There's a message hidden deep inside of every film. Some of them are more obvious than others, some are much more resonant, but there's always something that a film's writers, producers, and director want their audience to go home with. Even though it is packed with raucous humor, this year's A Bad Moms Christmas is no different. Earlier this year, we had the fine fortune of visiting the set of A Bad Moms Christmas in Atlanta, Georgia, and its writing and directing team of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore opened up about what they want audiences to take away from the comedy. Jon Lucas at first explained,
I think the overall message of the movie, if it can be reduced to two words -- and our movies are simple enough that they can be reduced to two words. Sometimes even just one. I think the overall message is to just, 'Enjoy more.' Christmas is a classic example of something that's really, really fun, but for some reason, through society or whatever, we're told not to enjoy it, in a hundred different ways. We're just told to work harder and harder and harder. If you cut all of that away, it is actually a really wonderful time of the year. There are families around, there's too much booze, too much food, every one is giving each other presents. It is wonderful. It is a wonderful time of the year. But somehow, the joy has been sucked out of it.
Scott Moore didn't just echo his writing and directing partner's remarks, but he also insisted that plenty of sons and daughters spend way too long focusing on the negatives of their relationships with their parents, too, which can get in the way of truly bonding with them. Whatever your age. Moore told us:
It is that for Christmas, but it is also that for the mother/daughter relationship. Because if you get caught up in, 'Oh she did this. She told me to do that. What did you mean by this?' You could pick apart a mother/daughter or father/son relationship all day. Or you could just enjoy it a little more, and try to appreciate them. So we try to have both elements.
Of course, both Jon Lucas and Scott Moore were quick to notice that it might sound quite odd that The Hangover scribes and the writers and directors behind Bad Moms were so insistent that their impending comedy is so rich with moral and meaning. Which provoked Jon Lucas to joke,
We see ourselves as moral teachers. It's not just about jokes.
Audiences don't have too much longer to wait and see what A Bad Moms Christmas actually teaches them. You can get a tease of what's in store in the film by watching the latest A Bad Moms Christmas trailer below.
A Bad Mom Christmas will be released on November 1, and we will have plenty of more coverage as the comedy nears. In the meantime, head on over to our 2017 Movie Release Calendar to see what other films are due to open between now and the end of the year.
