Maximum Truth Shreds Politics of Personal Destruction
Ike Barinholtz isnât shooting fish in a barrel with his new mockumentary. Heâs blasting them with an AK-47.
âMaximum Truthâ turns the camera on soulless grifters out to squeeze every last penny from our warped political age. Think Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, the far-right poseurs who often land in hot water for their stunts.
What co-writer Barinholtz does, though, is let us sympathize with these pathetic con men.
Just a little, mind you. Maybe an ounce of empathy. Itâs enough to give âMaximum Truthâ a satisfying core to build its story.

Barinholtz plays Rick Klingman, a grifter who stumbled into his craft after winning some frivolous lawsuits. Now, heâs a hired gun, taking down any politician by digging through their personal dirt.
Even if said dirt doesnât exist. Why would that matter? Itâs politics, right? You can find dirt anywhere. You just have to look hard enough and believe any outlandish story you hear online.
Just ask Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Rick is joined by Simon (Dylan OâBrien), a self-absorbed influencer (redundant?) punching over his intellectual weight.
Together, theyâre hoping to torch a candidate (Max Minghella) by finding damaging stories from his past.
âMaximum Truthâ stars slowly, offering a few overt laughs while letting us get to know Rick. Heâs clearly gay, labeling his male roommate as his professional âassistantâ to avoid the obvious. Itâs a running gag the film doesnât lean into enough.
Rick has an answer for everything, a positive spin for any disastrous pivot heâs forced to make. Thereâs something noble about his ignorance, a willingness to see the glass of spoiled milk as half full.
Simon, given an unexpected comic jolt by OâBrien, is more of a wrecking ball. Heâs unbound by morals and eager to hawk his âShrededâ supplement brand (even if he doesnât know the word has two âDsâ in a row).
The mockumentary never finds its gut-busting moment, but the laughs bubble up as the efficient story movies on. Youâll smile, wince and recognize too much of what happens on screen.
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Barinholtz, who contributed to the disappointing âHistory of the World Part IIâ project, is an unabashed liberal. He proved that with âThe Oath,â a political satire that sank, in part, due to overt partisanship.
Here, the actor/co-screenwriter is tweaking GOP types, but âMaximum Truthâ targets a deeply flawed system first and foremost. Yes, a scene where a gun devotee brandishes a weapon goes exactly where you expect it to, but the film understands grifters hail from both parties.
Itâs the political climate that needs to be destroyed.
Plus, the scene in question delivers the biggest laugh of the film.
#MaximumTruth FACTS: You ainât cool if you ainât late
pic.twitter.com/Lkr4YDhEQW
â Momentum Pictures (@Momentum_Pics) June 20, 2023
âMaximum Truthâ hits the target over and again, but one deserving party comes out unscathed, and itâs the filmâs regrettable flaw.
Journalists.
Here, theyâre treated like sober, responsible truth-tellers when anyone who follows the news these days knows thatâs no longer true.
Reporters even get a âtruth to powerâ moment late in the film that is both unearned and unnecessary. Nauseating.
Otherwise, âMaximum Truthâ offers a crush of low-budget laughs hitting targets both sides of the political aisle can agree have it coming.
HiT or Miss: âMaximum Truthâ has plenty to say about the state of political theater, and much of it is amusing and spot-on.
The post âMaximum Truthâ Shreds Politics of Personal Destruction first appeared on Hollywood in Toto.
The post âMaximum Truthâ Shreds Politics of Personal Destruction appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
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