After their collaborations on 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I will watch anything that Tina Fey and Jon Hamm do together. That includes their (semi-)true crime comedy Maggie Moore(s), directed by Hamm’s Mad Men co-star (and 30 Rock guest star) John Slattery.
Maggie Moore(s) draws loosely on the real-life murders of Mary Lou Morris and Mary McGinnis Morris, two women who lived in Houston and were murdered within days of each other. In the film, their names have been changed to Maggie Moore (played by Louisa Krause and Mary Holland), but that doesn’t stop an opening title card from reminding us that “some of this actually happened.”
The conscious choice to call out the true crime origins of Maggie Moore(s) can make watching it a sticky situation at times, as you remember you’re laughing along to a real-life tragedy. However, screenwriter Paul Bernbaum changes so much from the original story that Maggie Moore(s) becomes a different beast entirely. The film’s dance between comedy and a darker tone is mostly successful, creating an engaging romp of a thriller. But it’s the performances — especially the rapport between Hamm and Fey — that really makes Maggie Moore(s) pop.
Maggie Moore(s) is a mystery two times over.
Maggie Moore(s) may open with the murder of Holland’s Maggie, but she is the second of the Maggie Moores to die in the small desert town of Buckland. As police chief Jordan Sanders (Hamm) and his deputy (Nick Mohammed) investigate, the film flashes back to ten days prior, where we witness the set-up for the death of Krause’s Maggie.
Instead of laying out several suspects for a whodunnit, Maggie Moore(s) takes the Columbo approach (or the Poker Face approach, if you like) and presents our killer, his motive, and his methods right from the get-go. From there on out, we just have to pray that our case-solvers catch all the right clues, even as red herrings may lead them astray.
The guilty party in question is Jay Moore (Micah Stock), Krause’s Maggie’s husband. He’s a total loser who complains about his wife to anyone who’ll listen, and that includes Tommy T (Derek Basco), a shady figure who provides Jay’s sandwich shop expired ingredients for a major discount. In exchange, Jay gives Tommy a mysterious envelope after each delivery — one that he doesn’t even know the contents of. However, after some snooping, Maggie discovers that Jay has been giving Tommy child pornography. She cuts ties with him immediately, at which point he hires a hitman (Happy Anderson) to scare her off turning him in to the cops. The “scaring” turns into “brutal murder,” and it’s not long before Sanders is on the case, and Jay is desperately trying to throw him off it.
Maggie Moore(s) balances some insanely dark material — see: murder, child sexual abuse material — with offbeat comedy, such as the wise-cracking dialogue between Hamm and Mohammed. It can be a tough combination to swallow, but the movie renders the darkness more palatable with its twisty cases, very satisfying payoffs, and a sweet romantic subplot between Sanders and Maggie’s neighbor Rita (Fey).
Tina Fey and Jon Hamm lead a great cast in Maggie Moore(s).
Sparks fly between Rita and Sanders when they first meet, even though Sanders is actively pursuing the death of Rita’s neighbor. Still, the two strike up an endearing rapport, bonding over their connection to the case and their own broken lives. Sanders’ wife passed away a year ago, while Rita got divorced from an ex-husband whom she says broke her down. There are stops and starts as the two embark on a new romance, and Fey and Hamm are equal parts charming and vulnerable throughout.
The supporting cast of Maggie Moore(s) does great work as well: Ted Lasso‘s Mohammed is a wry delight as a cop who can’t stop cracking jokes at inopportune times and who’s deeply invested in Sanders’ love life. As Maggie’s jerk husband turned bumbling murderer, Stock makes Jay a pathetic slimeball you love to root against. “Everybody just loved Mags,” he tells Sanders in a confession, in the same way a murderer in a crime show would say, “she could light up a room” about his victim. It’s enough to make you want to jump up and arrest him yourself. Joining Stock in the villain ranks is Anderson as deaf hitman Kosco. His menacing glare and sparing use of a pen and paper make for some of Maggie Moore(s)’ most fun gags.
With its myriad subplots and multiple murders, Maggie Moore(s) can at times feel unfocused or tonally jarring. But this cast more than keeps it on the rails. There’s a real pleasure in watching them put the pieces of a mystery together and unveil some of Buckland’s darkest, most personal secrets. It’s another fun addition to the Fey-Hamm canon — one I can’t wait to watch grow more in the coming years.
Maggie Moore(s) was reviewed out of its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. It hits theaters June 16.
