Ma (2019) Review

"Don't make me drink alone!"

-Ma

A group of teenagers are trying to get someone to buy them alcohol and eventually convince Sue Ann "Ma" Ellington (Octavia Spencer) to buy them some booze.  Worried about them drinking and driving, Ma invites them to drink in her basement which quickly becomes the hottest drinking spot in town, but Maggie Thompson (Diana Silvers) starts to notice something off about Ma and fears her intentions may be more sinister than she lets on.

What Works:

Far and away, Octavia Spencer is the best part of this movie.  She absolutely nailed the enthusiasm and insanity of the character.  She pops every time she is on screen and is simply a ton of fun.  She 100% carries the film and I hope she gets more lead roles in the future.

I appreciate that this movie is a slow-burn.  It takes a long time for things to get really crazy.  The filmmakers took their time to really develop Ma and slow us how she goes full crazy by the end of the film.  I admire the restraint used in the early parts of the film.

I really liked the scenes between Ma and Ben Hawkins (Luke Evans).  They are easily the two best actors in the film.  Things get especially interesting when they grow hostile towards each other and their acting is very impressive.  I wouldn't call either character likable, but watching them spar with one another was fascinating to watch.

Finally, when Ma finally does snap and starts piling up bodies, it's fantastic.  The crazy is in full effect and it's a blast to watch.  We get a handful of fun kills and only one is spoiled in the trailer.  I truly didn't know who was going next and who was going to make it out alive.

What Sucked:

Although I loved when this movie started to get crazy, it doesn't fully stick the landing.  The finale of the film is a little bit underwhelming.  Ma's plan for the teenagers isn't as interesting or fleshed out as I hoped it would be.  I wish it would have gone on longer and bit more detailed.  It felt a little rushed and it could have been more insane.'

Another missed opportunity comes from Darrell (Dante Brown).  His character is the least fleshed out of the teenagers and Ma's ultimate plan for him involves painting him white because there is apparently only room for one black person in the group.  This is actually a really interesting concept, but it mostly comes out of nowhere.  I wish we had seen more of a relationship between Ma and Darrell because this idea had potential, it just wasn't executed well.

Finally, Dominic Burgess is in this movie as Stu, Maggie's mom's coworker.  I don't know why this guy is in the movie.  You could cut all of his scenes out and it changes nothing.  For whatever reason, he joins Maggie's mom, Erica (Juliette Lewis), on her search for Maggie, but doesn't ultimately do anything.  It's not a big deal by any means, but this, along with Darrell, speaks to some script problems that should have been tightened up before filming began.

Verdict:

Ma is a very fun movie that isn't quite as good as it could or should have been.  Octavia Spencer is amazing and nails every scene she is in, Luke Evans is very good, and the slow-burn plot is well handled, but it doesn't get as crazy as it could have and some of the characters are not well developed and feel unnecessary at points.  That said, Ma has still got it going on.

 7/10: Good