‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ review: Tatiana Maslany’s energy makes this a must-watch

Cam boy scammers. A pile of dead bodies. Bad plot.

From these features alone, you might consider Apple TV Lots of Fun Guaranteed is a fun crime caper. That’s not completely closed, but it is, so thanks to the person who stumbles upon all these dirty secrets: newly divorced mother Paula Sanders (Tatiana Maslany).

What Lots of Fun Guaranteed about?

When we first meet Paula, she is about to reach the end. He and his ex-wife Karl (Jake Johnson) are on the brink of a custody battle for their daughter Hazel (Nola Wallace). On top of that, she is completing the difficult task of moving an apartment, and her boss in her fact-checking job seems reluctant to promote her.

With all of this stress weighing her down, Paula seeks friendship and release with cam boy Trevor (Brandon Flynn). Their virtual conversations are mostly about taking each other out, but they go deeper than that. Paula constantly tells Trevor of her frustrations with Karl and his job. Between his sincerity and his insightful responses, you might think that their intimacy goes deeper than the physical.

Then Trevor is kidnapped during one of their phone calls.

From there, Paula has to face two unresolved truths. Either he just witnessed a heinous crime, or Trevor is a con man, which means their connection was just a way to end it. For a woman her whole life is changing, no choice is guaranteed. And so begins Paula’s independent investigation into the truth, the sordid details of which collide with her personal life in a progression of insidiousness and violence.

What follows is a dizzying, adrenaline-fueled adventure. Lots of Fun Guaranteed careens from a dark comedy to a crime thriller to a babysitting drama, sometimes within a single scene. Wynne Bennett’s sizzling jump cuts and techno throw viewers into Paula’s troubled state of mind, while poignant cliffhangers keep the atmosphere on edge. What anchors it all is Maslany’s excellent performance as Paula.

Tatiana Maslany kills it Lots of Fun Guaranteed.

Tatiana Maslany in “A Lot of Fun Guaranteed.”
Credit: Apple TV

If you’ve watched any of Maslany’s performances – his Emmy-winning clone is in action Orphan Blackhis satanic entrance She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawhis role is small but he will never forget it A monkey – then you should know to expect the best from him. You submit that and others enter Lots of Fun Guaranteed.

As Paula’s hunt for the truth continues, her life splits in two. There is a part of him that searches the houses of strangers and buys a gun for protection. Then there’s the part of him that tries to make life as normal as possible for Hazel after the divorce.

Maslany excels in both ways, bringing physical comedy to everything from jumping off the roof to the sweet daughter’s TikTok dances. But it’s when the two parts of his life collide that he really shines. A bombshell of anger and despair, Maslany makes sure that Paula’s worries are never far away. From time to time, they burst out with heated words directed at co-workers or lawyers or detectives. Still, though, Maslany backs off, as Paula knows full well that any emotional outburst from him could set back her chances of keeping Hazel.

yes, Lots of Fun Guaranteed it’s action-packed with great plot twists and juicy intrigue. But the strangest thing in this series is the decision given to Paula as a mother. When Karl finds out about his conversations with Trevor, his immediate reaction is to use them against him in court – and he’s not the only one hoping to punish him for doing his bidding. No wonder Paula feels like her whole life is a mess. Like every mother, she is expected to do it all: Coach her daughter’s soccer team, host pizza parties, and always look put together. One minute he tries to do something for himself, it backfires, and everyone judges him for it. Meanwhile, is Karl fuming over his past infidelity? Of course not. Maslany walks the tightrope of Paula’s anger on that double standard and her reluctant adherence to it wonderfully.

Lots of Fun Guaranteed surrounds the dying Paula with an impressive collection, from oddballs to outright accidents. Flynn is a slippery legend like Trevor, period The White Lotus‘ Murray Bartlett shows how terrifying he can be as the evil fixer. Elsewhere, Johnson and Jessy Hodges bring Karl and his new wife Mallory some buttoned-up evil. Collecting workers are two very different pairs. There’s Detective Gonzalez (Dolly de Leon) and her sweet partner Detective Baxter (Jon Michael Hill), and Paula’s jealous but deeply invested co-workers Rudy (Charlie Hall) and Geri (Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg). The power of both pairs allows Paula’s nervousness to break, furthering the freewheeling trend.

Of course, however, Paula’s show is over. Maslany and series creator David J. Rosen have created a compelling train wreck of a character, one that you’ll want to follow to the ends of the earth — or at least, at the end of 10 heart-pounding episodes.

The first two episodes of Lots of Fun Guaranteed now airing on Apple TV, with a new episode every Wednesday.