Anyone else as obsessed with Bad Moms as I am? Tony and I recently saw it with some friends a week ago, and I keep thinking about it. Working in comedy, we can be a bit cynical (and/or jealous) of what’s getting made, and we usually opt for thrillers, dramas or thriller/drama TV shows because those are just pure entertainment to us, and we’re not comparing ourselves and our work to them. But I left this one feeling inspired, and excited to work on my own scripts again. It was so good.

I love that the women are genuinely hilarious. I love that they’re over-the-top funny, while still being nuanced and grounded in reality; each mom’s “type” is familiar, but so specific they feel real and unique, not a stereotype. I love that it’s women headlining the movie with the interesting characters, and it’s the male characters who play the second bananas, the stereotypes. Usually there’s a character who might as well just be called “Girlfriend” or “Wife,” the role is so cookie-cutter and boring she doesn’t even need a name. This time, it’s the men who are the (albeit still super funny) afterthoughts. I love that the ladies’ characters reflect the way women actually talk and act. I love how raunchy it is, and how sweet at the same time. I love that it skewers the “Pinterest Perfect” mom standard society holds women up to, and celebrates real moms, who in all their flaws, are perfect because they’re doing their best and love the sh*t out of their kids. I love that it captures my fear of motherhood, but also makes it look like the best thing in the world. I love that it was a huge, well-reviewed blockbuster starring all women.

Kathryn Hahn deserves to be a movie star, and the rest of the world is lucky that someone gave her a chance. (I’m aware that seems like a ridiculous thing to say – she’s been working forever – but it’s a whole different game to headline a movie. I’ve been told more than once to stop writing scripts with only female leads because they’re less likely to sell or get made. I was once told this is because “Angelina Jolie is the only woman who can open a movie.” That was AFTER Bridesmaids came out. I know I’ve written about that before, but it bears repeating until the idea of “female comedy” stops being a thing, and can just be called “a comedy.”)

I’m aware that’s a hypocritical thing to say because I’m making so much of the “female comedy” thing here. It’s a funny movie, PERIOD. It was written and directed by the guys who wrote The Hangover. I read a review in Variety questioning how it would perform; the reviewer, Owen Gleiberman, wrote: “It’s a comedy about, and for, the current generation of overstressed, overworked, overly perfectionistic — and, as often as not, under-appreciated — mothers. But will they have the time and inclination to get away and see it?” Um, I don’t have kids and that movie was for sure for me. It was the funniest movie I’ve seen all year. Tony said the same thing. And neither one of us are overstressed, overworked, overly perfectionistic moms. We’re not even moms!

Go see it because movies starring women need to be supported by money at the box office, so more movies starring women can get made. But more importantly, go see it because it is really, really, really funny.