You are unlikely to encounter another movie like Maddie’s Secret this year. The film, born from the mind of writer, director, and star John Early, satirizes both the Lifetime movies of the 80s and 90s and modern influencer culture while also sincerely addressing disordered eating.
Early plays Maddie, a dishwasher turned content creator for mega-company Gourmaybe. It’s her dream come true. However, the newfound attention and popularity in front of the camera causes a relapse of her bulimia. On paper, a film with a satirical, absurdist sense of humor about eating disorders doesn’t seem like a winning combination. However, Early and company walk the tonal tightrope flawlessly, delivering a uniquely beautiful experience at the movies.
“It was a kind of mysterious thing where the tone dictated itself as I was going on,” Early explains. “I think that I felt safer kind of diluting myself, convincing myself that it was going to be a more outwardly satirical thing and that it would be kind of a commentary about our internet obsession with food. There was something very dark and strange going on on my algorithm. I thought I was going to kind of make this bratty, really cheap handmade movie with my friends that had a kind of punk spirit. I don’t know. Almost immediately as I got into the writing process, I just felt myself pulled into something a little more emotional.”
Early’s comedic sensibilities are very much alive and well in the fabric of Maddie’s Secret. It’s absurd and over-the-top. There’s an edge present. There’s an extended dance sequence. But the film also feels like a move in a direction we don’t often get to experience from Early.
He says, “I’ve spent a lot of time in my own work making fun of millennial culture and millennials. And it’s all projection.” Then, with a laugh, he adds, “I hate myself, obviously. And I think I’m growing out of that. I’m a little tired of doing that, and I wanted to be more forgiving of Maddie and the ethos she is a part of and the scene she’s in.”
Though this is Early’s feature directorial debut, it feels like he’s been building toward this moment for years. For example, the aforementioned extended dance sequence feels very much reminiscent of Early’s viral shot-for-shot recreation of the rehearsal sequence from Showgirls (1995) in which he plays Nomi.
The dance sequence in Maddie’s Secret takes place at a queer dance class that Maddie and her friend Deena (Kate Berlant) frequent. As Maddie’s relapse intensifies, so does the pressure to stay in shape. The sequence serves as an exhilarating centerpiece for Maddie’s arc as she continues to lose control.
“This movie is so full of so many of these things that I’ve done kind of impressions of years ago where I’ve just kind of gestured to people like, ‘This is what I like,’” Early explains. “But it was so nice to finally hang all those impressions on a narrative. Everything became so much more alive with narrative justification.”
Another key component of Maddie’s journey is her relationship with the art she’s making and how it goes out into the world. She grapples in real time with how her work is received, both positively and negatively. There’s a real journey to understand the surrender that comes with making art and putting it out into the world, a journey that’s not unfamiliar to Early.
“I learn it every single time I make something just how much it’s not yours at a certain point, and it’s always so moving to me and shocking to me when people have really intense relationships with something you made years ago that you don’t even remember,” he muses. “It’s very beautiful and generous to kind of let go and let people possess it. It’s also very scary because there’s a sense that you can’t control the way people receive it….”
While Maddie’s Secret is still fairly new and awaiting reaction, Early is ultimately excited to share her with the world. “Maddie is someone who I’m kind of offering up to be adored. That was unusual for me because I normally play very unlikable, psychotic people and I felt very compelled to unapologetically make a character that you could love and treasure….That is the joy of giving it away to people, is that it can finally happen.”
Maddie’s Secret is now playing in select cities. You can check out our full interview with John Early here.
Interview & Analysis Courtesy of Adam Patla
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Feature Image Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures