Welcome back to A Second Look! This time around I am taking a look back at what is still the only collaboration between two titans of LRF writers - Lon Charles and Chad Taylor.... TO THE MAX!
When To The Max first hit theaters in Season 15, I was immediately taken by how confidently it spun real-life crime into a gleefully heightened black comedy. The film follows spoiled Bay Area teen Max Wade (Noah Centineo), who goes from selling fake IDs to stealing Guy Fieri’s Lamborghini, shooting at a romantic rival, and finally landing in prison—all while treating his criminal escapades like a coming-of-age joyride. Matt Spicer directs with slick energy, and Lon Charles and Chad Taylor’s script balances absurdity and consequence in a way that recalls Goodfellas by way of Ferris Bueller. I praised the movie’s high-wire tonal mix and the sharp chemistry between Centineo, Jack Kilmer, and Tony Revolori, whose bumbling sidekicks gave the story its moral (and comic) contrast. It also seemed like Centineo - after a string of love interest roles in teen girl flicks - had finally found a role that played to his strengths.
Nearly 20 seasons later, To The Max holds up surprisingly well. The absurdist tone that once felt risky now reads as bold. The exaggerated, stylized world filmmakers created still crackles with energy, and Centineo’s performance remains his best—vain, reckless, and weirdly sympathetic. The inclusion of Guy Fieri as himself is still a comedic masterstroke, even if the cultural relevance of the Mayor of Flavortown has probably dimmed a bit with time for any new audience members. A few of the supporting performances now feel thinner, but the film’s propulsive pacing, biting humor, and confident absurdity have aged gracefully. To The Max still embodies what so many true-crime satires try and fail to achieve: gleeful chaos with real bite.
Original Grade: B+
New Grade: A-
To The Max Link: https://lrfdatabase.weebly.com/to-the-max.html
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