“Maximum Truth” the political mockumentary from the minds of David Stassen and Ike Barinholtz, is finally here, and it is hilarious.
David Stassen makes his directorial debut with this satirical take on political grifters, starring Barinholtz as a so-called “political consultant” and attorney named Rick Klingman, a man whose only truth is whatever he’s paid to say. When Klingman is asked to dig up dirt on a Congressional candidate named Antonio Kelly-Zhang (Max Minghella) by a friend Mary Jo Nackserson (Beth Grant), he immediately decides he needs the help of a fellow grifter with an addiction to working out named Simon played by Dylan O’Brien. Basically, think about what would happen if Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute got into politics, that’s them.
“This is a film about a couple of men who lack any semblance of shame,” Stassen said. “They will say, do and agree to anything for money and attention. It is not based on the current political landscape at all.”
Courtesy of Momentum Pictures
With absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing by Antonio, the two continue to grasp at straws as the leads they hoped would be their smoking gun end up fizzling out spectacularly, making themselves look like clowns along the way. The story is hilariously chaotic as Rick and Simon keep digging a bigger hole for themselves, all leading to all their actions coming together in one climactic event that was well worth the wait.
Both Barinholtz and O’Brien are no strangers to Comedy, and in this film, both actors delivered absolutely amazing comedic performances. Both when it comes to physical comedy and high comedy. Their on screen comedic chemistry was absolutely hilarious. The two actors perfectly complemented each other onscreen and played off each other extremely well. Both characters are written so well, they are so different, and each one is so funny in their own way, but it’s when they work together that things really get interesting. You find it hard to take what’s happening seriously because of these two and how completely ridiculous they are at times. Barinholtz and O’Brien really played their parts so well.
“Dylan, just out of the gate, brought a bigger energy. He was a counterbalance to Ike in a great way.” Said Stassen in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter
O’Brien has elevated his comedic acting in recent years with roles in movies such as “Not Okay” and guest starring on shows such as “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. This was his best comedic performance on film so far.
“Maximum Truth” was filmed in the style of a documentary similar to that of “The Office”, as throughout the course of the story we see a documentary crew follow Rick and Simon around. Stassen explained that the reason for doing this was so that you could see this person who thinks he can do no wrong repeatedly face his own mistakes. Barinholtz and Stassen have managed to subtly poke fun at a number of different topics, such as politics, influencer culture, journalism, and of course political grifting.
“We didn’t want to be preachy. We just wanted to shine a light on this world of political bad actors, people acting in bad faith and people who will say anything for money, fame and the television camera. It’s nothing new.” Said Stassen
Now, this may be a story about two political grifters, but this is far from a stiff political film, “Maximum Truth” is an entertaining, absolutely hilarious new film with a satisfying ending. In a time of remakes, comic book movies, franchises etc, this like some other great indie films this year stands out in a refreshing way.
The film also features Tiya Sircar (The Internship), Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Blake Anderson (Game Over, Man!), Brianna Baker (9-1-1: Lone Star), Beth Grant (Mayfair Witches), Mark Proksch (Dream Corp LLC), with a cameo from the iconic Seth Rogen.
Maximum Truth is available in theaters and VOD.
Fangirl and Writer with a huge passion for entertainment.
