A critically-panned film by a Scottish actress who became a symbol of the Trump administration's wealth-focussed early days is being released in the UK.
'Me, You, Madness', the writing and directorial debut of Fettes-educated Louise Linton, who also stars in the film, is coming to screens this April despite a less than stellar reception in the US.
Ms Linton became a face of Donald Trump's Whitehouse as the wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, causing controversy by flaunting her wealth and with social media spats.
A former actress, her starring role prompted a mauling by critics, who dubbed the film "an insult to vanity projects".
Ms Linton with husband Steve Mnuchin
The press materials for the comedy describe Linton playing the bisexual serial killer "Catherine Black; a ruthlessly ambitious, intelligent and successful business woman who happens to also be gorgeous.
"She lives a life of luxury: architectural dream house in Malibu, exclusive designer fashions, fast cars and exquisite jewelry. She has no need for a man except to satisfy her natural serial killer instinct."
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One reviewer described the film as "the first legitimately horrendous movie of 2021”, while Frank Scheck, a critic with the Hollywood Reporter, said the film was “exceedingly laborious” and singled out its “tiresome attempts to send up its star’s image and not take itself too seriously”.
He wrote: “The lead performers don't so much wink at the camera as leer at it and threaten to lick it all over, and we're treated to so many lascivious shots of Linton's toned, bared physique that one would accuse the filmmaker of sexual exploitation if it weren't Linton herself. But then again, she never did know how to read a room.”
A scene from the film
Robert Kojder, a member of the Critics Choice Association, awarded the movie a single star, said it was like “watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon, only something set in the real world that doesn’t abuse all logic, but the rules of its own inner workings”.
Pete Hammond, chief film critic for Deadline Hollywood, assessed ‘Me, You, Madness’ as “a colourful, but mindless confection”, specked with “godawful garishness”. His review, perhaps the most positive of those released so far, concluded: “It is dumb – yes, dumb – fun if you’re in the mood, but not much else.”
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‘Me, You, Madness’ was produced by Stormchaser Films, a company co-founded by the couple in 2015. Mr Mnuchin divested his stake in the firm after entering the White House, but it became the centre of an ethics row.
Ms Linton, from Dalkeith, angered many in liberal America after a trip with her husband to Fort Knox, where she posted a picture of the couple on social media and hashtagged all the designer products she was wearing.
Pictures of the couple posing with newly-printed dollars, and a spat with a reporter online, later saw her dubbed "Treasury Barbie."
She previously published book about her gap year in Africa, in which she claimed she was hunted by an armed militia.
It was later removed from sale after a series of factual inaccuracies came to light. The High Commission of Zambia in London issued a statement condemning her “falsified memoirs”.
A further scene form the film
Ms Linton, 40, has since said she is 'done' with politics, and that she underestimated how much the focus would be on her and her husband, and that she was 'villainised' by Hollywood.
'Me You Madness' will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sky Store, Sony, TalkTalk in the UK and Ireland on 19th April.
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