Bad Moms

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Speaker 1: On the Dog Cast, the questions asked if movies have women in them, are all their discussions just boyfriends and husbands, or do they have individualism? The patriarchy? Zef and Best start changing it with the Bell Cast. Hi, mommies, how's that good? That was great? Mommies. Welcome to the back door gass mommies and non mommies. But you know this week, mommy has come to the front of the line. That's right. I make no mistake, not just good mommies, but bad mommies to bad mommies as well. Welcome bad mommies to the bad Mommies episode of UM. I was almost gonna say, like, this is how traumatized I am at this point where I was almost gonna say, like, Caitlin, we can be bad podcasters, but you know that that's just giving an asshole like a template of a mean iTunes review. So I'm like, better not do it. Okay, So this is this is our annual Mother's Day episode. I miss I miss my Mom. Yeah, I miss my Mom. She's doing okay, although her health is not. She has lime disease I think, and she has a lot of pain from that. But then she's like well, what if it's COVID nineteen, So no one knows anything. But my mom's health is a little precarious at the moment, but I think she'll be fine. I think my mom Yeah, similar deal. My mom has rheumatoid arthritis and it's been I think it's just like if you already have chronic pain, being cooped up in your house NonStop just doesn't do it any favors. So like she and and she's also I'm shout out to Jill because I'm pretty sure she's been a loyal listener throughout the choir. Oh Jill, because she has been teaching her second grade class still um through through Zoom through Zoom, which I'm like, I shout I mean shout out to where this is a weird started the episode, but it's a quarantine episode so that doesn't matter, but shout out to like all the parents and teachers right now who are making school happen over zoom. I truly cannot wrap my head around that students too, Like it's just who it's it's amazing. Not to brag or anything, but I teach online screenwriting classes, which I always forget to plug on the podcast. But if anyone's interested in learning screenwriting from yours? Truly someone with a master's degree in screenwriting that I absolutely hate to bring up. But um, I teach classes through Zoom but I only have like a cap it at five students per section and they're all, you know, adults, so and I'm like, I can barely handle that. Well, it's like that's the thing is, Like I've been in our writer's room like during the days, and I'm like, I am an adult woman. Who I It's so hard to pay attention. It's so hard. I'm like, why am I on eBay? Like I this is my job. I hope no one for I don't think that. But anyways, I've been on eBay and I'm doing my job. But I'm like on eBay so you know, we can all be It feels good to be bad, the wise person What's told me? Well, that's sort of the theme of the movie. It feels good to be bad. And we're back. Welcome to the Bechtel Cast. This is uh, this is if you're a new listener, what a weird start. This is our podcast about the representation of female identifying characters in movies. We use the Bechdel test as a jumping off point for discussion. But what is the Bechdel test? Well, I asked myself each and every week. I'm happy to answer your question. It is a media metric originally developed by cartoonist Alison Bechtel, sometimes called the Bechtel Wallace test, and it requires ars that the narrative have two female identifying characters with names who speak to each other about something other than a man. And the specific metric that we use is it has to be a two or more line exchange of dialogue. And a lot of movies cannot manage this simple metric. And interestingly, and we'll be talking about this iconic duo. I mean when people say, like Caitlin and Jamie, name a more iconic duo, I automatically say John Lucas and Scott More. Uh. But you know, many movies that the writers of this movie have have written in no way past the Backtel test. We've got a weird We've got a weird one today. There's pros and there's cons, but we're here. There's discourse. I wanted before we get into it, because it's where it's just the two of us today. Um, So I was curious I have. I've just been interested in hearing like other podcasters that I listened to, just like, what is like a thing in quarantine that you've gotten into, or like a show or a thing that you're like. I have been rewatching, Um a show that I really enjoy that I had only seen once. But Over the Garden Walls. Oh, yes, you recommended that to me? Yes, I I can't recommend it enough. It's short, it's fun, it's cookie um. It was originally on Cartoon Network, it's on Hulu now. I really enjoy it. Um so fun. Any any over the Garden Wall heads out there, you let me know. I'm going to recommend a show that I've been watching really because I've also been like working three jobs in the core, which is like it doesn't make anything like it's very lucky, but it also is like just really fuss with your head a little bit. But I watched the first season of On Becoming a God in Central Florida, and it's really good. Kirsten Dunst is gray nice and I love it. So that's our cor Rex. Yeah, cor Rex, let's talk about bad moms. Let's do it. So, yes, we don't have a guest today, but I did. I wanted to get some you know, opinions of moms and whether or not this movie resonated with moms. So, um, I have a few little, you know, tweets to share and stuff like that, mom tweets. What what was your history? Do you have a history with this movie? Uh No, I don't. I had never seen it, nor it's sequel A Bad Mom's Christmas. Didn't. I just skipped them. I based on what I knew about them when they came out and like who was making them and stuff. I was like, I don't think these are going to be for me. Yeah, I was right, say not because of the premise, more just because of the writing style and the like the comedic sensibilities of these writers and stuff like that. I just like the bloated big budget comedy genre asthetic, like this specific aesthetic and like don't, I don't, it's not even really I guess it's kind of a genre. It's also not for me. Uh yeah. So this movie came out, I mean fairly recently. I had seen I've seen Bad Mom's Christmas. I watched it because Christine Baranski was in it, and I didn't love the movie. But I did love Christine Branski and and Susan Surrandon's in it. She's pretty, she's good in it as well. It's I honestly, I will say I really preferred Bad Mom's Christmas to Bad Moms Interesting. But I think that that might just be because you get like twice the amount of twice the moms. Twice the moms. You have Cheryl Hines, Christine Baranski and Susan Stain like those, they're all like, you know, knocking it out of the park, even though the writing still, stay with me, stinks, But you have like twice the amount of fun performances. So it's it just was more fun. But sure, yeah, I saw, I watched watched Bad Moms. I it's it's frustrating because it's like, and we'll talk about this a lot, because it's like a really good premise and like a really strong cast, and everything I dislike about the movie has to do with the way it's written and directed. And then when you're like, oh, it was written and directed by the Hangover guys, of course I don't like it. Yeah, So it's it's kind of a bummer because I'm sure that it would have been impossible to make this movie without their co signing of it, which is frustrating in itself, and then everything I don't like about the movie is them getting in the way of a good premise and a good cast. So, um, I'm glad it exists, but uh, you know, generally was like, we gotta be able to do better in this come on there, we most certainly can we and I think that we have. That was another thing that before we super jump into it, I did a little research, as I've been known to do, wow brag perhaps some context. I was just looking into like where moms have been represented in comedic movies, and there's really not that much. There is not a ton There's a lot of movies that have moms in them but are not about moms. So it's like this movie was a huge hit. It made a hundred eighty million dollars off a two million dollar budget, So to me that indicates, you know, like this is clearly a market. People want this movie, and it was like reasonably well received. But yeah, because they're there, there's just not really moms represented as like a central focus in movies where you do see a lot and I think, like a lot better than what this movie has to offer is there's a lot of TV that's come out in the past couple of years that is comedy focused around motherhood. And so it's just I hope that and I mean, god knows how or if movies will be made anymore. Um that this is the end of the industry as we know it, probably, but it's like Christine Baranski is going to be in like a plastic bubble. You know, it's gonna be a whole thing. But but I hope that, you know, I was encouraged at least to see. I mean, there's a ton of comedy shows of all different like genres of comedy. There's like network comedy, there's niche about mothers, but it just is not represented in movies. So this is just kind of like what there is right now. Wild But you know, if you're if you're a mom looking for all, Um, when this episode comes out, I'll try to do a little thread of like TV recommended watching because it seems like that's where the options are. Yeah, that'd be great. And with that, should we do the recap and go from there? Let's do it. So the story of bad Moms bed Mummies. Um, we meet bad Mummy number one, although she's not bad Mummy yet. She's good Mummy. But they're but they're they're bad. Sometimes they're all like good moms. But they also go through really long montage sequences that I fast forwarded like shot truly, like we I can't talk about visual jokes in the because I just and they're all three minutes long. It's too every These guys they just love a long, expensive montage and I just don't care about it. That are like in slow motion. There's like some you know, poppy bop in the background and it's just like this, you get one of those. Don't have fourteen in your movie? Yeah, And like can you be three characters that we at least know? Like there? But by the time the first like at length cameo comes in, I'm like, I think I know one thing about Kristen Bell's character. How am I supposed to be like reveling in this? Like wow, like you don't know? You really only know? I would you really only get to know Mila Kunas in this movie. I think you know one thing about Kristin Bell, which is that her husband sucks and that I mean that's just John Lucas and Scott More No matter who they're writing for, they only know how to write broad stereotypes for sure. So you just don't get to know Kristin Bell and Catherine Han. You just don't. But first we barely get to know Amy Mitchell. That's uh Mila Kunis's character. Were you were you frustrated? Okay, so I'm sorry, I'm like this movie was really Were you frustrated in the first scene where they're introducing her, when she's like, uh, I sweat and workout class and You're like, you're Mela kuni is. Give me a break there, don't I don't like when movies are like Melacunas is so awkward and you're like, no, she isn't she? I think she was miscast in this role. But also who would have been cast in a such a broad stereotyped role like this? I mean, who would this be good for? Really? I think Mela Conics is so talented. We've seen her be amazing and I feel like she is. Yeah, she is very miscast in this movie. Yeah, so is Kristin Bell. I think that true. Like of the main cast, I think that like Christina Applegate and Catherine Han are pretty well cast, but it's only because they're playing characters that they've been forced to play before that are not fair to them. Where it's like, oh, Christina Applegates is going to play like an uptight, rude person and she's been she's had to do that forever, and like Catherine Hans going to play like a very you know. It's like and I hope they had fun and they did a good job, but it's even when it's properly cast, her like this still is like not very nice. I don't know. Okay, where were we we have? We men ate me more egg. She's boring, she's she's overworked, she's underappreciated. She had her first kid when she was twenty. She is now thirty two. She has two kids, Jane and Dylan. Um, they do a bunch of extracurricular activities, but she's always trying to you know, make it to like go to the you know events in the games and the recitals and whatever. But um, she's always late to everything. That's her thing. She's late to everything. She's such a bad mom. She has a part time job at a hipster coffee company, working in sales. I think we'll talk about that but this is a piece of WRITINGGG that is so like roll your eyes into the back of your head, okay, boomer that I was so annoyed by it, where it's like just clearly two out of touch dudes being like millennials in the workplace. They take two weeks off when John snow dies and you're like, mel coolness is a millennia? What are you taught? Like? They're they're so like avocado toe, like they're just they're stupid. They're stupid, and that anytime the workplace thing came up, I was just deeply annoyed because it just made it made no sense. It was very frustrating. Yes, but that's her job, and um, she just always has so much going on and she's worried that she might be a bad mom. There's also this group of judgmental moments that shame Amy for like having a job and being so busy. The queen bee of them is Gwendolen, which is Christina Applicates character. And then she has two friends played by Jada Pinkett Smith and Annie Mamlo. Give Jada Pinkett Smith more lines what she was fairly a character. I want to think best case scenario. There's like a whole like there are scenes with Jada Pinkett Smith that just like had to be cut for some reason because I'm just like, why would you go through the trouble of getting someone who is like truly awesome in a movie where it is like very very white and then get this like iconic black actor and then give her no lines. It's so it's annoying on many levels, truly, yes, uh. And then like Annie Mamalo who co wrote Bridesmaids, like she's just like pigeonholed into this like idiot type, but like she's funnier than that, like give her opportunities to shine. And also well, that's like seeing Annie Mamalo in this movie is super frustrating because you're just like, why didn't you let her write this movie? Right? She's we like, she's she is infinitely more qualified to do it, and you're just gonna make her like again, another like very talented person in this movie who has three lines, and you're like, what, I hope she got a boat. But like any Mamalo is a parent. She is the same age as like the writer directors of this movie. She already had Bridesmaids under her belt with this game out, Why couldn't she have written it like great questions, great questions all around. It's it's be fuddling yep. Um, so that okay. So Amy has a her husband, this guy Mike infuriating storyline. Yes, um he his whole thing is that he's pretty immature. He's kind of a doof he like doesn't really do anything to help around the house. And then one night Amy catches him masturbating to a cam girl. Um, which she apparently has been doing for ten months. So she kicks him out of the house. The next day, she has a terrible day. You know, she spills coffee on herself, she spills spaghetti on herself. Oh, she's such a clutz, Caitlin, She's such a clutz. She's such a bad mom. Her dog has vertigo because modern parents be having vertigo dogs. You're like, I'm just like, there's some things in this that You're just like, this is more of a rich person thing. Dogs on vertigo medication sounds kind of like a rich person thing. Uh. They're like there. I also, I mean, there is like a storyline with the husband, but it was like another frustrating. I feel like the writer directors John and Scott are are kind of like both cutting themselves like and telling on themselves through the husband character, because it's kind of like a character we've seen before of like, oh, he's not a bad person, he's just like kind of a du fist. He's just dumb. He would never hurt his wife on purpose. I mean, I think it's like goofy and fits the tone of the movie, but it also just means like, oh, no, guy is gonna like super recognize themselves in that character or interrogate anything about themselves. They're like, Oh, he's dumb, I'm an amazing husband, I'm a good dad. That was annoying. So Amy has had this horrible day, and at the p T eight meeting that night, Gwendolen, who is the PTA president, is like me, you're on the like police force at the bake sale or some poor just like she's a star. Why does she? I mean yeah, but yeah, her her character is like bitchy obstacle. So Amy is like, no, I'm not gonna do your thing, suck it. I quit, And we're like quit what being a mom? What's happening? So then, but then she's like, yes, the Christie, I yeah, I like the Another major writing flaw in this story is that the writer's bravely instead of examining where do these pressures on mothers come from, like what systems are enforcing it, they instead make the reason that things are difficult for all mothers be Christina Applegame. It's her fault that that every modern mother fields pressure and feels insecure, inadequate, it's actually Christina Applegate's fault. And by ruining Christina Applegate and and by that, I mean to say, pit women against women for really no reason. You can solve that. Yes, But before all the really transpires, Amy decides to be a bad mom. So basically she goes to a bar to blow off some steam fun and there she sees Carla Catherine Han's character, who is this horny, irresponsible single mom type, and Kiki Kristen Bell's character, who is an isolated stay at home mom with four kids and no friends type. So you can see there's an attempt here to show different kinds of mothers, but then the writing doesn't really do anything to subvert or expand on those types, and it just ends up being types exactly there's like no nuance. They are these one dimensional characters. No thought was put into them aside from just like identifying them as these stereotypes and writing them as such. And it's I guess to be fair is the wrong preface to this sentence, but like that is all John Lucas and Scott Moore know how to do with characters of any gender. If you look at the hangover, you also see like three types of bro that like they're not challenging in their writing, um to put it lightly, and so yeah, you just end up like it's nice that you have three different types of mothers. You have like a working mom in a relationship, you have stay at home mom, you have a single mom. This all sounds like cool, all right, different kinds of moms. Let's explore it. But then we just don't explore it, and we kind of just like that that they got to step one. So at the bar they talk about how hard it is to be a good mom in this day and age, how there's so many rules and expectations to be perfect. So then Amy is like, screw it, let's be bad moms. Parentheses two thousand sixteen, written and directed by Josh Lucas and Scott More. That's the name of the movie there. That was when my boyfriend walked in during that scene and it was just like oh boy, and then he just like left after that line. He's like, I'm gonna go get lunch yep. Um, all right, let's let's take that moment to take a quick break because we're at break time, and then we'll come back and keep going. We're back, um okay. So the good moms have decided to be bad moms. Now they're bad. They're bad moms. They said it. It was the end of the first act, and we're like, all right, they are bad moms. They get drunk at the bar, then they go wild at the rosary store. The next morning, Amy is all hungover from her wild night and her kids are like, what the hick And she's like, I'm a bad mom. Now make your own freaking breakfast. She takes her kids to school and her husband's muscle car. She skips work and goes to the movies in lunch with her new friends Kiki and Carla. Then we've got the bake sales scene there. Amy flirts with Jesse, this hot widower dad, but then Gwendolen comes over and she's like, Amy, if you don't stop being a bad mom, I'm gonna make your life a living hick. Then a scene happens off screen where Amy learns that her husband is staying with his internet girlfriend. This information happens in a scene that does not play out on screen, right, and then you're just like, h like, that's not good writing. It's not good writing. And then I was just like, I also don't care, Like, yeah, I don't care. I'm not rooting for them to get back together, but I'm also not rooting for this random widower character comes in. I like, it's almost like their shoehorning or romantic plot into the movie where no one cares about it and it doesn't really belong perhaps but anyway, so um, this scene happens off screen. But then the aftermath is Carla being like Amy, you need to get laid, and she's like, yeah, I do. So the three of them go out to a bar. But not only is Amy a bad mom, now she's also a bad flirter. She's bad at flirt montage. Yeah, another montage, another long, horribly edited, might I say, montage showing her being bad at flirting, but then Jesse, the hot widow or dad, shows up and they start flirting and then they have a little kiss a little and we're like, Okay, she got what she wanted. I do want to talk about that kind of romantic storyline a little later on UM, because I there's some interesting things there. But anyway, so the next morning, Amy wakes up to her husband having returned, and she's like, get out of here. And we're like, all right, he was a character for a minute. Yeah, I wasn't sure, just because like they're not good writers. I'm like, I wonder if he's just never gonna be mentioned again. But he has mentioned again, but I still don't care about him, So it just ended up kind of being like a moot point. I was like, well, I guess that that's what's happening, right. They could have written him out if they wanted me to want to see him, They could have written a better character. Then Amy finds out that her daughter Jane got benched for her soccer game because Gwendolen like blackmailed the soccer coach. Basically, so Amy is like, okay, well then I'm gonna run against you for pta president. And we're like, Okay, I guess this is this the plot now everything. You're just like, I know the shift because she says like, I'm going to be a bad mom, and then she's like I'm going to be the PTA president, and you're like, I feel like these goals are at odds with But when she says she's going to be a bad mom, she doesn't really this is just like it's it's I mean, we're not moms. It goes without saying. But I was like, Okay, she says I want to be a bad mom, but I think that I mean, what she's actually saying is I want to be a mom and my own person. But like, why can't I just say that, Like I know that that's not as punchy, but it's confusing for her to keep saying I want to be a bad parent when what what she means something like it still is very clear that she like they all love their children very much, but they're flawed people. So like that's fine, you know, I don't get it. I mean, I get it, but I don't like it. Like I want to be a mom who doesn't have to live up to such rigid expectations and high standards. That are placed upon me by society and the patriarchy. That doesn't fit in onto a movie poster. But bad moms, when you say when you say society and patriarchy, I think you mean Christina Apple. Oh right, I'm so sorry. It was actually her. This is all happening, So that's why we have to defeat her in the election question mark unclear, unclear. It also seems like she doesn't like, logistically, does Mila Kunas have the bandwidth for this? Sure? Whole thing is like I don't have bandwidth for anything. And then she's like she's already too busy. The goal is she's like, I'm her. She says she don't think she means this, but she's like, I'm going to be a worse parent because I am too bogged down with the expectations for work and parenthood and all this other stuff. But then the focus shifts and she's like, I actually want to take on an additional responsibility to prove something too that I don't know what it is, right, Okay, okay, just making sure at what's happening is we don't make sense. Um. So, now that she's running for pt president, she throws a meet the candidate party that no one shows up to it first, but then people start to arrive because they've got free wine and it turns into this wild party. And then Jesse shows up at the end as it's winding down, and then they have a little kiss and a little and they have a little sex and we're like yeah. And then there's another scene where Amy's husband is back again and they go to a couple's counseling with Wanda Sykes again her talents are wildly underused. Yeah, I had just watched, and this is like really embarrassing. I just watched as a joke. We were doing her on Zeitgeist Movie Club, which we've already done in this show, and um, listeners are will know we don't love it. We don't love it. Um, But I watched. So I watched Jecksy instead as a joke that Adam Divine movie. It's really bad, and Wanda Sikes is also inevitably in that movie being wildly underused. And so I was like, just two days in a row of seeing Wanda pikes enormous talent just wasted. I just I just hope that she's just like they offered me so much money that I could not say, no, I can't imagine that's true. Though it wasn't that big of a budget. It was only what I was twenty one million of the dollars. Oh fingers crossed hope, so let's headcanon. But yeah, she's very under You're just like, this is a waste of Wanda Sikes. But I'm glad she's there. Um, but she's like, wow, you guys should just get a divorce, which is like, we know. It's like, uh, this is all to say that we're reaching the low point of the movie. Amy's marriage is crumbling. She gets fired from her job that she has not been showing up to and she's like, why are you firing me? Sure, I've skipped work for the past week in a row, but like, I don't get it. And then they're like our avocado toast is dry and there oh god that whole Yeah, so it's something. It's not her fault that she didn't show up to work, it's Millennial's fault. What And then to top it all off, um Gwendolen has planted weed and Amy's daughter's locker and gets her kicked off the soccer team. So everything's just crumbling in Amy's world, and her daughter gets really mad at her and calls herselfish, and then she's like, I'm gonna go stay with dad. So things have fallen apart. So it's the night of the p t A election. Amy eventually shows up late because she's always late, that sort of thing. She's not like the other girls, and she gives this speech where she's like, hey, most of us are bad moms and that's okay because being a mom is really hard. Vote for me, and everyone's like whoo. And she wins the election. Then there's like a little bit of a reconciliation between her and Gwendolen, her kids come back, she gets rehird at work. The movie takes a very long time to end. I was like kind of like, did you feel that as well? We were just like the writing gets kind of scattered in the second act, and then they still managed to tie up every kind of random storyline they had set up in the very long second act, but it takes a while where they're like, Okay, there's a climactic third act scene which is like the third act he is, I don't even really mean this as a bad thing, but you know, she goes up, she says the title of the movie. She says the statement of the movie, and everyone's like, woo who you win the big game. But then it's like seeing where you find out what happened with her and her kids, seeing you find out what happened with the widow scene where you resolved Christina applicate thing, scene where Katherine Han's character gets resolution. You didn't realize that you were supposed to want. There's just like there's like five Dano mont scenes that you're just like, all right, listen, I don't know, I don't like this movie very much. And then yeah, that's pretty much it. And then we get this kind of like not post credits, but like as the credits are rolling, we get all of the the actors in the movie just them with their moms in real life having conversations, and we're like, oh, this is more endearing than the entire movie. I was saying this before we started recording. Katherine Hans mom is funnier than the whole movie. Katherine kept watching the scenes with Catherine Han and her mom and Jada Pinkett Smith and her mom were so delightful. I also think that Jada gets more screen time during the credits than she does in the movie. I found Kristen Bell's mom to be a little threatening. Um, it was just like, something about Kristen Bell's mom is not rubbing me the right way. Mela Kunas's mom seems like a delight saying for Christine and Apple Game. That's my review of Everyone's mom. Something about Kristen Kristen Bell's mom has a bit of a sinister energy. Can't quite place it. Sure I see that. Yeah, well, let's take another quick break and then we'll come back and really do a deep dive and we're back. So we've been chatting a little bit already throughout the recap of things that have you know, bugged us. I think I just wanna start out the official discussion by saying, um, like, I can see why this movie would resonate with people, especially moms, because it does a little bit to recognize how difficult it is to be a mom, how mothers are often underappreciated, overworked, how they how they often have to do a lot of the household and emotional labor to keep a family going. And this movie is about a group of women who are just fed up with those expectations. That are placed upon them to be perfect moms, and then they say fuck it to those expectations. Absolutely, Like I, I really do appreciate that there is like and again, for movies that have come out even remotely recently, this is the option, um, a movie that expresses these like really commonly held frustrations. So it's like, I'm glad this exists for that reason, and and I'm glad that it like resident I'm interested in your mom tweets yes, because yeah, this is the only movie of its kind, for better and for worse. UM. I'll read a few of the responses I got from moms, and for our listeners who were moms, feel free to reach out on social media and let us know how much or how little this movie resonated with you, because we are very curious. UM. But anyway, here are a few takes gave me that sweet mom intel. They were a bit mixed, but basically my tweet just asked, UM, are you a mom? Have you seen Bad Moms? Did it resonate with you thoughts? One of the first responses was, UM, I am a mom and I loved it. I also saw it in a theater full of moms and it was an awesome bonding experience. Another one said, big fan, I relate to Mila Kunis and Catherine han U. My husband left me for another woman, and I had to struggle to figure out how to keep my household to float with two kids aged three and five at the time while shedding my wife slash mother identity and figuring out who I was. Another response was saying that she is a mom. She did not finish the movie. It did not resonate with her at all, So again mixed responses. I guess it made a lot of what you hear. And then I think around the original coverage of this movie, because this movie was reviewed mixed as well. UM, and I was happy to see that a lot of the reviewers of this movie we're not just women, but also we're mothers, UM. And it seems like moms are also split on this. But I mean, even the responses that you've shared, and thank you too to those people for for sharing UM, seems to indicate that like this is the first time they've seen those kinds of problems represented in a big movie and in a way that isn't And and I think we've we've talked about this with a number of different identities that are held primarily by women. Of like, it's nice to see a mom struggling in a way that isn't framed as like this is the most tragic thing in the world. This is like and then it's just a sad because I feel like there's a lot of movies about like sad moms, but this movie is about bad moms my Yeah, And and I could definitely see how seeing this movie in theaters with other moms would be really cathartic and fun. Totally. I just think we can do better, yes, for sure. And that that's my thesis statement of the film, which is that, like, it's a movie about being a mom and the pressures of being a mother, and it's written and directed by two sis hit men who are known for being cruel to women. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that we we've done research into what these guys were saying on the press tour for this movie, which was like, look just very like. My my suspicion going into researching the production of this movie was that John Lucas and Scott More wanted money, right, Okay, that is what a lot of directors want, right, but by sixteen you can't necessarily just make another hangover. You can't like broke comedy is really not as much in demand, you know, and and so it just seems kind of like it just seems like someone reached out and was like John Lucas got more. Women are so hot right now, so we need you, like don't don't like get out of your comfort zone or anything, but we need a movie with some ladies and no, you can't kill them. Uh, and it just it just feels like a studio note like it just yeah, I have like I have some of these interviews, and I like I want to play some clips from them because they're so frustrating to hear these guys talk. It's just I'm frustrated by them, Like they should have just known better. They should have been like, well, we're not moms. Why would we write a movie about moms? But what if they done in their career that would indicate that they would pass money on to a marginalized creator, Like there's nothing that they've ever They got offered the money and they took it, which also makes me very frustrated at the you know, the studio who was like, hey, men, write this movie about ma, Like yeah, yeah, I am. I am at least mildly encouraged and appreciated by Like, I guess that Kristen Bell had a lot to do with this project existing as well from the research I've done in the production. She was like, I think the star attached that made the movie get made, and she was the one that convinced me Lacoon has to do it. And so there is like more women behind the scenes of this movie then your average John Lucas got more movie. But that's saying literally nothing. So well, let's hear a little a few things they have to say, shall we know? Yes, So this is an interview with the co writers and co directors, John Lucas and Scott More about just sort of their experience developing and directing Bad Moms. And here are just a few choice quotes from them. I am on a YouTube channel called film is Now Movie Bloopers and Extras just to cite this source as properly as I can. So here's the first clip. Uh yeah, well, I think you know the movie. The genesis of the movie was looking at our wives lives. We're both dads and our wives or mom's and uh, seeing how intensive world it was and how ripe it was for comedy, and so we figured it was we've written our share of exactly what you said, guys having a good time. And we figured also we went to enough like mom events that got a little off the rails that were like, oh, this is like we're not actually entirely making this up. This is something that actually happens, you know, the three Martini play ate or whatever. It is not my wife, by the way, she's a very well behaved but other moms of course. But we just thought it was like it was a world full of really intense social interactions and it was just a world that was like sort of hadn't been in our minds done to the to the nth degree yet, and so we thought we could, Ah, there it's very and I mean, and the quotes get worse from this like it it just I really don't like it. There. It's so I mean, it's like I feel like that quote alone, just like you're like, yeah, this was a studio note. They were asked to write a movie about women. Uh, they asked their wives three questions a piece and then just wrote the movie like I and I really don't like this the like okay, let me know if if I'm like getting off the rails here. But I do feel like there is especially in this genre, Like there's this repeated media narrative of like women should be allowed to be raunchy too, and like it just comes off a little like condescending, like it's like, okay, well then like let them. And also you don't need to write like there's just no I hate I just there couldn't be two people I would want behind a project about motherhood less men. I'll play a couple more little clips from this, but like, so, there's this monologue that Amy Melakuna's character gives in the movie when she's talking to her son about how her son needs to do his own homework, and she basically she's like, you're entitled, which means mommy and daddy have been spoiling you, and now you think the world owes you something, but it doesn't. And if you don't learn how to work hard, now you're going to grow up to be another entitled white dude who thinks he's awesome for no reason. And then you'll start a ska band and you'll be mean too girls, and you'll grow a mustache to look interesting. But you won't actually be interesting, and I'm not okay with that, so please do your own homework. So she's like talking about basically the directors of this movie who are entitled and think they can just do anything, but then they also like but then they also do that thing where they make it sound goofy and not like themselves enough that they just sort of managed to slip out of it. They're like, like, I feel like that's the same the same issue I have with the way they wrote her husband, where um, I agree with our listener that it's it's like there is some visit ability and like a shitty husband that cheats on their spouse with not a lot of guilt. I mean, that's unfortunately a pretty common thing that happens. But the way that they write the character makes it seem like he's just not smart enough to be able to be a loyal husband. It has nothing, It is barely a reflection on his character, and and I feel like that is a way that they let themselves and other men off the hook by just writing a character that really no one is going to see themselves in. And we've had this discussion in different genres to where it's like we've had discussions about like when a man is and I guess trigger warning, but like when a man assaults a woman in a movie, it's very often by a character that is so brutally evil that no, like no average person would recognize themselves in it, And so then it just becomes like, well, what are you supposed to take away from that? You know, and this is a much less version of that, But I do think it is like kind of a flavor of like these guys are not actually writing. The one thing that they could do and use their lift experience to do is right a dad character that isn't so ridiculous, and they can't even do that just without getting like to like, oh, well, I'm not like this, this guy's dumb. Like it's like okay, but like they just can't self examine. Also John Lucas being like my wife though she would never misbehave, she is perfectly behaved, and it's like, did you miss the point of your own shitty movie? Like it sounds like based on like, uh, there there was a piece I came across from I was just like looking through some of the coverage in in both directions, the pro and con um from when this came out in and there was a piece I found in late that I actually, uh quite liked, and I thought it was someone who like a writer named Alyssa Strauss who enjoyed the movie but kind of had all of the same points that we have about why it's like, well, this isn't really She was like, it's a fun movie, but it's not really like the mother's experience, whereas I just wanted to share a quick passage from that that I think like ties in a lot of things that we've been talking about so far. Um, she says, in real life, a harried mom like Amy seeking some relief would probably recognize that her unhelpful husband and unrealistic boss are her main problems. The annoying mom at school would be nothing more than a pebble in her shoes, something that bothers her for a moment but can easily be resolved. Personally speaking, I know few moms who have been exhausted or wounded by inter mommy tension. I asked other moms I know, including those with office jobs and those who are their family's primary caretaker, and they all felt the same. Moms are not at war with one another. We concluded, and most of us don't care about what parenting or employment decisions other moms are making. We might become irritated with a mom thinks she is better for making a particular decision, But the crime there is hubris, not how they are feeding their baby or how many extracurriculators their kid is enrolled in, which I feel like is a big flaw of this movie, where it's like the way the problems that Melacuna's character chooses to address versus what she doesn't like. Yeah, they make the villain another woman we don't know very well as opposed to any system that being her job, which is like even that like gets conflated because of the shitty writing where it's like with her workplace, it would be very i think smart and the most logical choice to make it a workplace that is not welcoming to mothers. It's not offering flexible scheduling and and that should be a clear but they don't do that. They make it like, oh, these millennials and their coffee beans and their Game of Thrones, Like the problem is like people who are five years younger than Mila Kunas. It's not the fact that workplaces are unwilling to accommodate mothers and maternity leave and stuff like that. Like, yeah, it doesn't even come it barely comes up, so that is like conflated. And then the clear issue of like her husband is cheating on her, she wants to divorce her husband. It finally gets resolved way later. But men are not like obstacles in this movie the way that other women are. Well, that brings me to perhaps another little clip even all that, because it's like one of those media interviews where it says, like John Lucas on why women should be allowed to be raunchy. Even like the introduction to their clips is pretty the movie doesn't really get into a lot of dating. I mean consciously chose to like every time we felt as guy writers ourselves injecting guy stuff in. We sort of wanted to treat men in this movie a lot like how women are generally treated in guy comedies, which is sort of like love objects and a little bit of comedy here and there, But we really want to get it not about like the relationships, like the struggles between moms and dads. This is a mom movie. This is not a movie about the two things Okay, I mean, I don't even disagree that that's like a fun inversion. But then it's like that sentence continues with like, also, I don't know what it's like to be a mom. I didn't do a lot of research, and I don't know what I'm fucking talking about. So the whole movie comes off a bit weird. There. They're so lucky they had like three talented leads who are mothers to make this movie remotely convincing, truly, and the writing doesn't do them justice of what they are capable of. Anyway. Um, here's another clip, and this is Scott Moore talking now. So so John may have said this, but we didn't so much as write this script as listen to our wives and the moms around us and write down they were saying. And so really a lot of it is just observing the moms around us and putting it into a movie. And I have to say, you're talking about sort of cutting loose. I know my wife would love to cut loose every day, but there's so much responsibility placed on her that eventually she gets to the today and it's like midnight and she's got to go to bed, and it's that frustration of not getting to do anything that she wants all day, and so this movie is what if she got to just like do whatever the hell she wanted. Can we start like a go fund me for these wives? They're like, we need to get them out of there. There. The way they talk about their wives is literally like their possessions, Like my, my wife would love to cut loose, but unfortunately I'm making a ton of money like off of her experiences. So I can't really like do much to contribute because I'm writing bad moms, Like you're just like do you hear your do you hear yourself? So and then I have one last clip to share I know it's and then and then I'm done. I'm promised. I think there are less pressures and less expectations on fathers. It seems like if you show up at an occasional soccer game, you're a hero for being there. But moms sort of have to be at every soccer game and make sure they brought the treats and make sure the kids around time, make sure they have all the gear and that they have the shin pads. And there's just a lot that I feel like our society has placed a lot more pressure on moms to be perfect that dad's uh for right or wrong, probably for wrong. Are just expected to be at work and occasionally show up, but moms are expected to do everything. I personally feel like I get a lot more applaudits for doing very little, and my wife does a lot and doesn't get very little and I do very little consciously. Uh no, but I think there's I think that's we can get into a really deep philosophical conversation to why it is. But whatever, whatever it cause you want to point to it, it is reality that moms are held to a far higher stand and it's not there. Yeah, okay, but what have you done? But what have you done? But what have you done? You know? They just they're like, um, I think I've heard of this thing called the patriarchy. Um I'm not really sure what it does or who it is, but it seems really shitty. I would be so pissed if that were me. So I guess what I'm saying is, wow, really sucks. And by these are the duface is who tried to write like an empowering mom movie. Yeah they did not succeed. Um that then that's all I have to say about it. They just did not succeed there. I really hope that in a couple of years we like look back on this episode when eight I would love around Like it's not don't misunderstand us. We would love a raunchy comedy starring moms written by anyone else there, written by like someone with experience, someone who has at least researched like it just there couldn't be a more cynical, like Hollywood choice for someone to be in charge of this movie. It just shows a complete distrust in lit. I mean, and having Annie Mamalo there really was like a knife to the gut for me of like you have cast someone in a shitty tiny roll of someone who could be doing circles around. It's just ridiculous. Yeah, and and especially because like to have these two men write this movie about motherhood and it's like them being like, but like, you know, it's it's bad mums. It's mums. Like what if mums could be bad and runchy and drunk and have sex and like all this stuff, And it's like, great, Yeah, that would be cool to see. That would be a subversion of what we normally see on screen. But like again, it always it just comes down to, like, these are not the people to tell this story, because these are guys whose comedy relies almost entirely on punching down and writing dialogue. In a way, it like I really don't like women. It's very like Catherine Hans character, the way that she's always like, oh my cooter, my couch, my pussy. You're like, that's how fifty year old men talk about women. That is not how women talk about themselves, Like, unless there's something I'm missing, but like, I've never known any one of my generation or my mom's that has spoken of themselves in that way. And my and that's not to say that my mom and her friends don't talk about themselves in gross ways. They do, but not, but they don't talk about them So like I feel like there is this weird Sometimes there are semi good monologues that I theorize were rewritten later on because they're just like this is too. Like Melacunas will occasionally have a good small monologue that is, yes, extremely on the nose, but at least it's making a competent point, like when she's at the bar and she's like, there's so much pressure on this blah blah blah blah, like and you're just like, okay, yes, I agree with this. Cool. Nice. But then it's like, for the most part, it's moms talking to each other the way their husbands talk about them and not how they talk about themselves because of who's writing the movie and so so, And I just want to clarify something. I want to clarify what we mean. I don't think that men should avoid writing movies about women or avoid writing female driven stories. I think oftentimes it's awesome when men want to write compelling female characters. Like I have a lot of students in my online screenwriting classes. Wow, another plug. Incredible. It can be done really well, Like, it can be done for well as long as you're you know, doing it with empathy and you're informed, Like that is the key. And these writers have a very trackable history of that not being the case. Yeah, Like there's a way to do it respond posibly, and there's a way to do it not responsibly. And like again, like the students in my class, if I'm not mistaken, every single one of them is writing a screenplay with a female protagonists. Like they are. I know they like they want to be contributing to inclusivity, and that's awesome and we encourage that. But yes, it's it's a matter of like these specific filmmakers is who we are railing against John Lucas and Scott More. They have this terrible track record, and I think I'm also like we just came off of that Hangover episode that we did, I mean, on the major very like we have very fresh memories of how bad these writers are at writing women. And I think that it also speaks to I mean, if you're writing I mean, I think it's wonderful that like where I mean as writers opening up more inclusivity. But it's like women should be allowed to the front of the line on this story for sure, and and it's and it's i think another example of like the jilliant time that and all male uh screenwriting duo gets a million chances to do something well and never does it well, and here we are talking about it right like they don't deserve another chance. That's what I'm saying, they don't. And the other like another thing I think is worth talking about is that like this isn't to say that people can't change, and like writers can't grow over time, and that like people don't deserve redemption because like a lot of Hollywood screenwriters should be trying to change and should be growing and should be trying to course correct. But and I like, you know, I do admire that when people do put in the effort, but still like these guys, but it's not these guys. Yeah, they don't qualify for that conversation. It's not these guys. I just am insulted by them trying to write this like female driven story that I think is attempting to be empowering for moms, but it's just like falls flat on its faith. And if that's true, I think that that interview with them is for me, that interview is the nail in the coffin of like this was a very cut and dry cash grab. The story does not mean anything to them. They like reference their wives as if it's like the nineteen fifties like that. I don't think that this. I mean, it's very hard to believe that they went into this project more wanting to make women feel seen than they did just want millions of dollars. Right, Yes, that's just one of the examples of how to write a female driven story. Irresponsibly and not doing it responsibly, which is what we are encouraging people to do. You know, if you're a man who wants to write stories about women and that include women, great, please do that. Just do your fucking homework. That's doing it. Just do your homework and and ask yourself, you know, like, who else do I need to include in this process in order to make it an authentic story? For sure? I d k my BF of Jill, remember that, Oh my gosh, you is your best friend, sush mom, my gildfriend. I've truly in quarantine. I think I think I've told you this a little bit. So I like digitized all my family's home tapes and there's like sixty hours of them, and so I feel like I've been with them NonStop. And the way my mom narrates things is just like I'm going to edit this thing down and she's gonna win an Oscar for cinematography. Her slow zooms and her omniscient narration is unmatched, incredible. I've seen a few of the little clips you've posted on Instagram. There's I'm currently getting through this really long video of my parents on their sixth anniversary. My mom like puts her wedding dress on, and my dad is like, this is weird. And then my Mom's like, it's actually fun. And I'm like, now, this is what we need in a movie. Whatever is going on here? Where is bad Jill, bad Chills? We need bad bad Jill's bad Jill and bad Lorie. I would watch that movie. That would be so fun. And then and then Jada Pinkett Smith would be also be there and actually get to have a line this time. Yes, yes, my mom not to brag, but my mom would let Jada Pinkett Smith talk. In fact, she would only my mom would not talk at all. She's like, Jada, you have the floor, I know. And then my mom would go around talking about, like telling everyone for the rest of her life how Jada Pinket Smith is her best friend in the world. It would be a whole thing. Oh, moms are great, if only they had a better movie to watch. It's true. Um, okay, here are some things that I didn't hate about the movie. Um and again, like I just I know, there's a lot to like about this. There is some small attempt, even if it's by the wrong people, to to explore certain aspects of being a mom. It tries, it does try, So I do want to include some things that I like. I do enjoy that between Amy's two children, more focus is given on the mother daughter relationship than the mother's son relationship with the whole like soccer storyline, and they go to the spa and they bond at the spa and they have a nice little time. Um. I enjoyed that. And then what little we do see with Amy's son is her basically saying like, don't grow up to be an entitled white guy. And because she's like, you need to do your own homework, you need to cook your own breakfast, he teaches himself how to cook, so you see makes time. So you see a boy learning a domestic skill, which I feel like you almost never see in a movie. And he's not mocked for it either, which I feel would have been another easy writing trust that they didn't go with. I like for sure too. I liked I liked that her daughter was also on a sports team, and that the main tension with the daughter. I mean, there was mother daughter stuff, but it was also like, my daughter really wants to be on this sports team. So they didn't relegate the daughter to like traditional you know stuff there either she's an act right, they also do she takes Mandarin classes and then says some racist stuff about Mandarin and then also and then Milo Cunas also says, wow, that's a little racist, and you're like, this is not a funny joke for this year, Like you know, that's in response to um her daughter like worrying about whether or not she's going to be able to get into an Ivy League school, and she's like, yeah, they they're rejecting Asians these days. And then Mila Kunas is like, oh, that's racist. But it's like, yeah, that's another like having it both waysy and as that you're decided that's not that doesn't if you just like that's such just another like dumbass like directors of the Hangover thing, they're like, well, if we say it's racist, you're just like, no, that's not how that works. Yeah. I won't go through my whole list, but there's a lot of like punching down. Yeah, I mean, substantially less than you would expect from a movie from these guys, but still bad. But it's still present for sure. Some other stuff I did, like I actually really enjoyed although I did not think it needed to be there, but since it is there and we have to talk about it, I liked the romantic subplot between Amy and Jesse. If it had to be there, they could have done a lot worse. They could have done worse. And the reason I like it is that he treats her far better than Certainly we've seen these writers and directors having male characters treat women. I know, I know, but that it's also like I like that. It would have been worse if he treated her badly, obviously, but then I'm also like, these guys went out of their way to treat a male character kindly that they would never have done for a female character. That's true in the same position, but I am glad. I mean, I liked, I liked. I know nothing about him, but he's nice. He has for consent. There's like he's doing a bare minimum on a very level. That's true. Yeah, he he asks if she's okay when he learns about like her husband having just cheated on her. He he doesn't neg her. Right, We're mostly saying things that he doesn't do it as opposed to think he does I which just like speaks to the sad state of the way women are treated, especially in like romantic context, because we've so we're so accustomed to seeing men being so shitty to women and like negging them and stalking them and wearing them down and surprise kissing them. In this movie, she surprised kisses him, which you know was also not good good but different different. Um. He compliments her on her parenting skills. You know, again, this is just bare minimum the decent thing to do. But because we're so conditioned to see men treating women terribly, we're like, wow, give this man a medal. They also they objectify men far more than they do women in the movie to the extent it is often a joke where like when we meet Jesse, he's introduced in this like slow mo gazy shot that's like you know, panning up his body um to you know, draw the audience's attention to the fact that this is the guy that the moms think is hot. There's the like movie, the fake movie that they watch in the movie theater where like this man is like in space with this woman. He's like love is stronger than space, and he like rips his shirt exposing his chest and stuff. So it's like okay, yeah, I mean and again this movie, I mean, like every movie and this kind of very bloated genre, it can't possibly happen if everyone in the movie isn't pretty well off. Absolutely, and by extension, there's very little diversity in the movie at all. You just see a lot of different kinds of rich white moms. Yes, this is a hundred percent of movie about like middle class two upper middle class white women. I mean Amy's house, Yes, I would say that, like I mean, like Carla is more like middle class, but like, yeah, Amy, it seems quite well to do. And this is something that we see in media where moms are allowed to be boozy and like distant and irresponsible as long as they are financially stable white women, because that when that's the case, it's funny, it's a joke, it's hilarious. But like, if you're a black mom or a low income mom and you like step out of line as a mother for one second, there's a million other ways that you're going to be stigmatized and treated poorly totally. And it's not to like lessen you know, it's like it there is pressure on the bad moms, but it's like there's really no like indication that the writers are aware that like this is on the low end of difficult, you know. Also, like another thing the movie does again it makes the ever so slightest attempt to try to hold men more accountable, to be good fathers, but which is like something a movie could and should do, Like I would like to see more movies with those themes, but like it's really glossed over. There's just not enough of an attempt to actually hold men accountable. Like the closest thing we get, I think, is that little through line with Kiki's husband, Kent, who we see him being really controlling and border line may be abuse of two Kiki, And then she has a cathartic moment at the end where she yells at him, and that's like the only thing we know about her, And it's also just like that's the lowest level of resolution you can possibly get for the very little we know about this character. Is like she told off her husband one time to go to a PTA meeting, Like that's like but then and then like the scene we get after that is like I don't know his behavior has change and he's like, oh mom, I'm so sorry. I forgot the backpack. I'll go back and get it. And meanwhile she's like, there's a weird the way Again, these directors, like their visual language that they use to indicate certain things is really off because like in this scene, Kristen Belle is wearing makeup, and before she hadn't been wearing makeup. So now that she's a middle part and then at the end she doesn't have a middle part. Love this love this arc for her, Like, now that she's in control of her life, she she's makeup. Now she's wearing his makeup. Now there, Yeah, you're like, sure, great, and like I like make up just as much as the next person. But like these filmmakers are like, oh well, um, makeup equals confidence, right, And I feel like that's just such an oversimplified male understanding of being a woman. And it's like, who let you make this movie? Oh? I mean who wouldn't let them? Who with influence and power would not let them make this movie? Unfortunately? Um, so yeah, I mean moms deserve I'm glad that this this is this is I feel like kind of a classic example of like a tiny step in the right direction. So that's good, but it's also infuriating to be like, wow, progress or is slow, isn't it? But yeah, I don't know. I I personally blame this all on Christie to applicate, it's actually been her fault all along. She invented patriarchy and if she hadn't done that, none of this would be happening. I think my final thoughts are just that like, this is unfortunately because this is like one of the only examples of a like female mom driven narrative that is also like a romp, because there's other there's a few other like movies that explore motherhood that came around out around this time. And I mean there's there's narratives about this all throughout film history, but like some more recent ones were things like Twenty Century Women, Tully, the Bubba Duck. You know, you can't beat the Babba Duck from a psychon the Babba Duck. But these and Queer Icon the Babba Duck absolutely true, but they these aren't romps. So the fact that like kind of the one example of like a mainstream broad comedy mom romp is a movie made by people who don't know what it is firsthand to be a mom is just such a frustrating misstep. And that doesn't mean like, if you like this movie, I can see why. There are some things about it to take away that it would be very relatable and that that would resonate with moms. But I long for the day that we get moms writing mom movies and directing mom movies because I think that they will resonate with moms even more. Believe it or not, I wholeheartedly agree. But it does pass the Vactel test. So there's a fair amount affair amount. There are whole scenes where they're just talking about Dick, but there's also whole scenes where they're not that's true. Sometimes they're talking about their couiters. Sometimes they're talking about their sugars. The most feminist thing that we do, we do it all the time. I think it is funny that you're just like, yeah, they're talking about their vaginas. So it like it passes the Vactel test, but I don't want it to because of the people who are writing deadlines. But it does. It does pass. It does pretty handle. It does, and I think it might not pass the reverse Spectel tests. I don't think we would see men interacting really at all except which is kind of nice. And it's kind of nice. I think there's one. There's a few exchanges where Amy's husband and son just have like a quick exchange. But other than that, yeah, I think it is not men talking to each other really at all. So hey, so there's that thankful for small miracles. What would you rate this movie on our nipples scale? Uh, you know, from zero to five nipples based on how well you feel it portray women in a movie. I will give it to I was feeling the same way because, and again, I want there to be much more representation of moms from all walks of life, not just rich white women, the whole spectrum of people if they are parents. I want to see that. We don't really get much of it at all, and when we do see it, it is very limited the types of moms we are allowed to see on screen. I've never seen any mom like my mom, Lorie. I've never seen anything remotely resembling my mom on screen, which means I need to write a movie about my mom. Yeah, I I agree. I I kind of like and just based on the way that we've had to tiptoe around ourselves kind of throughout the discussion of this movie because that's the only movie of its kind. I kind of I kind of resent a little bit that we have to you know, keep you like but it's okay, the movie's okay, because it's just like that's just such a clear indicator that there are not enough options in this genre. It is the only option. I don't think it's a good movie. I'm glad that it portrays a few different types of moms in a very specific area of the world, and not that every movie needs to represent everything, but it's like, this is a movie written by people who don't know how to write female characters. It just this movie just feels like so focused, grouped, and I'm glad that there are elements of it where moms feel seen, but it's I mean, it's like it's so frustrating that it's like, oh, we have to like give us movie points because it has mom representations. But then it's like, but it's not a good movie, Like moms deserve a good, thoughtful movie that can still be raunchy and funny, but like just let someone who knows what they're talking about right it and sorry, And that's the police coming to arrest John Lucas and Scott Moore. Yeah, I live in their neighborhood. Uh no, but yeah. And then then just like like we talked about just how how intensely like whitewashed um this movie, and there's genre is to the extent where you can have Jada Pinkett Smith in the movie and not give her a line like outside of like yes, Christina Applegate. Just I don't know. I feel like there's a lot of broad stereotypes that these guys are known for perpetuating for all genders races. They only know how to write in stereotypes, and that doesn't really service what I feel like is needed in the terms of portraying moms in a cool and funny way. I feel so, I don't know. For now, watch TV instead. Two nipples, one to Catherine Hahn and one to Jada Pinkett Smith. Nice, I'm going to give one to wand to Sykes, and one to Vertigo, dog feminist, very good dog, the best character in the film. Truly, I felt like I have Vertigo this whole movie. Well, there you have it. Bad Moms. Happy Mother's Day to all the bad moms, the good moms, the whole, the whole beautiful spectrum of moms. We love you all and thank you for what you do. And yeah, and then just for everybody, we hope you're doing well. You hope we ever stand safe? Are What a time to be alive? Truly right? And then I guess we should say word we can be. You can find us on Twitter and Instagram at becktel Cast for starters. For starters, you can subscribe to our Patreon a k a. Matreon if you have not already and if you are able the fun time, it's a fun time. It's May. So it's my birthday months we're doing fun, which we're doing some fun. We're doing um Sean of the Dead and Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Just so much feminism, just who is the kind of these films that I'm very excited. Unfortunately, they are some of my favorite movies and that's my cross to bear. Those are my picks for my birthday May Treon Treon. But we've been we've been really I think cranking out the hits over in the Matreon recently. So yeah, head over there during the community have some fun with us. You can get to get some merch at t public dot com, slash the Bechdel Cast. They're selling masks now. We're selling masks now. So that's if I mean, we all need one one another now from Molena mask. Get a Molena mask. You know, go cucku um. And if you are interested in taking my online screenwriting class, you can go to Caitlin Durante dot com slash classes for more information, or feel free to just tweet at me at Caitlin Durante uh and let me know that you're interested. And with that, have a happy Mother's Day or happy be bad moms Day, very bad Mom's Christmas, Bye Bye's Day. In a way, it is just bad Mom's Christmas. Okay, that's true. Bye bye