M3GAN

In 2019, there was an updated remake to the seminal 80s killer doll movie, Child's Play, which reimagined the notorious Chucky doll as an AI toy gone rogue that only wanted to be its human owner's best friend by killing the boy's enemies.  The movie was far too goofy to work, going for laughs over genuine suspense, and never took advantage its ripe premise for satire of exploring the effects high tech social media toys have on children like it should have.

M3GAN has a similar premise to that remake, as well as an equally goofy and satirical tone.  However, this movie works where the previous one failed in how it uses its absurd qualities to its advantage.  And while the movie has obviously been toned down in order to obtain a teen-friendly PG-13 (a mistake in my eyes), it still manages to be twisted fun as long as you don't apply much thought to it.  This is not a movie for thinkers to begin with.  Screenwriter Akela Cooper (2021's Malignant) also does a much better job of exploring a child's obsession with a tech toy than the Chucky film from four years ago.  She also shows a great sense of humor, which is wonderful since Malignant (while equally goofy) took itself way too seriously, and suffered for it.

That humor is on display right from the start, as the film opens with an advertisement for the latest kid's tech craze, the Purrpetual Pet, which looks kind of like a Furby crossed with the hair of a troll doll.  It's basically designed to be obnoxious, as it poops and spews dated catch phrases over and over.  Still, it is the best friend of little Cady (Violet McGraw), who spends more time looking at her iPad than at her parents, who aren't in the movie long, as they're killed in a freak car accident while taking their daughter on a ski vacation.  The orphaned girl is placed in the care of her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams), a robotics designer at the toy company that makes the Purrpetual Pet, but has secretly been working on her own highly advanced robot doll without the knowledge of her boss (Ronny Cheng).

Gemma is not the parental type, so she sees her niece as the perfect test subject for M3GAN, which stands for Model 3 Generative Android.  The doll is an AI toy like no other, as it bonds with and learns the personal needs of the child it's connected to.  She can be playful, understanding, entertaining, and soothing when need be.  M3GAN has an appropriately Uncanny Valley look, but is actually portrayed by two different actresses, with child actor Amie Donald providing the physical performance and Jenna Davis giving her voice.  M3GAN is designed to be a child's best friend, but as in all stories of this type, it gets too smart for its own good.  Her primary function is to keep Cady safe, and when the robot starts coming across people who don't like her friend, those people start mysteriously turning up dead.

The victims are the expected lot in a thriller such as this, like the obnoxious neighbor with the mean dog (Lori Dungey), or a boy who bullies Cady in front of M3GAN.  In all honesty, the thriller aspects of the film are predictable, and not what drew me in.  It was the tongue in cheek satire, as well as its overall message of children building such a strong bond with tech toys that they forego human connection that intrigued me.  By the time the robot girl is murdering random people for no reason and going on a rampage, the movie kind of settles into a safe and somewhat censored (due to the obvious editing to tone down the rating) tone.  And yet, the movie has a playful energy that kept me engaged.

M3GAN embraces its goofiness without going so far as to lose its effectiveness like 2019's Child's Play (which was made by no one involved with the actual Chucky franchise that is still running).  It's smart in the way it rehashes thriller tropes while mixing it with some intelligent social commentary.  As mentioned, this is not a movie for thinkers, but it has been well thought out enough that I usually had a goofy grin on my face while watching it.  You can tell that the cast and crew were having fun with this, and it comes through to the audience.  It's the kind of movie you hopefully watch with a large audience that scream and laugh at all the right spots, and forget your problems for about 100 minutes.  

Movies released the first weekend of January are usually disposable, but this one bucks that trend, and offers a good time.  Yes, there are moments that make no sense (Would a toy company really use a child's personal tragedy of losing her parents in its marketing?), but for a movie that's designed to be check your brain at the door entertainment, it knows what it's doing.

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