By Spencer Coile
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As this year's Oscar race heats up, two performances appear to be our Supporting Actress frontrunners: Allison Janney in I, Tonya and Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird. These two veterans share more in common than scene-stealing roles in their respective films. They are each renowned television actresses (with 13 Emmy nominations and 10 wins between the two of them). With careers spanning decades and their biggest success arguably coming from TV, there is something deeply satisfying about seeing these two respected television actresses be paid their dues for film as well.
That said, there is another 2017 performance in the same vein that merits some discussion: Christine Baranski in A Bad Moms Christmas...
When Amy (Mila Kunis) receives a text that her mother is coming to town for Christmas, she is instantly filled with dread. Her mother, Amy laments, was hyper-critical of everything she did. While her rants initially feel like an exaggeration, we soon see the real-life nightmare when Ruth (Baranski) shows up at Amy's door. Storming inside, Ruth immediately begins nit-picking her daugher's home, lack of Christmas decorations, and her boyfriend -- who she mistakes as a servant and asks to take her bags upstairs.
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Baranski, no stranger to playing controlling matriarchs, seems to be having the time of her life playing Ruth. What could have easily been just a scenery-chewing lark for any character actress soon turns into a sympathethic characterization of motherhood -- that's entirely thanks to Baranski's skillful work. She has an uncanny abillity to pull focus from any actor onscreen by a simple raise of her eyebrow or the tinest twitch of her mouth. While everyone around her is acting larger than life, she displays a steely and often subtle reserve that is equal parts menacing and funny. Even when her character indulges in the film's childish antics, like a slow motion dodgeball battle with her daughter, you simply cannot take your eyes off of her.
Ruth really is a monster. She undermines Amy's wish for a quiet Christmas and lavishly decorates her house. She forces her family to participate in a caroling contest (complete with Amy in a Scrooge outfit). She relishes in A depressing five-hour rendition of The Nutcracker. And, in the film's climax, she throws an extravagant party at her daughter's house -- leading to a battle between the two where they smash Christmas ornaments and the ice sculpture Ruth had made. This scene not only offers some physical comedy from Baranski, but also one of the funniest line deliveries of 2017:
Those ornaments are from the Titanic! That ice is from the moon! That was moon ice, you nasty bitch!
But as we slowly start to learn, she has her reasons for being guarded and villainous. The screenplay's obvious effort to make Ruth likeable by the end, mostly works because Baranski can clearly sell anything that's asked of her. Her reconciliation scene with Kunis is actually charming and believeable, which more than anything, is a testament to Baranski's skill.
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A Bad Moms Christmas is sometimes a chore to get through. It uses the formula that made its predecessor successful to only minimal effect. Not to mention having Susan Sarandon in anything in 2017 is groan-worthy. But many of the actors are game for the childish antics of this sequel, and none moreso than Christine Baranski.
Though she is not actually (and never would be) a viable Supporting Actress contender for this film, it is my deepest hope that Baranski gets a project worthy of her talent soon. That way, she too, could follow the Janney/Metcalfe trajectory from talented TV veteran to Oscar contender glory.