Review of The Civilization of Maxwell Bright (2005) by Navin B — 20 Jul 2009

The Civilization of Maxwell Bright is a very interesting and poignant character study on a serial chauvinist, Max (played extremely well by Patrick Warburton), who is fed up with most women and decides to find a perfect and obedient mail-order bride, which he does, in the form of Mai Ling (Marie Matiko in a very well performed and charming role).

Max gets more than he bargains for when he's introduced to Ling's character, culture, and religion, which fuels his chauvinist side until it boils over and causes his character to collapse under, forcing him to seek redemption and turn around his life.

The movie is powerful and very raw. It hits the ground running from the very start of the movie where we are introduced to Warburton's intense character (not to mention his ginormous monster cock, which was unexpected).

Him and Matiko work very well together and produce a story that balances the offensiveness alongside heart-warming emotions. Warburton is probably most known for all of his TV show and voice actor work (Seinfeld, Family Guy, Venture Brothers, The Tick), however, he is given a real chance here to show off his acting chops and he succeeds 110%.

The film is enhanced with a scene-stealing performance by Eric Roberts, who plays Max's best friend. Roberts almost had me in tears with how powerful such a small character could be. Fun character actors Kurt Fuller and Jennifer Tilly (Warburton's wife on Family Guy) also show up.

Don't be alarmed by the presentation of this film. It is very low budget and starts off shaky in terms of sheer rawness, but as it moves along, I'm sure you'll be happy you invested in it like I did.

Powerful and engaging film.