The comedic writing/directing duo of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore looked to be one of those one-hit wonders when it came to filmmaking. Granted, comedy is no easy genre to excel in, but most of their projects have been mediocre in terms of the critics and box office with the sole exception of the first Hangover film, one of the highest grossing R-rated comedies ever made.

Since then, they’ve struggled to replicate that success with projects like The Change-Up and 21 & Over, which only made a little of their money back. However, their latest film, Bad Moms, nearly made $200 million at the box office on a $20 million budget and earned semi-decent reviews. But was this success truly caused by their talents as filmmakers?

Amy Mitchell is the typical soccer mom who becomes overinvolved in both her own work, the extracurricular activities of her two children, and their school’s PTA. She is fed up with her life after a stressful week of overzealous co-workers and her unfaithful husband, so she decides to have some fun with two other moms she meets at a bar: the stay-at-home mom with the domineering husband, Kiki, and the sexually-active single mom, Carla.

This inspires Amy to loosen up with her life and her kids, making sure she still has some time for herself amidst the chaos of raising two kids. Her actions draw the attention of the pretentious Gwendolyn, who interferes with her daughter’s school activities in response. Angered, Amy opposes Gwendolyn by running against her for PTA president, where all hell breaks loose.

With the Hangover, 21 & Over, The Change-Up, their television series Mixology, and now this, it’s abundantly clear that Lucas and Moore’s comfort zone for scripts is people trying to vent their problems (or beginning them) with a quick trip to the bar. The only difference is the characters they get involved in the set-up.

These types of characters haven’t been done in their movies, but they’re hardly different here than any other movie. There’s your typical overworked mother, the one who lets her husband get away with everything, the contrasting one who remains lax with her position, the power-hungry perfectionist co-worker, and her two lackeys. The main character changes her ways, realizes the trouble, then figures out a way to get the best of both worlds in an ending that quickly wraps every problem up and goes soft. Comedies aren’t particularly known for their plots, but a good chunk of it does result from the set-up, which isn’t anything too interesting.

The jokes are hit and miss, but the success of Bad Moms is likely a result of the charismatic actresses. Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell are a blast to watch when they really get into the scene, but Kathryn Hall stands out as the audience critics’ favorite and steals whatever scene she’s in. They got me to laugh at lines that I didn’t even find too funny, and it looks like they had a blast on the set. Even if the script doesn’t hit all the right marks for a good laugh, their enthusiasm was infectious.

Bad Moms isn’t quite bad, but it isn’t that great either. The characters feel copy and pasted, the set up doesn’t stray the writers from their comfort zone, and the comedy’s hit or miss. What ultimately made the movie succeed in the end, from both a critical and financial viewpoint, were the actresses and their ability to charm the audience. It’s no Hangover, but it’s no post-2000 Adam Sandler flick, so some might get a kick out of it.