Bad B*tch

Okay so Bad B*tch is kind of insane. I mean that in a good way. Mostly. There's a lot going on in this movie and not all of it works but I walked out of it feeling like I'd just been smacked in the chest.

Let me start with this: the dance fight. Yes, there is a literal dance fight. It's unhinged and theatrical and honestly kind of brilliant. It reminded me of that scene in A Clockwork Orange where Alex and his droogs beat a man with canes while singing "Singin' in the Rain." You're horrified but also weirdly mesmerized. That same vibe.

Visually the movie is all over the place in a way that kind of works. Some shots feel ripped straight from early Robert Rodriguez stuff like El Mariachi gritty handheld camera work that makes you feel like the lens might get punched. There are scenes that feel super DIY and then others that explode with saturated color and weird lighting choices that shouldn't work but somehow do. It's inconsistent for sure but that scrappy vibe gives it charm. You can feel the filmmakers going for it.

Now performance wise Erica Boozer as Jojo is the absolute heart and soul of this thing. She's restrained and thoughtful and then suddenly terrifying when she finally picks up that baseball bat. Her transformation into the Bad B*tch is more emotional than physical which I didn't expect. Trenton Judson plays Colt with this perfect blend of sleaze and charisma. He's awful and you hate him, but you also believe why people might have followed him in the first place.

There are definitely rough patches. The pacing drags a bit in the second act and some of the dialogue gets preachy. Like I get the point but not every conversation needs to be a philosophy seminar. That said the stuff the movie has to say about power and beauty and what it means to really fight for something bigger than yourself is honestly moving. And when Jojo finally shows up with BAD B*TCH carved into her bat I almost lost it. It's ridiculous and amazing and maybe the most punk rock thing I've seen in a movie all year.

This movie has flaws. Big ones even. But I'd rather watch something this bold and messy than a hundred polished but soulless blockbusters. It's trying stuff. It's swinging big. And when it lands it really lands.

So yeah. Bad B*tch is wild. It's raw. It's not for everyone. But if you've ever wanted to see a woman fight a guy with a machete using her dad's baseball bat after calling him boring in front of his gang this is your movie.

Highly recommend.

I thought the acting felt forced. Action scenes needed way more practice to feel real. There were a lot of scenes that lasted too long or had little direction. The camera angles were weird. I liked the premise that the movie was made on, but the plot didn't follow through. I thought the two main actresses did a fairly good job, and the sheriff was excellent. The writing attempted to be insightful and witty, but it falls flat because of execution and dialogue. The random scenes where there was dancing and singing made no sense, and I genuinely couldn't tell if it was supposed to sound good or be funny. You either need great actors, or comedy to make up for the poor acting. It feels like a first draft, and there needed to be more editing and transitions.

Also, the props were poorly made. The gravestone looked like it was from Walmart, and the chocolate bar was actually milk chocolate, not dark chocolate.

I didn't expect to finish watching a show called Bad B*tch feeling like someone had reached into my chest, pulled out all the fire, fear, and fierce tenderness I've spent years collecting, and shaped it into a story. But that's exactly what this film did.

JoJo isn't just a vigilant, she's a mirror (and there's a beautiful connection to the mirror embedded in the story). Watching her talk to her father with a jaw set like steel and a heart held together with old wounds reminded me too much of myself when I had no one to fight for me, so I had to fight for myself. She doesn't wait for permission, doesn't explain her anger in a way that makes it more palatable. She just is. And I found that deeply, viscerally validating.

The way JoJo navigates the ugly side of survival like trauma, revenge, justice twisted in her own hands-felt raw and real. But what truly cracked me open was Estella. Her best friend, this bubbly force of light who calls JoJo out, lifts her up, and makes her laugh even when the world is on fire. I know that dynamic. I have that Estella in my life. That one friend who keeps your rage from eating you whole, who dances with you after a night of chaos and blood, just to remind you you're still human.

There's a scene where JoJo breaks down, not during the violence, not during the chase but when she's by herself and when everything catches up to her. That hit me harder than any of the action sequences. Because it's those quiet, late-night unravelings I know best.

Bad B*tch is beautifully shot, unflinching, and laced with humor that doesn't undercut the darkness, it balances it. I only docked one point because the third act rushed through what could've been a deeper emotional climax, especially for Estella, whose loyalty deserved more payoff. Still, it's rare for a film like this to let women be this complicated, this angry, this tender and not apologize for it.

For women who've ever had to be both their own weapon and their own shield, JoJo is not just a character. She's proof. And Estella is the reminder that we don't have to do it all alone.

I had high hopes for this movie but it fell flat. The two main female characters had pretty good chemistry but their conversations dragged on too long. The transitions and camera angles were awkward at times. The "gangsters" didn't seem really tough and felt like they were trying to hard. Jojo wasn't a believable bad girl and her lame dialogue dragged on too long in the end scenes. The strong feminism tones were contradicted by a sheriff who ignores r**e and gets no consequences, showing that a woman doesn't matter. The makeup on Jojo at the end was horrendous and she looked like a raccoon, the singing and dancing was comical, and the ending was lacking. It felt like watching a 2 hour long high school play.

Dude!!! This movie has the makings of one of the great cult classic films. I'm reminded of Evil Dead in the horror genre, Tangerine in the drama genre, and Slacker in the comedy genre. There is just something special about a movie that isn't technically perfect but captures the genre so well. It's this beautiful, molded clay that doesn't quite have the shine of a glaze on it but is almost more stunning without it. This movie is the action version of that! You can tell after viewing it that there's something timeless about it, something that people will keep coming back to. I'm predicting here that the next project the director does is going to be something that captures the whole culture! You heard it from me! But, for now, I think this film is something for me to simmer on. The characters are so well fleshed out and the dialogue is very smooth. The lines keep playing in my head, which is always an amazing sign that there's good writing! Recommend watching it with an open mind. There's a lot to appreciate.