The Bad Mother's Handbook

I chose to watch this film before I read the book so as to form an unbiased opinion. Having said that, I still had issues with the film.

The movie could have been at least half-an-hour longer. There were bits where it felt like pieces of the story were missing. Given that the film was from Charlotte (Holliday Grainger) and Karen's (Catherine Tate) perspective, there was just not enough to give each character a thorough arc. The entire film was rushed and incomplete; like when you write and essay at the last minute, without having read the book.

Despite all this, the performances were fantastic by all the cast members. I must note, however, that Steve (Steve John Shepherd) and Leo (Steve Pemberton) felt like unnecessary characters. They had so little screen time, and so little importance to the main story that the film could have done well without them. If they had been removed, it would have provided space to insert those missing parts I mentioned earlier!

There were some pretty funny one-liners and banter. The opening monologue in particular was incredibly funny.

Overall, I feel the movie definitely could have been better. But as is, it's fairly entertaining.