I think I can safely say that this is one of the weirdest movies I've ever watched.
What a choice for the first movie I review on here. But y'know what? Mama Bear will always hold a place in my heart for wasting an hour and fifty-two minutes of my life on weird, tonally inconsistant filler. Now, you may notice that that isn't the full runtime of the movie. That's because there is one part, around the thirty-three minute mark, that the film actually gets scary. And I mean SCARY. For a good three minutes, this movie is nightmare fuel. And we never get there again.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I think we ought to begin with a little summary of the events of the film, so from this point on, SPOILER WARNING.
Ghost Butters Reviews are written in front of a live studio audience.
Mama Bear, the best movie of all time, opens in a 60s-themed diner where we meet our main character, James Simms; a bassist, single father, and oblivious moron. Package deal. Anyway, we're also introduced to Sasha whom he was set up with by his friend Ricky who we will certainly get to later. As the two chat about inconsequencial things like alcohol, James glances over to a nearby table and has flashbacks of his dead wife. Flashbacks are a theme in this movie for some reason. Couldn't tell you why for the life of me, but that seems like it was one of their only storytelling techniques.
On the walk home, after learning that people think James' house is haunted and he's way too defensive about it, we get this incredible interaction.
Once the two get home, Sasha notices a knocked over picture and sets it back up. It's of James' dead wife. James gets triggered and explains that he keeps it like that, but doesn't explain why.
After the most oscar-worthy acting you've ever seen in your entire life, James goes off to make the two some drinks while Sasha, against James' pleading, decides to head into the bedroom and get cozied in. But then she gets slammed into the closet door, her face covered in glass, almost suffocated in a blanket, and then runs outside covered in blood and screaming, only to assend into the sky.
James does not question this. He just appears mildly concerned and disappointed.
The next day, we learn that Sasha hasn't been seen since the night of her and James' date. We also learn that James, for some reason, believes that she was attempting to steal his stuff. All of this in spite of the fact that she didn't take anything, left her own stuff at his house, and ran away screaming while covered in blood and broken glass. James is truly a master of deduction. This is also the scene in which we meet Ricky, the best character in the movie, though, so I don't mind the nonsensical explanation too much.
That night, we finally get to actually meet his son, Lee.
Fun fact:
James and Lee are played by an actual father and son: Matthew and Levi Simmons.
I didn't know that until looking at the IMDb page a little bit ago. It's actually pretty cool.
