M3GAN

M3GAN (2022)

95% on RottenTomatoes (out of 248 reviews)

Runtime: 102 minutes

Directed by: Gerald Johnstone

Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis

From: Several different production companies, including Universal and Blumhouse

Or: More and more people are starting to realize that Maria Menounos laughs like Woody Woodpecker! More info will be shared in a funny anecdote I’ll mention at the very end, but aside from there being more than one toddler in the audience (sigh… that wasn’t ideal) seeing this with a decent-sized crowd was beneficial. The movie often leans hard into the comedy so hearing everyone laugh at all the wacky/silly moments made the theatrical experience better. Like with many, the trailer sold me on giving this a shot; after all, why was a robot girl dancing before she kills some SOB? Turns out… she danced as some sort of taunt for the hell of it!

From the very beginning the tone was set-the movie is supposed to be fun, and it is. There is also some serious drama concerning robotics nerd Allison Williams and how because of technology, she can’t relate to 9 year old niece Violet McGraw that she suddenly has to take care of so this leads to M3GAN’s creation. To the movie’s credit, Cady does act like a typical 9 year old-for better or for worse-and Gemma is chastised for her behavior and how it PERHAPS was a poor idea to rush the AI/how the program learns.

It was only a few days ago that I learned director Gerald Johnstone also directed 2014’s Housebound, a very entertaining horror/comedy from New Zealand. M3GAN brought both the chuckles and the thrills of a robotic doll killing SOB’s for the purpose of trying to protect Cady. There is an R-rated version of the movie that may see the light of day on disc or streaming in the future; as is, I was more than fine with the PG-13 rating when the movie was still a blast even without graphic gore. The movie has done far better than expected; from hearsay, part of the success is due to… “the gay community” embracing the movie. As a straight cis white male I can’t offer any definitive explanation as to why but no matter the explanation I’m glad that an original fun movie has been a success.

I’ll give credit to Williams, McGraw, Amie Donald (who portrayed M3GAN when she wasn’t a practical effect) and Jenna Davis voicing the title character for their performances. As I prefer genre efforts like this to pretentious smug films that are dreadfully dull if they aren’t infuriating, this was a grand old time at the cinema. What I’ll remember the most from this night: the pre-show entertainment hosted by Maria Menounos. I’ve noticed this before but her laugh… rather odd and many probably will laugh in disbelief hearing such an aural “delight”. That’s what several parties of people at that screening did! Whenever that happened, they howled with glee. I knew then that I found the right crowd for M3GAN.