Ma, You Are Crazy

Dear readers,

If you haven't watched this film, I suggest you put the phones down, and converse with nature around you, for this is a Spoiler Alert. You've been warned.

There is only one issue with small towns: everybody knows everybody. That is precisely why Ma never moved on from the past. Let's start with Creepy 101. First, What kind of middle age woman would become friends with teenagers? Ma (played by Octavia Spencer) befriends the teenage children of the former classmates that made her high school experience a living hell. What starts as heaven on earth becomes a nightmare soldier when Ma, whose real name is Sue Ann, goes out of her way to re-create the moments she lost while in that jail also known as school. Scared yet? It gets worse.

Second of all, the teenagers are lured into a false sense of security. The film does this by making Ma seduce them through alcohol and parties. This, at least for me, begs the second question: what happened with the whole "stranger danger" thing? I believe that concept died soon after eight year olds started to get iPads as presents. I didn't have my first damn phone until I was 14, but I digress. As for the movie, I don't understand how the teenagers didn't have enough instinct to turn the other way before creating the wildfire (pun intended) that Ma put in motion. They could have called the damn police. I mean, Maggie did try to warn them, but for some God forsaken reason they did not listen to her. The one time in a long time in which the teen lead is not a total idiot... and they don't listen to her. Brilliant.

Third, as explained before, Ma kept her mind in her young years. I appreciated that part. However, I believe the producers could have used her psychological flaws more efficiently. We see her go through the trauma of being ridiculed by her former classmates. What we don't see is how Sue Ann made the transitions needed to become Ma. We don't know what happened after she graduated high school. We don't know if she stalked and harassed the culprits of her demise as well. We know she has a daughter from a failed marriage, but we don't know what happened to the man. That man could be buried eight feet underground for all we know. We don't know when she developed the Munchausen syndrome by proxy. That, on one hand, was brilliant. On the other hand, we don't know if she truly got the empathy she was searching for aside from Andy and Maggie, and the others. Are there any other adults in her life? We all saw what happened to Dr. Brooks.

Last but not least, the creative process. Despite everything I've said, regarding the pace and plot holes being all over the place, one thing is certain: the acting was impeccable. Spencer took Ma, absorbed the living soul out of her, and became her. She was outstanding. Diana Silvers, who played Maggie, has done an amazing job going from coming-of-age comedy (Booksmart) to almost being hanged by a psychotic and lonely middle age woman who wanted to go to high school again. Still not sure why they did what they did to Luke Evans' character; it was chilling as hell. As for Corey Fogelmanis, he impressed me. After Girl Meets World, I was not sure I was going to see him again. Good to know you are still working it, man.

Much Love,

AO