The opening scene of Maggie Moore(s) — John Slattery’s latest — sets the tone for a gritty cat-and-mouse chase between Police Chief Sanders (Jon Hamm) and an unmasked killer (Happy Anderson). The music is moody and Anderson, who goes by the name of Kosco in the film, stalks his victim like he took a page out of Michael Myers’ playbook. When Sanders investigates the scene the next day, he’s shocked to find that the woman who fell from a motel balcony shares the same name with another victim of a local murder that took place less than two weeks prior. Both women are named Maggie Moore, and if this were a self-respecting thriller/mystery, viewers would be in for an exciting unraveling of dirty secrets, complex webs, and bold lies that would eventually lead Sanders to Kosco. However, as promising as the film seems to be from the start, what actually unfolds is a strange blend of dark comedy, romance, and mystery that never really figures out just what exactly it’s trying to achieve.
Maggie Moore(s) has two big stars on the case from the start. Hamm is charming in his lead role, reminding everyone just how dashing he can be, especially when he’s in uniform, and Tina Fey makes an appearance as one of Maggie’s next-door neighbors, Rita. Rita is a self-deprecating divorcée who finds herself drawn to Police Chief Sanders when he unexpectedly shows up to investigate Maggie’s death. The two have chemistry from the start, and Rita definitely shows sleuthing potential as she unknowingly helps to point Sanders in the direction of the killer. However, what could have turned into a charming team-up between a nosy neighbor and the local police chief instead fizzles into an awkward romance between the two that never seems to get its bearings. Hamm and Fey give it their all, but the seriousness of the murders mixed with the budding romance fails to mesh into a cohesive whole.
In fact, Slattery’s biggest problem with the film seems to be that he wants it to be a black comedy first and a murder mystery second. While it is true that Maggie Moore(s) has a few laugh-out-loud moments — due in large part to Anderson’s portrayal of Kosco — they feel awkward and forced amongst the seriousness of the storyline. Jay Moore (Micah Stock), the buffoonish husband of one of the Maggie’s who is ultimately responsible for setting in motion the devastating chain of events, is far too grating and annoying to actually come off as funny, and Sanders’s partner on the case (played by Nick Mohammed) rarely lands a joke. In fact, the only real comedian amongst the cast is Oona Roche who plays the local Gen Z drug store clerk who is too charmingly vapid to recognize what is going on in her own hometown.
Overall, Maggie Moore(s) starts off with potential but quickly loses sight of its main objective which is a shame since there definitely is a lot of potential here. Ultimately though, Slattery attempts to blend too many genres together so that by the film’s end, it’s near impossible to know just what exactly the point of the film is. Perhaps it’s a story about finding love in the unlikeliest of places, or maybe it’s just yet another murder mystery about a woman who dies at the hands of the men in her life. But even that analysis might be giving it too much credit since the film’s failure to commit to any one specific thing is enough to leave even the best detectives bamboozled.
Photo courtesy of Screen Media Films
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