Sitting in a children’s playroom, the “IMomSoHard” web series creators Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley are the best friends you wish you had, openly discussing their relatable experiences as moms on camera and poking fun at everything from toilet training to wearing Spanx.
“I’m wearing multiple Spanx right now,” Smedley confesses in their much-shared “I Spanx So Hard” episode. “I look like a centipede if I don’t.”
“I have to wear Spanx cause you’re my friend,” Hensley replies, referring to the butter-filled food Smedley often cooks. “But I love your casseroles, let me tell you.”
Their online banter has earned them more than 1.5 million followers and 120 million views.
Now Hensley and Smedley’s “IMomSoHard” viral web series is coming to the stage in Honolulu for the first time, as part of their “Mom’s Night Out: Round 2” tour.
“We’re not going there kicking and screaming, I can tell you,” says Smedley. “After day three, I’m going to be in the sand with a blended drink.”
“I’m going to be right next to her with the blender,” Hensley adds, “and drinking it directly from there.”
Similar to the witty banter that plays out in their episodes, such as “I Swimsuit Season So Hard” in which they bravely try on the latest trendy swimwear, this two-person stand-up comedy show is expected to cover everything from married sex to body image, and the importance of mom friends to different ways to approach motherhood.
“We think of it like we’re entertaining at a party,” says Smedley. “We move around a lot, it’s physical, there’s an improvised portion of the show where women ask questions. It ends up being loud and pretty raucous.”
HENSLEY AND SMEDLEY met in LA, but are both from Nebraska, and now they are best friends. They each have two young children with their husbands.
Before starting the web series, they had been writing and performing comedy and improv sketches for a combined 40 years.
“We honestly thought, well, we’ve got kids, so there goes that career,” says Smedley. “It was very unexpected that the biggest launch we would have would be talking about our kids.”
It was in 2016, after having a rough day — and laughing and crying together about it over a bottle of wine — that Hensley and Smedley thought it would be helpful to show how they were doing as moms, so that other moms could feel better about the jobs they were doing. Then, on Mother’s Day, they posted their first video clip.
“I don’t think Jen had slept for two weeks, she had a new baby. I was on a raging period, so everything was terribly hard,” says Hensley of their first shoot.
“We were trying to be happy. Then, when we were introducing ourselves, I introduced my kids’ names, and then Jen forgot her new baby daughter’s name. It was glorious, and we laughed really hard and we just put up that clip because we didn’t know what the rest of this would be, but this was the thing we wanted to show.”
Since then, the comedy duo has built a following, going on tour several times. They currently have a development deal with Warner Bros. that could potentially turn into a TV pilot down the road, and they recently released an “#IMomSoHard” book, which you can pick up at the show.
“The show is a good reboot, if you’re feeling a little bummed or it’s been kind of the same, day in and day out,” says Hensley. “It’s a really nice reminder that you were and have always been a cool chick, but motherhood puts a tent over that. So it’s nice to break out and be like, I’m awesome!”
Smedley says that you don’t have to be a mom to appreciate their comedy.
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a maternal instinct, you’ve got a cat, whatever,” she says. “If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and not felt good about yourself, things that we say will resonate with you.”
“You’re welcome to our party,” adds Hensley.
“IMOMSOHARD — MOM’S NIGHT OUT: ROUND 2”
>> Where: Hawaii Theatre
>> When: 8 p.m. Friday
>> Cost: $45-$95
>> Info: 528-0506, hawaiitheatre.com
