https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvsjbF785g&pp=ygUTbWFkZGllIHRyYWlsZXIgMjAyNg%3D%3D&ra=m
I thought "Maddie's Secret" was mind-blowing. It never *works* to make you laugh. The writer/director never seems to break a sweat. Instead, the movie is a singular vision. It's like you're handed "alien goggles." And you see the world in a new way.
We begin with Maddie skipping down the streets of L.A., occasionally sniffing jasmine. She is like Maria von Trapp. The world is wonderful! But she needs to make more money if she wants to start a family. So her partner pressures her to share one of her cooking videos with the world.
Fame arrives--and its impact is pernicious. Maddie immediately faces criticism because of her weight. She had a traumatic childhood, in which her mother blamed her for family difficulties. (Her mother would often assist with purging sessions--Mom would hold the ponytail so strands of hair didn't dip themselves in the toilet water.)
Maddie spins so far out of control, she tells her partner that her frequent vomiting is a result of a pregnancy. She works to recover--and it's not clear how far she gets. The final scene returns us to the streets of Los Angeles--Maddie is going for a run. The image is then frozen--we are "paused" while Maddie seems to be midair. (Bizarrely, this made me think of the end of Henry James's "Portrait of a Lady.")
I loved John Early's performance--and I felt the story was mesmerizing. Every major character popped off the screen.
A fearless movie.
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