Red Sparrow is a 2018 spy-thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence who worked with Jennifer Lawrence (the star here) on a couple of the Hunger Games movies, but this is a very different beast. Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika Egorova (in, it has to be said, a not entirely convincing Russian accent), and Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenarts and Charlotte Rampling star as the film's secondary characters. This one is a pretty big departure from what Lawrence has done in the past, although it has to be said that she's making some pretty bold career choices. I'm not the first one to say that, and for a good reason: it's true. After last year's Mother! it appeared as if she was trying purposefully trying to appear in more "mature" films, and believe me, it doesn't get much more mature than Red Sparrow. The film plays out like one of those schlocky exploitation from the seventies, in that there's sexual violence, sex, violence, torture, and all manner o
A Bad Moms Christmas is a 2017 Christmas comedy film written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, famous for writing the Hangover trilogy. Again, the film stars the four actors from the first Bad Moms, but this time, their moms are coming to visit for Christmas. The problem is, the relationship between the protagonists and their parents is a little strained. So, everyone has to try to figure out how to reconcile their differences so they can be happy on Christmas day.
I have to be honest, I'm not a big fan of Lucas and Moore. I enjoyed the first Hangover film a fair amount, but hated the other two. It's pretty easy to be sniffy about films like this, and I feel as if a lot of people who are generally interested in non-mainstream films are. Personally, I have no problem with crowd-pleasing films as long as they're done well. Happiness and joy are emotions which we don't see in film very often, so it's refreshing to see one that attempts it.
With that covered, let's get into the actual film. The entire cast here (props to the main cast, and Christine Baranski, who plays Amy's mum.) They're all incredibly likeable screen presences, even when they're at their meanest. All of the actors have enough style and comic timing to carry material like this.
The problem with this film is the writing. To be honest, I didn't just find a lot of this film unfunny - I found it actively offensive. There are jokes about people with learning disabilities (some of the jokes in this film are entering dangerous territory, and make light of child abuse), there are jokes about Jews at Christmas, and a lot of this stuff just annoyed me. I found it pretty mean-spirited.
There are a few funny moments. The relationship between Kiki and her mother is by far the most entertaining part of this film, and there are a couple of entertaining scenes that involve Carla and a male stripper which are pretty funny, but they aren't enough to carry a film.
That's the problem with the people behind The Hangover. Often, the first film they make in a franchise is clever and stylish, and fairly funny, but they always feel the need to make their sequels bigger, more over the top, and usually more offensive.
Would I recommend this if you're a fan of the first one? Well, it's a very similar film, and I guess you should just to satisfy your curiosity, but don't expect anything as fresh or interesting as the first Bad Moms film. It does enter some pretty nasty territory, and does feel pretty cynical at times. If you're generally not a fan of this kind of film, then I doubt A Bad Moms Christmas is going to change your mind.
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