High school or even junior high for many can be classified as a major struggle. Personally I was not a popular kid. I wasn't invited to parties or to hang out with the so called cool kids. And despite wanting to be excepted it seemed the more I would push the worst it would get. Between the awkwardness of puberty and not understanding anything your boy is going through or how to deal with the rush of hormones that seemed to make everything a bigger deal than it needed to be, it seemed that in those moments I would never survive. We all have stories and I am sure when I say all I mean all. Despite how popular someone is, you never really know what is going on behind the scenes.
Behind the creepiness of an grow woman befriending high school students is a larger message. We are all a little damaged, but some of us can't let that damage go. New girl Maggie (Diana Silvers) and her mom Erica (Juliette Lewis) move back to Erica's hometown. As the movie starts the audience doesn't know that Erica has taken her daughter back to her hometown. Maggie, starts her first day of school where she meets Genie (Tanyell Waivers) a girl in a electric wheelchair that needs a push up the school ramp. This could be considered a throw away moment, but it's important to remember a good director doesn't do anything without reason.
Maggie is quickly befriended by the popular kids. Haley (McKaley Miller), Andy ( Corey Fogelmanis), Chaz (Gianni Paolo), and Darrell (Dante Brown). After plans to spend the weekend with her mother fall through she decides to meetup with Haley and friends. This is when we meet MA, who's real name is Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer). After Darrell strikes out trying to get a stranger to buy them alcohol they send out Maggie. MA comes down the road walking a dog and seems very kind and sweet and shall we say normal. Maggie asks and at first MA says no, but once she notices the name of the van that Andy is driving she changes her tune. MA steps up and buys the group some booze in what seems like a innocent although reckless act.
However, it's very clear that MA is obsessed with these kids and has an ulterior motive as she stars to Facebook stalk the group of friends. It's unsettling to watch a grown woman become so invested in high school age children. But, you start to realize the children are just the medium to help her play out her larger plan. The kids head to the rock pile to drink. It's one of those places every small town has, abandon and a great place to get into trouble without the watchful eyes of adults. Although I got the impression these parent's are not too invested in what their children are doing, but that's a conversation for a different day. We see MA calling Andy's father, who by the way is sitting in a company van as his FWB Mercedes (Missi Pyle) goes down on him. Unfortunate time to get a phone call, but believe it or not the act in which is happening does have some meaning behind it. Ben answers the phone and is told he's son is participating in some underage drinking out at the rock pile. What's frustrating, is it's unclear if this was MA's plan all along. Get the kids in trouble so they would be more willing to party at her place.
It's clear that Andy and friends don't know what MA sold them out and they all decided it's a good idea to go back to her for help give MA the perfect opening to offer them a safe place to party. But in my opinion at this point MA has exhibited some major red flags, and the kids, seeing that they're kids and despite growing up in a world where it's now more important than ever not to talk to strange adults, don't seem to be worried. For me the "get the fuck away from this chick" moment came when she pulled a gun on Chaz and made him completely strip in front of her and his friends. MA pulls the LOL just kidding guys card and says the gun doesn't even work and instructs Chaz to get dressed. This, however, doesn't actually deter the kids from hanging out at MAs or preventing other students from parting with her.
Maggie is the only one who seems to be put off by MA's behavior. In the meantime we learn that Erica, who's working at the local casino didn't just move her and her daughter to some random small town in middle of know where America, but in fact this was her hometown and after running into Ben, Andy's father, and Mercedes, Ben's side piece the audience learns they were all friends once upon a time in high school. Mercedes clearly has not gotten over whatever drama went down when they were kids as she points out in front of the casino guest and Ben that Erica was back home despite all those years of saying she was getting out.
In my opinion Erica handled the humility quite well considering it was very easy to see Mercedes was going out of her way to show those around them that in her opinion Erica failed and had to come crawling back home. It's this sort of behavior that seem to be the central point of the movie. We all have dreams and goals. High school was not easy, I don't care if you where the most popular kid or a total nerd, high school was a total failed social experiment, but we all survived. Or maybe it's not so much that we survived but we grew up and moved on with our lives.
MA has not moved on and she has let the actions of her past dictate her actions in the present and future. Part of me feels bad for her. What happens to MA in the past isn't nice, it's down right mean and was clearly meant to humiliate her and Ben, Mercedes, and Erica succeeded. In this case when those kids asked MA for her help and she realized who their parents were, in her mind it presented a once in a life time opportunity for sweet revenge.
Maggie asked Andy to stop going to MAs. She doesn't have a good feeling and Andy promises. But what would a movie be if Maggie didn't have a reason to go back, and in this case she has two. Maggie and Haley realize that MA has been taking items from the guests who come and party. Haley noticed the bracelet MA was wearing belonged to a friend of her's who asked if MA would be okay with hosting a birthday party. Maggie and Haley both have jewelry missing and Haley is convinced Ma has stolen her grandmother's ring. So they do the only logical thing they can think of doing, they break into Ma's house.
Ma had one rule, do not go upstairs and into her home. Haley already broke that rule when she decided she had to go up stairs to use the bathroom. We all know what it's like when you're super drunk and you have to pee. It can take forever. Well in this case it took long enough for MA to find them and kick them downstairs. Apart from the fact breaking into someone's home is always a bad idea, the person's home they're breaking into has already displayed disturbing actions, but Haley was determined to get her grandmother's ring back.
The discovery of what was hiding in that house was not what the girls were expecting. They found a room covered in photos of all of them and their parents. And without warning they met Genie. Who turns out to be Ma's daughter who can in fact walk. It seems like there is some sort of Munchhausen by proxy going on, but it seems to be a plot point that is introduced but never actually explained. This is the turning point of the movie. The secrets out and there's no turning back. We end with three people dead, a house burnt down and scares to last a life time.
I enjoyed this movie. I didn't really go into it with any sort of expectations. I was just looking for something to watch. I was surprised that I walked away with a deeper meaning within this movie. The reality is bullying is a major problem. Some could argue that in today's world bullying is wore than ever, and perhaps their right. We live in a world where social media is king. Between Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter there are number of platforms out there for people to pass around their hate and dislike.
Bullying has been around likely sine the dawn of time. It's a basic Darwinian theory. The strong survive and the weak do not. Perhaps Darwin didn't realize just how advanced we as a society would become, or how much the world would change that his theory like many would shift as we evolved. But this movie paints a clear picture of how the actions of our past can become the scars of our future.
What MA experienced is something I would hope never happens to anyone, but I am a realist and have a feeling MA's pain is something that is very real for many people today. The truth is, there will always be those who are less popular, and those who seem to walk on water. And this is not just something children in school struggle with, it's something humans struggle to get through. However, we can't let our hate for someone eat at us. We also can't just sit back and watch someone be bullied and harassed. We need to actively work towards making changes. Teach people it's okay to dislike someone, you are not going to like every person or thing you come upon. But we need to teach tolerance and respect. You can dislike someone but have enough respect for yourself to leave that person alone.
Overall, this movie was decent and worth a watch. So check it out!
