2025 Popcorn Frights Film Festival Coverage
The Mother, The Menacer and Me review
A man pushes for his Hollywood dream to avoid his small town nightmare.
Festival movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Mother, The Menacer and Me
Directed by Jon Salmon
Written by Chris Carvalho and Chris Plaushin
Starring James Austin Kerr, Christine Spang, Kellan Tetlow, Brian Tichnell, Alfonso Caballero, Leah Remini and Lorraine Bracco
The Mother, The Menacer and Me Review
There may be a second comma after Menacer in the clunky title of this enthusiastic indie film. It’s listed as such in most places. The poster above doesn’t have one and I don’t remember what the title card within the film said so I’ve decided to remove it. Not the most interesting opening statement for a movie review, I’ll grant you. But it’s been weighing on me enough to feel an explanation was warranted. It’s a strange title either way. The order of importance to the story of the listed characters are presented from least to most. Lorraine Bracco receives top billing among the cast as well. Sometimes, movies do things like that for the biggest name in the production. Leah Remini gets co-star status even though she doesn’t show up until late for an extended, but funny, cameo.
The whole thing would have you believe you were about to watch a movie about Bracco’s character. You aren’t. She’s certainly a bigger part of the movie than Remini…but the story isn’t about her. It’s slightly more about The Menacer…a fictional character created by our actual protagonist who kills “Karens” in his low-budget production of…wait for it…Killing Karens. The “Me” in the title refers to Eddie (James Austin Kerr) who the story of The Mother, The Menacer and Me actually belongs to. Eddie is stuck in his small town world dreaming of making it big in Hollywood. He’s married to Anna (Christine Spang), who is very pregnant with their second child. Circumstances lead the family back to living with Anna’s mother Nancy (Bracco) and her driftless brother Kevin (Brian Tichnell).
Eddie’s journey is a relatable one. Who among us hasn’t dreamt of a life filled with more success than the one we have. That story doesn’t feel like a perfect fit for this stage in Eddie’s life, however. He’s too young for a mid-life crisis and too old for that stage of life where you start to fear that your choices are becoming permanent. I mean, Anna is weeks away from a second permanent thing joining his world of permanent decisions. Look, people can have these feelings at any age…but there’s a reason that young adulthood and mid-life are the times we accept it. When a husband and father of two small children does it…they don’t make for the most compassionate leads.
The Mother, The Menacer and Me positions Eddie as someone for us to connect with. Kerr’s amiable take on the character certainly makes him likable enough for it to work. To a point. But anytime someone brings up the responsibilities he’s shirking in favor of this longshot dream…you kind of have to agree with them. Nancy comes at it from a much more negative place than Anna’s supportive, but the patience is wearing thin, character…but they’re both just sort of…right. Eddie isn’t a kid. He isn’t in his 20s, worried about the job he hates becoming his career or the woman he isn’t sure about becoming his wife. He isn’t even in his 50s and worried about time running out on a life without accomplishments. He’s at the exact age where his actions here don’t work for the story The Mother, The Menacer and Me wants to tell.
The movie knows this, of course. It relies on its cast’s charms and hopes that you won’t think about it as much as I did. Its heart is always heading towards the right place. And to be fair, the opportunity that Eddie finds himself with is a good one. He’s trying to finish his film n time for a festival he’s been accepted to based on a rough cut. The prize is a developmental deal in Hollywood. Therin lies the issue that develops between Eddie and Anna. She is completely supportive of his dream to make the thing and get it into a real festival. But she has no intention of moving the family from her hometown to Los Angeles. That part of the equation is new.
It makes Anna an interesting character. She’s rooting for Eddie…but it’s not always easy. It’s hard on everyone. Eddie’s best friend Joe (Alfonso Caballero) feels marginalized by Eddie’s creative decisions. Nancy wants him to fail so that he’ll finally settle down and be the husband and father he should be. His son just wants him to go watch his school play. Like I said, there are real moments where you find it hard to root for him. I’m not sure that the story chooses the right resolution to all this either. The end point is obvious, and it gets there. But I’m not concinced that Eddie learns the right lesson in the end. He learns more of a lesson about his dream than about dreaming it in the first place.
If you’ve seen the word “Karens” a few times and are worried that The Mother, The Menacer and Me is going to be full of annoying commentary from and about it…don’t be. It’s important to the backstory of Eddie’s motivation…but it isn’t the point. Sequences where Eddie and his ragtag crew try to finish Killing Karens are a highlight of the movie. There’s some fun behind the scenes of a no-budget production moments that feel like recreations of actual events. Things that you can only learn through trying, and failing, repeatedly.
Despite some questions about the timing of the story…the overall movie is a fun watch. There’s an oddball comedic tone to the whole thing that makes each slightly heightened situation into a good time. Everyone in the cast gets some moments to shine. The vibe of The Mother, The Menacer and Me is a likable one from beginning to end. That’s part of why it overcomes my story issues…it moves from likable character to funny scene to weird character to sweet scene quickly enough to not leave holes to think about slight annoyances. Or how many commas are in the title.
Scare Value
The Mother, The Menacer and Me is a consistently entertaining movie. It has fun characters and story beats…even if much of it crosses the border of believability. The cast is fully committed to the slightly heightened reality the film puts them in. The lead character is driven by something everyone can connect to…even if the timing feels slightly off. The Mother, The Menacer and Me delivers a crowd pleasing story of big time dreams by a small town everyman.
