Maddie’s Secret

“Play nice, we have content to make!” John Early stars as Maddie, a bright-eyed dishwasher catapulted into viral fame at a chic food influencer company. Flanked by a cast of alt-comedy icons – including Kate Berlant, Vanessa Bayer, and Conner O’Malley – Maddie’s ascent is as intoxicating as it is destabilising. As her recipes rack up views, a childhood struggle with bulimia resurfaces. Never winking from behind his wig, Early approaches the film’s subject matter with disarming sincerity, finding genuine pathos amidst melodrama. Playing with the stylised pleasures of TV movies – all syrupy dialogue, lurid muzak and unresolved mummy issues – this is camp aesthetics for the era of content creation.