Drama
Off Campus
Based on a smash-hit novel, ‘Off Campus’ is a steamy college romance that leaves nothing to the imagination.
It’s likely unwise to treat an online porn star like your psychiatrist.
Paula knows that now. She probably knew it before. But Trevor was just so nice, y’know? When she’d log in for her normal one-hour online session with him, he’d ask about her day, so she’d tell him. They would connect on every level—and in most every room in Paula’s apartment: her bedroom, living room, kitchen. Trevor seemed genuinely interested in her. And maybe he was.
But now, because of that online tryst, someone’s trying to blackmail her. Pay up, they say, or we’ll ruin your life.
Unless Paula somehow ruins theirs first.
Paula’s first clue that something might be amiss about her paid, online trysts (besides the obvious, of course) came when Trevor was seemingly attacked during one of their sessions. A masked man barged in and beat the online gigolo to a bloody pulp.
But when Paula reports the attack to the police, the detective suggests the whole thing might be a scam. Expect a call asking for money, she’s told. And sure enough, Trevor soon calls Paula, begging her for $15,000—lest they kill him. But when Paula pushes back, Trevor’s tone changes.
“Either way, you need to pay,” he says. “We can destroy your life.” And then Paula remembers all the little details of that life they likely picked up from her webcam: addresses, phone numbers, the dates and times of her third-grade daughter’s tae kwon do practices.
But that webcam goes both ways, so Paula launches her own investigation. And when the police seem disinclined to follow up on her leads, Paula decides to take matters into her own hands.
Those hands, however, soon uncover a deeper, darker and more violent underworld than she ever imagined. Can she uncover a despicable crime ring, salvage her own career, pick her daughter up from school and still have time to coach youth soccer?
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is a witty, sleazy and extraordinarily dark comedy predicated on sex, murder and human greed. Starring Emmy-winning Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black fame, this Apple TV+ show gives viewers sharp writing, strong acting, a compelling mystery and, alas, a window into behavior that we should be avoiding—not watching.
Paula’s questionable behavior exposes herself and her family to significant danger. The show exposes a great deal to its viewers, too. Violence, sex and humanity’s worst instincts are on tap. The show forces its fans to navigate nudity, sexual trysts (along with some LGBT content) and mutilated corpses. We hear plenty of profanity, too, including a litany of f-words.
The title, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, feels like it was meant to be ironic. Perhaps that’s the bill of goods that Paula bought into when she started her “relationship” with Trevor. But the pleasure proved to be fleeting; it came with no guarantees. Indeed, it should’ve come with an unconditional warning: Buyer beware. The same goes for this Apple TV+ show, of course. As Paula finds out, you gotta be careful what you stream.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Paula, a magazine copy editor and divorced mother of a third-grader named Hazel, fills some of her off hours with an online stripper named Trevor. The two have become, seemingly, online friends: Paula certainly thinks so. But that relationship shifts quickly.
First, Trevor’s apparently attacked on camera. Then, Trevor calls, begging Paula to send his captors $15,000 so that they won’t kill him. The police advise Paula that the whole thing is a scam.
When Trevor calls back and Paula tells him she knows the whole thing is a scam, Trevor’s tone changes: “Either way, you need to pay,” he says. “We can destroy your life.” Shortly thereafter, the blackmailers talk to both Hazel and Paula’s ex-husband to get her attention.
We see one lewd video conversation between Paula and Trevor. Trevor removes all but his underwear (on camera) and then takes off his briefs (off camera). He and Paula manually stimulate themselves; nothing critical is seen, but it’s quite clear what’s happening. Later, Paula checks into another porn channel featuring Trevor and another guy (both wearing just underwear), where Trevor reminds viewers that he does personal chats, too. (Paula, watching in a work bathroom stall, removes her underwear, which we see under the stall door.) During a third online encounter, Paula takes off her shirt, revealing her bra.
Paula asks her coworkers whether they watch porn, and they get into a discussion about the “honorable” work that sex workers do while lamenting the state of the industry itself. A male coworker mentions that his roommate has an OnlyFans site herself, and it seems that his roommate also used to be his lover. We hear conversations surrounding sex and arousal.
Paula watches Trevor get beat up on screen: A stranger throws Trevor around and seems to pound his face into a table, leaving Trevor’s face bruised and bloodied. Later, Paula discovers a dead, underwear-clad man in a bathtub, his throat obviously cut.
Paula jokes with Trevor that, if their talks are the “good part of my life, I might as well cut it short and take a bath with a toaster.” She kids her daughter about pooping her pants. Paula and her ex squabble over visitation rights for their daughter. Paula’s boss encourages her to work faster, even if it means glossing over the facts and details of a story Paula’s editing. Paula drinks.
Paula and Hazel argue over what the “s-word” is, with Hazel using the real s-word. It’s one of four uses that we hear. We also hear about 40 f-words and two uses of the word “a–.” God’s name is misused a half dozen times, while Jesus’ name is abused once.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
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