The film follows Max, a twelve year old boy who is clearly both effeminate and quite secure about his sense of identity. He is the youngest son in a family of thieves, living with his father and two brothers. Max provides the "female" roll in the household chores - cooking, cleaning and food shopping. Max's father is the neighborhood "Godfather" for the neighborhood they live in, where the police look the other way. A new neighborhood policeman, the incorruptable Victor appears, announcing to all his plans to clean up the neighborhood. Victor, who has saved Max from being beaten on the streets, becomes the object of Max's affections. One could almost view this film as being a variation of the old Hollywood chestnut where the girl is caught in a the proverbial web of love and loyalty between a gangster and a cop.

Where the film succeeds is in the presentation of the humanity of its characters. While Max is sometimes teased by his brothers, there is the sense of family love, particularly from his father. Without editorializing, Solito depicts the daily life of slum living with its filth and corruption. The criminal activity of Max's family is seen as a mode of survival when there are no other viable options. One very funny scene is of Max and his other young friends raiding a costume shop and putting on a beauty pageant with lip sync singing and dancing. Underlying the humor is the contrast between the childrens' lives in the slums of Manila and their aspirations for media created glamour and beauty.

While Maximo is a modest film, especially by Hollywood standards, the interest in this film may hopefully help make Filipino films better known for more serious film viewers. As Solito has stated: "The recognition of this film has empowered and will inspire digital filmmakers from the Philippines, digital filmmaking has equalized the expressions of third world countries to first world countries. We are poor but not in spirit."