Ma: The worst drinking partner

Ma is the type of film where you can generally guess what Is going to happen, but still have a good time watching it. Octavia Spenser headlines the movie as the titular character and gives a performance that is the driving force that helps make the movie an interesting and entertaining watch.

The movie follows a group of high schoolers that are looking to just party and have a good time and seem to luck into a situation where Ma offers them a place to drink. However, it is not long before things start to take an insidious turn, and Ma turns out not to be just the nice, giving woman they originally thing she is. A major issue for this film is that if you saw the trailers, or even just read a synopsis, it is easy to guess what is going to happen throughout the movie. The reasons why Ma acts the way she does deals with bullying, which seems to be the generic path a lot of films are taking to make their villains sympathetic. The plot also relies on the teenagers making some stupid decisions and being too oblivious to what is going on around them. The plot just does not do enough to set itself apart from so many other revenge films.

What does massively help the film is Spencer’s performance, as well as the other main adults in the film, represented by Juliette Lewis and Luke Evans. All three put their all into this film and take some generic dialog and characters and make them feel fleshed out. They give their characters the necessary sympathy when need be and provide the audience with appropriate levels of disgust and anger when need be. Spencer in particular is having the time of her life in the role. When Ma is partying and being charming, Spencer does a great job of making you want to hang out with her. When it is time to get dark though, Spencer becomes cold and creepy. Without her, this film would not have been anywhere near as enjoyable as it is. As for the rest of the cast, those playing the teenagers are there. In no way are they bad, but they don’t do much to stand out in the film. In a way this works out well for the film, as it allows Spencer to be the main driving force of the film.

Ma is a fun film that is certainly worth a watch just for Spencer alone. The storyline isn’t much to write home about, but she does a great job of making the predictable plot work out. Personally, I would recommend this one for a cheaper showing, or maybe wait for home release and party along with Ma.

3.25 / 5