Movie Review: Karen (2021)
Synopsis: Malik and Imani Jeffries move into a house in the affluent Atlanta community of Harvey Hill only to discover their neighbor and homeowner's association president, Karen Drexler is a racist who despises Black people. At first, they attempt to ignore her but soon find themselves terrorized by their neighbor and her police officer brother, Michael Wind.
Who's in it? The movie stars Taryn Manning, Cory Hardrict, Jasmine Burke, Roger Dorman and Gregory Alan Williams.
Review: I had some errands to run yesterday afternoon and, when I got back home, my wife (recovering from her photoshoot) had found the film Karen on Amazon Prime. She had seen previews for it and thought it looked interesting so, in between making chili for dinner, I watched it with her.
Overall, I found the movie exceeded expectations but also fell a bit short.
I did like the overall premise of the film, mostly because it was believable. Malik (Hardrict) and his wife (Burke) were decent people who thought they had their dream house while their neighbor, Karen (Manning) did everything she could to be a "Karen" while slowly escalating things to a point violence seemed inevitable, especially whenever her equally racist cop brother (Dorman) was involved and it seemed like he was a comment or two away from unloading his weapon into an unarmed Black person.
One thing this movie excelled at, in my opinion, was simply making the viewer uncomfortable whenever Karen opened her mouth. This is especially true of the comments she makes while crashing the Jeffries' housewarming party, sharing her opinion on everything from slavery to Black Lives Matter. I admittedly found myself wanting to shout "shut up, please just shut up" at the screen.
Another thing I liked about the film was how the movie didn't let her bigotry go unchecked, with her receiving negative press coverage and losing her position on the HOA as a result of it. The fact it didn't deter her and only made her more determined to run her neighbors out of their home showed just how deep-rooted her hatred was and gave a glimpse of how unstable she might be.
While I liked the build-up in the movie, I was disappointed by the ending. The violent climax seemed both over-the-top and a bit forced. Plus, while Karen does receive her comeuppance, I would have much rather seen her receive it in a different way, such as winding up behind bars or being forced to live as a social pariah.
I also thought the movie dropped the ball a bit when it came to the fraternal order her brother belonged to. For all the big deal that was made about it and how it would protect/avenge him, the movie seemed to forget all about it at the end for the sake of showing people living happily ever after. I'm not saying it should have had a sad ending. I just think it felt incomplete.
Final Opinion: I thought it was an OK and entertaining movie. I do think it could have taken things a bit further though, both with the message it was trying to share and the way it ended.
My Grade: B-
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 2021:
Movie Review: The Girl Who Got Away (2021)
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