Comedian Margaret Cho headlines Maxine, part of the second wave of shorts from Disney’s Launchpad incubator program. A proud queer icon like Margaret Cho is inspired casting in this short that’s partially about the fear and shame often associated with coming out of the closet. But like most Disney stories, it’s about family, and a little bit of magic, too.
(Disney)
It’s hard for Allie (Elaine Young) to tell her girlfriend Maya (Isabella Day) that she’s not invited to her Singaporean-American family’s Qingming Festival (similar to Dia de los Muretos). After all, she only recently came out of the closet to her family, so it feels a little soon to be introducing them to her girlfriend. But as Allie joins her family in selecting photos of departed ancestors who will be invited to the feast this year, she finds a photo nobody seems to know about, a woman named Maxine (Margaret Cho, whom Allie instantly identifies with. Secretly adding Maxine to the photos, Allie is shocked when she awakes the next morning to find Maxine’s spirit with her!
While the concept of a spirit being attached to a living person isn’t exactly undone in media (All of Me, Heart and Souls, Hello Again), director/writer Niki Ang has a lot of fun with the concept and truly makes it her own. One of the devices is that during the Qingming Festival, anyone wearing the color red is susceptible to having their body inhabited by a ghost. Naturally, when Maxine accompanies Allie on an errand to 99 Ranch Market, she can’t help but jump into the bodies of shoppers carrying red shopping baskets, trying out modern technology (she died in the early 80s) and sampling some new snacks.
Maxine is a story about two women helping each other overcome their fears. Allie is nervous about rushing her family to accept the fact that she has a girlfriend, while Maxine is afraid to reunite with her deceased parents, whom she wasn’t on speaking terms with when she passed. While Margaret Cho is offered many chances to be her goofy and playful self throughout the story, she also gets to display her acting chops, giving a subtle and beautiful performance.
(Disney)
Connected to the other Disney Launchpad shorts through its theme of connection, Maxine showcases that while time can separate relatives, history often repeats itself. These two women – separated by four decades of progress – both face similar anxieties because of their misunderstood sexuality. It’s a reminder that while we’ve come so far, we still have far to go.
I give Maxine 5 out of 5 bags of shrimp chips.
Maxine premieres Friday, September 29th, exclusively on Disney+ as part of Disney’s Launchpad.
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