I don’t know what the problem is… this movie is a hoot. A real crime against subtly and thoughtful drama. It’s got as much tonal whiplash as it does hammy over-acting and goofy writing. It’s not a good movie but it’s an entertaining one. And it’s made all the better because I can’t tell if they were being serious or if this was just a big goof.

So Karen is about a Karen who is more an abject, down-in-the-mud racist… sure Karens can be racist but when you’re this racist, maybe just call the movie Racist. Anyhow, a young black couple moves into the upper middle-class house next door and Karen is having none of it.

This movie is hammy and over-the-top. Full stop. Taryn Manning turns her mustache-twirling Karen to Super Melodrama II Hyper-Fighting Edition levels of camp… chewing all the scenery, glaring with champion gusto, and slinking around like a devil woman. It’s hilarious. I hated her.

More hilarious is the distinct possibility they meant this to be a serious suspense thriller. Aaaand just as good a chance they were in on the gag. And it’s even more hilarious that I just don’t know which is true.

Which does raise a real problem. The movie’s tonal whiplash gets out of control. It goes from “I’m channeling Jack Nicholson in The Shining” to “hey, this is a serious scene between racist cops and young black men”. Movie is a lot less fun then. If they weren’t taking this serious, maybe they should have left out the real-world problems and just focused on the manic pixie psycho girl. But then they couldn’t have their unearned, overly-earnest. eye-roll of an ending…

So I don’t give this movie a lower score because I was engaged. I hated the Karen and boo hissed her racist cop brother. I laughed at the hammy acting and tin-eared dialog. Perhaps I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons and I’d never accuse the movie of being subtle, genuine, or “good”… but I laughed a lot and rolled my eyes even more. That’s worth something.

Score: 71