Tatiana Maslany is such an extraordinary talent that it’s hard to remember just how few projects she’s led since her breakout performance (performances) in the sci-fi mystery, “Orphan Black”. But “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” aside, Maslany has made a name for herself through smaller, supporting performances in dramas such as HBO’s “Perry Mason,” or in smaller horror features, like the “The Monkey” and “Keeper.” Between those smaller roles, animated voice work, and theater, she’s been consistently busy, but never truly in the spotlight in a way that amplifies her immense and elastic talent. “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” is the right kind of reminder. Delivering an emotionally dextrous, physical, and layered performance as a woman on the verge, Maslany reminds those who need reminding of her certifiable star power and magnetic charisma. Her performance alone is worth tuning in. That the series is tightly wound and well-executed throughout makes it all the more palatable—a true star vehicle.
It takes only a few moments into the premiere of “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” to get a sense of who Maslany’s Paula is. She’s clearly going through some emotional turmoil, moving into a new apartment, recently divorced, and in the middle of a custody battle with her ex-husband, Karl (Jake Johnson). And yet, as she converses with a young man, Sky, played by Brandon Flynn, over a video call, she exudes a sense of ease in her own skin. She’s playful and warm, and when the premiere reveals that the man in question is a cam boy whom she pays for virtual companionship and sex, it’s not a tired ’a ha’ moment and more another layer to an instantly interesting protagonist. The writing doesn’t shame her, even if she’ll come to condemn her own actions the more the series progresses.
Stuck in an emotional limbo as Karl and his new wife, Mallory (Jessy Hodges), try to convince Paula to bring their young daughter to Boise, Idaho, where Mallory has just gotten a new job. In contrast, Paula tries to maintain the original custody agreement that would keep them in New York; she’s not so much at the end of her rope as she is scrambling to keep the pieces of her life together. And that includes these virtual dalliances, where she’s allowed moments of reprieve and release as a means to smooth out the wrinkles of stress that line the pages of her life.
Her semblance of control dissolves, however, after seemingly witnessing a violent attack against Sky. As she tries to solve the mystery of who attacked him and why, she grows increasingly entangled in a web of violence, deceit, and blackmail. She has to rely on her own aptitude, quick thinking, and bullshit detector to try to keep herself afloat. A fact checker at a local newspaper, she finds unlikely and sometimes tenuous help from her co-workers, Gerri (Kiarra Hamagami) and Rudy (Charlie Hall). And while she first reaches out to the police, Detective Sofia Gonzalez (Dolly de Leon) and her partner, Detective Baxter (Jon Michael Hill) don’t, at least initially, put as much weight behind Paula’s claims. Between the mess she finds herself in, the fraying dynamic with her ex, and the moves she takes to posit herself as the most stable option for her daughter, the more she’s left on her own in a world that’s either looking to punish her or is indifferent about how its actions affect her.
Created by David J. Rosen (a writer on “Sugar” and “Citadel”), the writing quickly overcomes a major preconception about the series. While a major inciting event continues to have violent reverberations throughout the ten-episode season, it doesn’t draw things out. Instead, characters confront one another about poor decision-making and poorly hidden secrets, airing their grievances rather than keeping them close to the chest in a cheap effort to prolong inevitable confrontations and drama. It’s such a refreshing change of pace that it instantly improves the story, because it doesn’t feel the need to follow the familiar, tired trajectory of other stories. That, plus shorter episodic runtimes, keeps the writing tight and consistent throughout, never straying far from the central plot and the driving force of Maslany’s performance.
The other greatest, critical asset is the writing for Paula. Television has made meals of stories about unlikely individuals drawn into unfathomable mess and violence. There will always be interest in watching unassuming people display an uncanny ability to assimilate into varying levels of the criminal world. And while “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” doesn’t reach the pinnacle of this subgenre, it pulls off a major feat by making Paula a believable protagonist, suited to both her soccer-mom aesthetic and the grittier reality she’s plunged into.
Montages of her ingenuity and scrappiness counterbalance every bad decision she makes (and there are plenty). She’s smart and capable and, sometimes, that’s all we need for a lead character. Someone who, even while fumbling and panic-stricken, can recover enough to move forward for the sake of survival. It’s high-functioning performance under pressure, and the effect is fantastic. Even in the most stress-inducing sequences and tense standoffs, we want to see how she overcomes them.
The writing does a good job of weaving elements of her past into her current state while withholding crucial details that further flesh her out in critical, catalytic revelations. And Maslany is so magnetic that the supporting characters shine more. Johnson is playing sort of out of character as the unlikable, sometimes manipulative Karl, but there’s enough spark between him and Maslany to make us believe he and Paula would have, at one time, fallen in love. And while neither Gerri nor Rudy is interesting on their own, Hamagami and Hall are winsome in their roles, despite a feeling of overall fatigue at their unaffected character archetypes (god forbid young people don’t default to irony and insults as a base of friendship.)
There are moments where the series drags. While the worldbuilding is effective in how the mystery unfolds, the setup of some of the overarching antagonists feels more like a second-season setup than in service of the current story. In contrast, Paula’s efforts to make nice with the other moms and a burgeoning romance feel like afterthoughts in such a high-tension series. And, while effective, actors like Dolly de Leon and Murray Bartlett don’t get as much time to really explore their characters.
That said, they hardly need to with Maslany leading the charge. It can’t be overstated how striking she is as Paula, effortlessly shifting between modes as a mom and caretaker and as a woman on the case facing impending danger. She’s such an expressive performer without leaning into overacting, minute movements – a quirk of the mouth, shifting eyes, the way smiles either light up or drop swiftly from her face – conveying all we need to know in any given scene. She’s authentic without it feeling put on, naturalistic while still able to instill a restless, kinetic quality in Paula, a woman who, even when being open about past transgressions, always seems to be keeping something secret.
“Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” is a pleasant surprise. In an era inundated with constant new releases, it’s easy to miss the gems that are dropped unceremoniously on streaming services. But with an intensive story, an intriguing mystery at the heart of it, and a performance that reminds us of Maslany’s immense caliber of talent, the show solidifies itself as a must-watch. Armed with a strong script and a stronger protagonist, the series hits the right note. [B]
