The A-Listers Talk About M3GAN (2023)

From the couple who see a lot of movies because they have AMC A-List.

Universal

Patrick: Taylor, it wouldn't be a proper A-Listers piece without a preface about how terrible it is to see a movie at AMC. Would you like to elaborate?

Taylor: Oh, gosh. This week was a doozy. We actually had such a rowdy audience that several people were escorted out by management! This isn't even to mention the sea of flashlights and phone screens popping up all around us throughout the movie. Normally, stuff like that drives me crazy. But I just decided to roll with it this time. It's become such an ongoing joke with AMC that sometimes you just have to sit back and laugh - which was particularly easy with such a bizarrely camp movie going on in front of us.

Patrick: The best part, by far, was when the lady escorted out by security turned to her friends and said, "Are you staying? I hope you got a ride!" for the whole crowd to hear.

Taylor: I guess he did, in fact, have a ride because he sat there the rest of the movie. There was even an, "I'll get security if you don't get up right now" threat, so AMC really pulled out the big guns for this Friday evening opening night of M3GAN.

Patrick: Alright, let's talk about the movie. M3GAN stars nepo baby Allison Williams as a tech engineer, Gemma, who has to take over guardianship of her niece, Cady, when her sister dies, (Raising Helen, anyone?) To help with Cady's grief, Gemma pairs the little one with her latest invention, M3GAN, a life-like AI doll that can learn everything and anything about the world. This, of course, does not go well. What are your initial thoughts?

Taylor: You know what - I liked it! It committed to the goofy, and I appreciated that. It was also pretty effective and creepy, mainly because dolls are just creepy as hell. I feel like this has the potential to become a low-level cult film that people revisit in the years to come. 

Patrick: It definitely had no problem admitting that it's silly. But I also think it was effective. I just thought M3GAN (the doll, not the movie) was just gonna be creepy, maybe some jump scares, some "AI is scary" warnings, but that's it. I didn't expect her to go on a slasher rampage! 

Taylor: Oh I tooootally saw the slasher angle coming and I was living for it, honestly. I truly cannot imagine being the young child who plays the body of M3GAN and then watching the movie at the premiere. 

Patrick: I remember when the remake of The Omen came out, the little boy who played Damien wasn't allowed to see the movie - his parents wouldn't let him because it's too fucked up! M3GAN, however, is much more silly. In fact, it probably works better as a comedy.

Taylor: I agree. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's just a blatant comedy, because like we've both said, it is effective with its scares, but some moments almost feel like a Scary Movie-esque sketch when those movies were still funny. 

Patrick: Were they ever? I'm surprised you liked it so much as you were completely against it when we first saw the trailer. 

Taylor: Touché. I was creeped the hell out when I saw this trailer. I told you several times I wasn't going to see it. That terrifying crawl was enough to send me packing. The trailer leans into the horror, and when you take it as a horror movie, it's probably disappointing. It was the rave reviews that I saw online that made me give it a go and I'm so happy I did. It's barely a horror movie most of the film, which is my favorite kind of horror movie. 

Patrick: We've gotten this far into this piece and both realized we don't have much more to say than, "It's better than expected and worth your time." So Taylor, to fill space I'll ask you: What are your thoughts on the Nicole Kidman AMC commercial?

Taylor: Talk about a cult classic! THAT is camp. If they ever do another camp Met Gala theme, I beg that someone go as her in that commercial. People will go nuts. Everything about that commercial is unbelievable. Her accent that mysteriously goes in and out, the glittered suit, the empty theater (even though the purpose is to get people back together at the theater), the DRAMA - it's simply iconic. Sometimes I wonder if she's bitter that we've made it a meme or if she always knew it was a little silly. If I ever interview her, it will be all about that commercial. 

Patrick: I just found out that there's a freaking Wikipedia page for the ad. Apparently there's a sequel coming soon!

Taylor: I'm not surprised at all. There can never be another person to do it. She's the AMC spokesperson for life whether that was always her intention or not when she showed up for the approximately 1-hour shoot.

Patrick: Remember when we saw Babylon and there was that Margot Robbie intro where she thanked us for seeing her movie in the theater? And then the only other two people there left after twenty minutes? That would've never happened if Nicole thanked us. 

Taylor: I hate to shade Babylon (no I don't) but maybe there was a reason Nicole didn't thank us... I'm going to start a conspiracy theory: just like how villains don't use Apple products in movies, Nicole doesn't endorse bad movies.

Patrick: Then why did she introduce The Whale?

Taylor: And on that note... See you next time!

Patrick: Thanks for reading, folks.