Occasionally there are luscious and delectable offerings that underscore the beauty of the limited series when the storytelling justifies the length. These two new, recently released offerings are the case in point. Never boring and often exciting, the acting enhances the writing and vice versa.
“Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” is true to its name. An utterly delicious thriller with interesting characters, an effectively circuitous plot, fast pacing, engaging comic undertones and terrific writing, “Maximum Pleasure” will grab you from the first moment.
Paula, recently divorced and in a custody battle with her husband, is trying to balance life as the mother of the adored young Hazel and the fact-checker at a hip New York magazine. Lonely and still depressed over her husband’s betrayal with his co-worker, she engages in online sexting with an OnlyFans-type website. She actually feels a connection, so much so that when “Trevor,” the object of her affection, pleads that he is in danger, she goes to the police. Seemingly indifferent Detective Gonzalez explains to Paula that this is, no doubt, a scam and that he will soon come asking for money. As predicted, he does. But the twist is that while she’s online with him, he is attacked and murdered. Returning to the indifferent detective, Paula is again told that this is a scam and, more than likely, a staged murder. The next demand for money is weighted with blackmail. The detective was right but unwilling to help find the criminals behind the scheme. There are just too many of them.
Paula is on her own and enlists her co-workers Geri and Rudy to solve the mystery and save her reputation. She must find Trevor and stop the blackmail, or she’ll lose Hazel. Trevor and his accomplices are greedy but not overly endowed in the brains area. Paula traces Trevor to his video studio, armed only with Hazel’s lacrosse stick, breaks in to discover … Trevor, throat recently slashed, real life imitating the fake video he sent. Stunned, she has little time to react because the killer is still there. Only seconds ahead of the killer, she climbs out the window, leaving critical evidence of her presence behind. This is evidence that both the killer and the police will use to tie her to this murder.
This is a 10-episode series so it only follows that there will be more murders and more blackmail and conspiracies that are gradually revealed over time. Paula’s not a true crime podcaster, she’s a soccer mom with a daughter and a custody battle. Her co-workers may or may not be the friends she thinks they are. And then there’s the problem of the real killer, someone adept at staying in the shadows and someone who has a lot to protect, personally and “professionally.”
It would be unfair to reveal any of the plot intricacies because they all intersect in complicated but organic ways. All of this works because of Tatiana Maslany, the absolutely perfect Paula. A mom with sloppy jeans, laughing and doing funny dances with her daughter, coaching her daughter’s soccer team despite her dislike of the sport, she is sympathetic, frazzled and believable, even when “interacting” with Trevor, the online sex worker. You can understand why she believed that they had a real connection. Her panics are genuine. She reacts emotionally to visceral situations and withholds evidence from the police, a natural instinct. Maslany holds us in her unsteady hands and brings us along willingly for the ride.
Jake Johnson plays her conflicted husband Karl and Jessy Hodges is his subtly devious new wife, Mallory. The villains, who shall not be named to spare the spoilers, are delicious and all, in their own ways, are downright scary. Dolly DeLeon plays Detective Gonzalez close to the vest and intuitively, often clashing with her partner Detective Baxter, played by John Michael Hall, who is more interested in closing the case quickly and strongly believes, that Paula is the murderer.
The production values are excellent, and the pace is speedy. Although 10 episodes is a bit of a stretch, they are all engaging and will keep you wanting more.
All episodes now streaming on Apple TV.
“The Boroughs” is another delight. Kept under tight wraps for weeks, this spooky mystery laced with science fiction elements and character conflicts is full to the brim with stars of “a certain age.” The premise is intriguing, the plotting is taut, and the acting is out of this world.
Opening on the bucolic pastures of The Boroughs, a home for the retired with a branch for the mentally infirm, we watch as Grace tidies up her townhouse. Suddenly, she is attacked by an otherworldly creature. She is gone, forgotten and erased by everyone but her husband Edward, who is confined to the maximum care division.
Sam, recently widowed and still grieving, suitcases in hand, stands in Grace’s former abode. He has reluctantly agreed to give up his home and independence at the request of his daughter. This former top engineer’s memory isn’t what it used to be, and he has been imagining things that aren’t there. When he begins to go off reservation, his daughter and son-in-law force him to move to The Boroughs. No, he’s not ready for the memory care unit, but he does need a contained environment, and The Boroughs has attracted an extremely intelligent and active group that should appeal to him.
There’s an undercurrent of mystery here with some of the residents reporting suspicious, almost extraterrestrial activity. No one is talking about how Grace, the former resident of Sam’s house, died. He soon meets Edward who has escaped the maximum-security wing and tells him to beware of the evil that lurks in the walls.
Sam begins to bond with some of his fellow inmates, cajoled into the group by the charismatic Jack. He meets Wally, a former physician/researcher; Art, a former music manager; Judy, his wife and a crack journalist prior to coming to The Boroughs with Art; and Renee, eye candy with a penchant for younger men, very few of which are in this village. Wally and Art are edgy about the unexplained incidents that have been happening. When Jack, the leader of the pack, is removed to the unknown before he could reveal his evidence of corporate misdeeds, Sam takes it upon himself to dig deeper.
The preternatural youth of founders Claire and Sam Cooper arouses suspicions in Sam. Allegedly the son of the founder, Sam Cooper is elusive and as slippery as a snake. Anyone prying too deeply into the organization is dispatched, temporarily or permanently, to the nursing wing, eventually disappearing entirely. Sam, logical to his marrow, is on to something and becomes a target. But he has allies, and they are all determined to solve the mystery—Jack’s mysterious death, the things that go bump in the night and the unexplained disappearances of other residents. They will need to use all their former life skills to try to outwit the owners, the elusive creatures, and the baggage they have all carried with them.
Created by Jeffrey Addis and Will Matthews, the writing is tight, the pace is heart-quickening, and the acting is superb. “The Boroughs” cleverly intersperses the outlandish with the real-world frustrations of being discarded after a certain age, interweaving the real with the surreal.
Alfred Molina, Sam, has always been an actor adept at digging below the surface and he gives us a three-dimensional portrayal, grounding the series as metaphor rather than horror. Denis O’Hare, likewise, plays the doctor, Wally, who has yet to reach his peak and yet has been cast away. Clarke Peters and Alfre Woodard are the husband and wife, Judy and Art Daniels, who have drifted apart and may no longer fit together.
The actors brought me into “The Boroughs.” The creepy storyline kept me watching.
Now streaming on Netflix.
