By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Bodybuilding has never looked so dysfunctional…at least not since last year’s “Love Lies Bleeding.” “Magazine Dreams” is a dramatic story of a guy with a whole lot of issues who is singularly focused on achieving his dream of being on the cover of bodybuilding magazines. While Jonathan Majors is exceptional, the rest of movie is not, putting audiences through a downward spiral that doesn’t seem to end.
Dedicating his entire life to becoming a professional bodybuilder, Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors) will stop at nothing to achieve his aspirations of becoming a cover athlete for popular men’s magazines. In order to finance his dream, he works at the local supermarket while also caring for William Lattimore (Harrison Page), who took Killian in when he was a child after his parents were killed. Clearly dealing with social anxiety and possibly autism, Killian is a loner who is in a one-sided pen pal relationship with his bodybuilding idol, Brad Vanderhorn (Michael O’Hearn).
Killian turns to drugs and steroids to expedite his dream of professional bodybuilding, which only exacerbate his inner demons and causes painful side effects. This leads to one poor decision after another, putting his goals in jeopardy and threatening his life. With his future hanging in the balance, he must find a way to overcome his many challenges, or humiliation may not be the only outcome that awaits him.
Debuting at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023 to rousing accolades, “Magazine Dreams” was originally supposed to release nationwide in December of that year as a viable Oscar candidate but due to Jonathan Majors’ assault allegations, Disney pulled the plug on the film. This forced producers to shop around for another distributor, hence why this film is being released two years later. Majors was found guilty by a New York jury of harassing and assaulting his former girlfriend, but did not receive a prison sentence. Be that as it may, he has a lot of work to do to rebuild his image and be a productive member of society.
Ironically, Jonathan Majors portrays a social outcast with some serious anger issues. However, he singlehandedly puts this film on his massive shoulders and delivers an Oscar caliber performance. This talented actor layers his character with depth showing an internal goodness and purity that wants to come out but is perpetually squashed by his overwhelming obsession and negative attributes. These glimpses of good nature allow the audience to rally for this toxically self-destructive character to overcome the challenges and achieve his dream.
Writer/director Elijah Bynum (“Hot Summer Nights”) cripples this movie with painfully slow pacing and misery porn. This is a two-hour film he makes feel like three hours as he steers his audience from one depressing event to the next, making everyone yearn for the end credits that never seem to arrive. He also tries to convey a victim’s mentality to the main character, which contradicts the fact that all these disasters are brought on by himself and his choices. This leads to a viewer detachment that alienates emotional buy-in and deteriorates the overall purpose of the movie. There’s not a negative narrative this director doesn’t like, and he uses a lot of them such as never meet your idols or steroids lead to roid rage. Even the cinematography Bynum employs only exemplifies the fatiguing sense of discomfort for the audience.
Simply put, Jonathan Majors’ intense performance is the only reason to see this film. With a vibe similar to 2008’s “The Wrestler,” “Magazine Dreams” overwhelms with a tidal wave of hopelessness and depression. If you do choose to watch this movie, you may need a prescription of Prozac afterwards.
This movie earns:
