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1 WTAF JUST HAPPENED? Something happened after the release of Bad Moms in the Summer of 2016. A Bad Moms movement was unleashed. Something we couldn’t quite put our chipped finger nails on. The filmmakers felt confident that they had made a hilarious film, but were bowled over to see it go on to gross north of $180 million dollars worldwide. Gangs of moms of all generations hit the theatres to see Bad Moms and enjoy a night out on the town with their besties; free from responsibility and ready to party. Whether your bottle of choice for these outings contained wine or nail polish, it was clear that there was safety in numbers. Moms needed other moms to get them through the day. The monotony of responsibilities of helming the home was tiresome and mamas everywhere needed to take a break and check out now and then. A camaraderie was forming among moms of all ages no matter what their situation, with Bad Moms as the catalyst for change. The film reverberated with moms around the globe and became a part of the zeitgeist, and a group of women banded together and a Bad Moms movement was unleashed. What Bad Moms leading ladies Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell), and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) represented was freedom. Freedom to fuck up. Freedom to do the best you can and still fuck up. It was a relief to see the honesty of being a mom portrayed on the big screen with Bad Moms, and now A Bad Moms Christmas is here to bring that same real mom spirit to the holidays. A Bad Moms Christmas, reunites the dynamic team of Bad Moms: Writers/Directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, and Producer Suzanne Todd. Returning as the stars of A Bad Moms Christmas are the triple threat cast of Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as Amy, Kiki and Carla. This time around, our bad moms receive a holiday visit from their own mothers, in roles portrayed by Cheryl Hines (Kiki’s mom), Christine Baranski (Amy’s mom), and Susan Sarandon (Carla’s mom). Also starring are returning cast members Jay Hernandez, Oona Laurence, Emjay Anthony and Wanda Sykes, alongside newcomers Peter Gallagher and Justin Hartley, who join these two generations of moms in the chaos of the holiday season. Also returning members of the Bad Moms creative team: Director of Photography Mitchell Amundsen, Production Designer Marcia Hinds, Editor James Thomas, Costume Designer Julia Caston, and Composer Christopher Lennertz. A Bad Moms Christmas follows our three underappreciated and overburdened moms as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas. As if 2 creating a more perfect holiday for their families wasn’t hard enough, the moms have to juggle creating Christmas cheer while simultaneously hosting and entertaining their own mothers. By the end of the journey, Amy, Carla & Kiki will redefine how to make the holidays special for all and discover a closer relationship with their mothers. KEEP CALM AND JINGLE ON Writer/Directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and Producer Suzanne Todd sensed audiences wanted more of this titillating trifecta of women after the release of Bad Moms. Of diving into the sequel, Moore says “In the first movie the idea is ‘I love being a mom but sometimes its too much and it drives me crazy’. When we started looking at what to do with the sequel and started talking about Christmas, that felt very similar. It’s like you don’t hate Christmas, everybody likes Christmas, but sometimes it just gets to be too much.” Says Lucas, “Once we came across the Christmas idea, it was too big to ignore. Any time you have family together that you don’t see very often, or that you don’t want to see, and there’s too much money and too much booze… it’s all combustible and fodder for comedy.” 3 The Lucas and Moore filmmaker duo have written their share of other Christmas movies such as Office Christmas Party and Four Christmases. Explaining their love—and semi-hate—relationship with Christmas, Lucas says, “We love it, we adore it, we love that time of year – at the same time we hate it, we are overwhelmed. This film is a new look at Christmas and everything moms endure for their families during the holidays.” Says Todd, “This idea, which I have certainly bought into as a mom, and assuming other people have too, is that it is sort of never enough. Not the right lunch for your kid, or in this case not the right Christmas present. This attitude is really not helping us, and not helping our children.” Adds Todd, “Like the first movie, the idea of A Bad Moms Christmas is to tear down some of these personal, societal, and cultural norms of both torturing ourselves for not being good enough moms and allowing other people to put us in a place of self doubt about how we mother our children. We want to express that it’s okay to be yourself and not worry about the noise of Christmas cards, and dinner, and all the rest of it. At the end of the day, it’s about enjoying the holidays more and stressing less. ” GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER 4 So what about Christmas could audiences all relate to and laugh at as well? What really pushes someone’s buttons at holiday time? There is one answer and one answer only. Your mom. Says Moore, “We knew we would have a fun lively movie again with the fantastic combo of Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn, but we also wanted to have a subject that we felt interesting, and that is when we upped the ante by adding the mom’s moms in this movie.” Todd was pleased with the writers’ direction, “This films opens up a lot of new territory of dealing with the holidays, and how these grown up mother/daughter relationships evolve.” Adds Lucas, “The idea of Christmas is a classic example of something that is really fun but for some reason through society or whatever, we are told not to enjoy it. If you cut all that away it is really a wonderful time of year - your family is around and everyone is giving each other presents, but somehow we have sucked the joy out of it by making it so stressful.” Moore picks up where his partner left off, “Also, in the mother daughter relationship if you get caught in ‘she did this’ or ‘she was telling me to do that,’ you could pick apart that relationship all day or you can just enjoy it a little more.” WHEN I THINK ABOUT YOU I TOUCH MY ELF A year later we find our original Bad Moms Amy, Kiki, and Carla in the throws of the Christmas season. Mila Kunis once again plays the lovable and vivacious Amy, doing her best to keep it together at the holidays with the normal chaos of decorating, baking, tree trimming, buying and wrapping presents. Further complicating things, this Christmas she and her new(ish) boyfriend Jessie (Jay Hernandez) are blending their families, and Amy is determined to make the holidays a hit at any cost. Says Kunis, “I think it took a minute for the men to go it’s okay for them to see the movie. And when they did, they got it. Moms need to decompress. Moms are still women. Women who need to have a life outside of being a mom for their own sanity.” Kathryn Hahn returns as Carla, a single working mom whose nail art matches her mood. She is ready for a good time at a moment’s notice…just make her a proposition. You never know what is going to come out of her mouth. Says Kathryn Hahn, “Bad Moms struck a chord with a huge audience that was waiting to have a cathartic release watching a bunch of moms let loose on 5 camera. In this film, you add to that the most complicated of all love stories which is between a mother and daughter.” Kristen Bell returns as Kiki. Four small children are enough to drive any mom crazy, and Kiki is no exception. Kiki is doing her best to find a balance between her child-rearing and spending “special” time with her husband. Says Bell, “Audiences can all relate to motherhood in some way. You either know a mom, are a mom, or have a mom. It’s a universal theme and the stress of motherhood particularly in this day and age is a lot.” THREE FRENCH HENS On why their threesome has resonated with audiences worldwide Hahn states,“ I had never met Mila or Kristen before Bad Moms. The only way I can describe it is that it is effortless. We each bring something to the band.” Bell continues on why the relationship works, “Kathryn, Mila and I are friends in real life, and we feel very safe with each other and are willing to try anything on screen.” 6 Mila Kunis agrees, “We all find ourselves talking about our kids. We share stories on set of what we did with our kids, comparing notes, and that’s always a bonding moment.” Todd beams when she talks about her leading ladies, “I think we lucked out with the magic between the three of them. They’re all moms of little kids; they’re all young moms themselves, and they love each other. I think that came through onscreen, how truly supportive they are and how genuine their friendship is.” Kunis relates, “These movies have so much empathy towards the women in the world, whether you are a working mom, a stay at home mom, or a struggling mom that has it all.

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