A dangerous bodybuilding drama that threatens to destroy a man’s wellbeing.
Jonathan Majors has proven himself to be an entertaining actor with movies like “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “The Harder They Fall,” and “Devotion.” But he also has his controversy, which is why you won’t be seeing him again in the MCU after “Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania.” This regards him physically assaulting his girlfriend and being found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment. And he is currently serving a 52-week in-person domestic violence intervention program.
When I heard about this, I was surprised that a year later, he appeared at the Famous Monsters Festival, and this year, his latest movie “Magazine Dreams” will be playing in theaters. It was originally going to be released by Searchlight Pictures, but given the circumstances, they quietly returned the film rights to the filmmakers, who then passed the baton to Briarcliffe Entertainment.
Despite the major setbacks I’ve mentioned, the movie is entertaining as Majors plays an aspiring bodybuilder named Killian Maddox, who is so ambitious to be the best bodybuilder, that he ignores his doctor’s advice of removing a tumor on his liver from all those steroids he’s been injecting himself with. It gets quite dangerous in that very notion, that it keeps us watching, and wondering what consequences will come out of it.
To make ends meet and to keep his videos, entry fees, and body lotion in tact, he works at a grocery store, and invites his crush and co-worker Jessie (Haley Bennett) for dinner, but his ambitions and appetite (as he needs to eat to make himself look bigger) make her nervous. He also lives with and takes care of his ailing grandfather (Harrison Paige), and he writes letters to his idol Brad Vanderhorn (real life bodybuilder Mike O’Hearn). He even sends him voice messages just to get some advice.
But the rest of the movie shows him to be poisoned into become a violent and angry man, who damages a paint store for not delivering work for his grandfather’s place, and drunkenly makes a scene at a local diner. These moments can be overwhelming, especially how we try to behave in society, despite the many flaws that come around. And I, myself, get annoyed at certain principles that must be followed at certain stores, theaters, or restaurants. But getting back to this movie, I did mention that there are consequences to the ambitions and health risks of trying to be the best bodybuilder.
Writer/director Elijah Bynum (who also made “Hot Summer Nights” and wrote “The Deliverance”) makes “Magazine Dreams” like something out of a Darren Aronofsky opus with the tone, cinematography, leading performance, and ambition. And this was produced by Dan Gilroy and Jennifer Fox, whose best collaboration was “Nightcrawler.” Gritty might be putting it mildly when describing the film. Fierce is more like it, as I knew there would be steroids and wondered if there would be bit trouble. And there are, but there are also moments that the main protagonist might regret or contemplate on doing that really scares you.
I acknowledge what Majors has done lately in his personal life, and I apologize for what I’m about to say, but he does a great job portraying a bodybuilder on the brink of destroying himself, even threatening those around him. His age matches the tone and consistency of him very well, and his dialogue is riveting.
It’s up to you readers. Do you want to still be mad at Majors or do you want to see how “Magazine Dreams” plays out? I support both answers, but I still think it’s worth your time, because of the realism placed here. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be fun, but it is consistent.
For me, instead of bodybuilding, I think I’ll stick to treadmills, punching bags, and sit ups. Thank you.