2016, people. Let’s not paint women as catty control-freaks who hate on others – and themselves.
- A mom letting off steam is not a bad mom.
- A mom drinking/partying is not a bad mom (as long as her kids aren’t affected). Although I don’t agree with the whippets!
- Moms aren’t the only people who take part in PTO and school activities. Dads need to rally here because this makes being involved in school functions look like a Stepford-wives-only party.
- PTO life is hard. Like, really hard, thankless work. They actually work over the summer to make your school amazing and safe, and not many people even realize it.
- “Mommy wars” are mostly media sensations, but this movie just glamorized them and stirred the pot a little more. Thanks a lot.
- The movie makes a mockery of how women do business and how they view themselves as valuable members of society.
There’s no “bad mom” in this bunch. And the truth is that most of us have some sort of Achilles heel that sometimes makes us feel not so great at the job we love most (motherhood). But not for one second does that mean we’re bad. God, no. It actually means we’re trying really, really hard. In fact, a recent Care.com survey found that 66% of moms would absolutely describe themselves as a good parent, and 69% rated themselves as an 8 or higher.
So let’s stop comparing ourselves to each other, or trying to achieve some definition of “perfect,” and just admit we’re pretty great at what we do.
And if Hollywood would just get out of our biz-ness, we wouldn’t have to see the worst gender stereotypes played out on the big screen, complete with Jerry Springer-type behavior and sensationalized mommy makeouts. In fact, we would then have one less thing to worry about.
And btw: IRL, Mila Kunis’s character would totally have had a nanny making her life 1000x easier. But that’s just another reason this movie is ridiculous.
