Magazine Dreams dropped some time ago this year, I know it says 2023 but its been around for some time too and and honestly I wasn't expecting this movie to see the light of day after all the drama that went down with Jonathan Majors but WHAT A COME BACK!!!. I finally got to watch it after hearing good and very dark things about its plot. This is one of those movies that makes you feel uncomfortable from the very first scene with someone who kept battles with himself the hole time, which is exactly what it's supposed to do but damn it's a tough watch. The develops around the dreams of Killian Maddox who is this amateur bodybuilder that is completely obsessed with making it big in the bodybuilding world and when I say obsessed I mean like scary obsessed to the point where you start wondering if this guy is gonna snap at any moment and this is such a cliche story because the truth is that to get to that level been obsessed seems like a must to make it out.
Majors put in some serious work for this role and you can tell just by looking at him that he went all in physically, the dude is absolutely ripped and looks like he could bench press a bus. The movie premiered at Sundance back in 2023 and was supposed to be this big Oscar contender for Majors before everything went sideways with his legal troubles and got kicked out of the MCU along with Kang, that really hit me because I love Kang specially on Loki but thanks to the magic tricks of Hollywood all his charges I think were dropped and with the little retention that we humans have just like that he is back on the big screen doing his thing. It's impressive and deeply disturbing at the same time, not the typical feel good sports movie where the underdog wins in the end, this is more like watching someone slowly destroy themselves while chasing a dream that might be impossible to reach and slowly going into dark corners of Maddox mind.
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Killian works at a grocery store and spends every moment either working out or thinking about bodybuilding, he hass this unhealthy obsession with famous bodybuilder named Brad Vanderhorn who he writes creepy fan letters to constantly, its that kind of obsession like women who write crazy inmates, makes me wonder if Killian also had creepy feelings for him hhhmm. Makes Killian character so interesting and terrifying, Majors plays him like he's always on the edge of flipping out, you never know if he is gonna be sweet and awkward or if he is gonna lose his mind and do something violent, plus you always have the idea guys who get to bodybuilding this far are japing on something to pump up.
Killian goes on a date with this girl from work and it starts out kinda cute but then turns into one of the most cringey uncomfortable things, the poor girl looks like she wants to run away and you can't blame her because Killian just doesn't understand how to interact with people normally. The guy has serious anger issues and impulse control problems, plus he's pumping himself full of steroids which obviously isn't helping his mental state at all. He lives with his grandfather who he takes care of and you find out that his dad killed his mom and then himself which explains a lot about why Killian is so messed up but the movie doesn't use that as an excuse for his behavior it just shows you how trauma can really screw someone up. The whole thing about him being obsessed with his deltoids because some judge told him they were too small back in 2016 is both sad and ridiculous, like this one comment has been eating at him for years and driving everything he does. When he finally meets his idol Brad things get really weird and uncomfortable in ways I won't spoil, but let's just say it doesn't go how you'd expect and it makes Killian even more unstable than he already was.
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I already mention how much I like Majors from the MCU, he really drives characters and his on this movie is up there, its like he took everything that happen to his career before, how Disney almost destroy him by not saying much and came back from the seven rings of hell, probably one of his best performance ever this movie rips on Rottentomatoes, he completely disappears into this role and makes you believe every single moment even when Killian is doing the most insane things. The physical transformation alone is impressive but it's the emotional stuff that really gets you, the way he can go from being this vulnerable lonely guy to someone who looks like he might hurt someone is scary AF. There is also the aspect that makes you feel bad for Killian because he is clearly struggling with mental health issues and doesn't have anyone to help him but at the same time he makes terrible decisions constantly and pushes away anyone who tries to get close to him, this is not like the sport is going to safe him but sink him.
The movie does a good job of showing how isolation and obsession can turn someone into a ticking time bomb and Majors sells you every aspect of it during the entire movie even when the script gets a little repetitive because as any other dophamine curve how much fucked up someones life can get?? but somehow the movie keeps setting the bar higher with tension and emotional limits. Perfect example is this scene where he's making a workout video for YouTube and the comments are brutal and you can see how much it hurts him but also how he's completely delusional about his chances of making it big. The way he binge eats when things go wrong and then throws it all up is disturbing but also shows how he uses food as a coping mechanism, which is something a lot of people can probably relate to even if they've never touched a steroid in their life. What's really impressive is how Majors makes you understand Killian's mindset without ever making excuses for his behavior, you see why he does what he does but you also see how wrong it is.
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The biggest problem I have with Magazine Dreams is that it doesn't know when to stop piling on the misery, there are multiple points where you think the story is about to wrap up but then it just keeps going and adding more terrible things to Killian's life. It gets exhausting after a while because you're just watching this guy suffer for two hours straight and while I understand that's probably the point it still makes it a draining viewing experience, also I can understand for part of the audience it could even fall into boring and repetitive so then you ask when is it enough?. The movie keeps building toward what you think is gonna be some kind of violent ending, especially when Killian gets a sniper rifle and starts talking about wanting to be "remembered" but then it pulls back at the last minute in ways that don't feel entirely believable. The ending tries to be hopeful with Killian deciding to be his own inspiration instead of obsessing over Brad but I'm not convinced that someone with his level of mental health issues would be able to make that kind of breakthrough without serious professional help. There's also this whole subplot with him visiting a prostitute that feels kinda unnecessary and doesn't really add much to the story except to show that he's lonely and doesn't understand how relationships work. The pacing is all over the place with some scenes dragging on way too long while others feel rushed and the whole thing could probably have been trimmed down a bit, again the repetitive and when its enough thing.
Magazine Dreams is definitely worth watching if you can handle the dark subject and don't mind feeling uncomfortable for two hours but it's not gonna be everyone movie preference and I totally understand why some people might criticize it but that's the beauty about movies, making people feel things, sadly sometimes it doesn't hit the same for everyone. Majors gives the kind of performance that would normally get Oscar nomination but obviously that's not gonna happen given everything that went down in his personal life, is a shame because the work he does here really is exceptional. I would even dare to put it into psychological horror with his obsession, mess up parenting and how the pursuit of perfection can destroy someone. The movie felt it try too hard to be too clever with its ending or when it piles on trauma just to keep the shocking effect going higher and higher. The production value is for sure there, once you watch this movie you probably wont want to watch it again because you never want to feel or see someone that depressed, I remember the only intro to a show that had this effect was The Walking Dead with its colors and theme song, it was a depressing opening every time but we where there for the trauma of others, its crazy. It's a complicated experience that makes you question about separating art from the artist but at the end of the day it's still a well made movie that deserves to be seen even if it's not exactly entertaining in the traditional way, I gave it a 7/10 and don't get me wrong I love it although it turn draggy a few times.
