The bad moms return for a sequel and this time it is Christmas and their own mothers are complicating proceedings.

Bad Moms was a very funny film that occasionally threw up relatable events in the world of parenting. The focus was on the competitiveness of some parents towards others and the relationship with schools that parents have. By no means was it a realistic portrayal of life, but it had a focused plot, a clear group of antagonists (evil mums) and some very funny moments. A Bad Moms Christmas has none of these things.

The plot this time is threadbare. Each of the Moms has their mother come to visit at Christmas and they are all slightly kooky. Christine Baranski is Mila Kunis’ mother and is an overbearing perfectionist. Cheryl Hines is Kristen Bell’s mother and she is obsessed with her daughter and gives her no space (obviously she was not in the first film despite the lack of space she gives her daughter). Susan Sarandon is Kathryn Hahn’s mother and she is even more of an absent parent than she is. All of these things are supposed to create stress between the group, but it isn’t really an issue, especially in the latter case.

There are some funny moments, the highlight probably being a visit to a trampoline centre. But these moments are few and far between, mostly because the original stars are kept separate for good chunks of the film. Rather than have Kunis, Bell and Hahn together creating laughs and chaos as they did in the original for the majority of the film each mother/daughter duo is having their own moments.

A disappointment.