Breaking News in Yuba County

Wow, positive thinking really does work. A woman, getting dumped on from all directions, finds her husband in flagrante delicto and absurdly dark comic hijinks ensue in “Breaking News in Yuba County” (2021). It’s not Shakespeare, but if “A Comedy of Errors” met “Hamlet” in small-town Kentucky… maybe not, but there’s definitely a full-on competition between cases of mistaken identity and cases of homicide. Allison Janney convincingly connives atop an ensemble of bad daughters (Awkafina), bad cops (Regina Hall) and bad sisters (Mila Kunis). If you think almost all the characters are annoying – I know I did – just be patient.

A Bad Moms Christmas

Apparently, “Bad Moms” was such a surprise hit (as if it was still a surprise that in 2016, there was a market for R-rated shock-comedies starring women) that the makers got Mila Kunis and everyone else back together to crank out a sequel in a little more than a year. Even better (as in not better), it’s Christmas themed. So we have “A Bad Moms Christmas” (2017) trying to catch lightning in a chimney. But whereas the original had just the right amount of mommy pathos, this one overdoes things (sequels always do) by pitting the moms against their moms.

Snatched

There’s a very witty and well-acted scene at the family dining room table early in “Snatched” (2017). I remember it well because it rang so true – and also because it’s one of the few truly funny moments in this disposable Amy Schumer vehicle that got lost somewhere in the Amazon jungle. Bickering mom and daughter go on vacation. Boring formula comedy hijinks ensue. Nonsensical plot twists. Wasted supporting players (Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack) and forced shock humor. Stunt casting – Goldie Hawn as the mom (I’m going to Hell for saying this, but Hawn’s awful, face-related preservative technology was a distraction).