Movie Review: 'Maddie's Secret' is Out
John Early makes his feature directorial debut with this memorably complex dramedy
(John Early in Maddie’s Secret. Courtesy Magnolia Pictures)
Out comedian John Early writes, directs, and stars in Maddie’s Secret, a dramedy about a talented chef whose lack of confidence and eating disorder threaten to derail her suddenly-blossoming career.
Early’s credentials as an actor and comedian are impeccable; a veteran of films like The Disaster Artist and Eternity, and a familiar face (or voice) from TV series as disparate as 30 Rock, Bob’s Burgers, Broad City, Q Force, and Portlandia, he brings a distinct sensibility and confidence of tone and pacing to this, his debut feature. In a tantalizing twist, and much as Sean Hayes did in Lazy Susan, he plays a straight, cisgender woman — and not for laughs, nor with his tongue in his cheek. As Maddie, Early presents a portrait of a complicated woman whose ambitions exist in perpetual conflict with her terrors and traumas, many of them tracing directly back to a childhood with an overbearing, narcissistic mother.
(Kate Berlant and John Early in Maddie’s Secret. Courtesy Magnolia Pictures)
Maddie is a dishwasher at GourMaybe Test Kitchen, an online cooking show. But she’s got a passion for culinary invention; her taste and talent soon elevate her to on-camera status, and she’s a rising star before she knows it. Her newly high profile draws online hate (moronic comments about her looks) but also the chance to style the food for the upcoming season of The Boar (a The Bear-like series). Closer to home, though, her sudden notoriety puts strain on her friendship with former fellow grunt Deena (Kate Berlant, a delight), an out, no-nonsense lesbian who’s ready and willing to put anyone, including Maddie, in their place. It also sharpens the enmity of GourMaybe’s current star, Emily (Claudia O’Doherty), whose position feels as precarious as the workplace situationship in which she’s embroiled with the show’s producer.
(John Early and Eric Rahill in Maddie’s Secret. Courtesy Magnolia Pictures)
Worse, the stress of success triggers Maddie’s bulimia… a secret so closely guarded that not even her sweetly devoted husband Jake (Eric Rahill) knows about it. When he catches her slumped at the toilet after the dénouement of her latest episode of binge eating, Maddie tells him that she’s pregnant… a lie that thrills him and puts their rock-solid relationship on thin ice.
Maddie soon veers from red-hot to hot mess, and it’s going to take all her loved ones — and a clutch of new friends — to get her back on track. A sweet film that doesn’t shy away from consequences, and refuses to apologize for much, Maddie’s Secret launches Early’s directorial career with a sonic boom.
“Maddie’s Secret” is in limited theatrical release.