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Posted by on Apr 26, 2023 in Blog, Essays | 0 comments

New Netflix Reviews Redux

 

 

It’s time for another segment with short reviews of Netflix television shows I’ve watched during the last few months.  I’ll address three of the most widely-popular recent programs first, then share my thoughts on some other more dated shows on Netflix you may not have seen yet:

UNSTABLE: I’m only a few episodes into “Unstable,” a new comedy series starring Rob Lowe. He’s cast perfectly as a self-centered eccentric Silicon Valley guru, ala a less-focused Steve Jobs hyper-bred with a likable Elon Musk (agreed–impossible to imagine). It’s a catchy grab-you Aaron-Sorkin-influenced crisis-conflict-comedy trifecta that satisfies then sustains interest (Note: Sorkin has nothing to do with this show, but his rapid-back-and-forth dialogue laced with zingers is all over the script). Quick summation: So far, it’s pretty good. I give this a 7 /10.

THE DIPLOMAT:  Full disclosure — I only made it about 45 minutes into the first episode before shutting it off in a fury. I absolutely hated this show, which everyone else seems to love (the reviews are overwhelmingly positive). The set-up is a charismatic, strong-willed female diplomatic negotiator/intelligence analyst who gets plucked out of the international bureaucracy for the perky plum dream of a lifetime job as the new American Ambassador to the U.K. Oh, and Michael McKean is the Prez, go on, you rock dude! In reality, this London posting is entirely a ceremonial position for anyone lucky enough to get the assignment, but the heroine played by Keri Russell has other motives. Trouble is, I couldn’t get past the show gutting its own credibility. For instance, ambassadorships have no real authority in international affairs (the ultimate dead-end job) and rarely factor into much of anything. But the moment the wheels touch down in Heathrow, this new ambassador seems to be running most of America’s foreign policy. The dialogue — both public and private — is also unnecessarily vulgar far too often and distracts us from thinking this might turn into the U.S. State Department’s version of “West Wing.” Perhaps something will draw me back to the series, but my first impression was so negative that a second chance isn’t in my diplomatic memo. Grade: 3 / 10

BEEF: The premise of this dark comedy is intriguing. A down-on-his-luck LA handyman gets into a road-rage incident with a rich SUV-driving woman, sparking a bitter hate feud that escalates and consumes both protagonists over several episodes. The antics and reactions become absurd, yet strangely we can identify with the rage as most of us have been there. There’s really no one to root for here, as the real drama is simply watching anger (perhaps fueled by domestic troubles in their own out-of-control lives) spill over into mutually assured destruction, creating mirror-image victims who both ultimately lose. The quirky side characters add significantly to an excellent cast — mostly all Asian (Ali Wong should win an Emmy). “Beef” takes some razor-witted risks along the way, portraying Asians as a broader spectrum than many mainstream audiences are used to seeing. Asians have traditionally been stereotyped (badly so), while more contemporary portrayals seem to exaggerate the Crazy Rich Asians image. Instead, we see normal people who happen to be Asian experiencing the same problems, frustrations, and reactions to everyday problems. I have some minor criticisms about the series, but “Beef” is so fresh, fun, and outlandish that it’s one of the best things on Netflix in a while. I give this 8 /10.

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I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY — This is the excruciating documentary, no make that the fawning revisionism of spinmeisters, on the life and death of singer-diva Whitney Houston. Marieta turned it on one night, and instead of running out of the room screaming, I found myself oddly amused in all the wrong parts — the Christian proselytizing while she’s snorting canals of blow, the rocky love affair with wife-beater slug Bobby Brown, her own squandered fortune, and the constant despicable victimhood even though she was blessed with extraordinary advantages throughout her life. She fucked up. She’s dead. Duh. Actions have consequences. You can probably tell, I’m not a big Whitney Houston fan. No grade.

WELLMANIA — I tried to get into it, but failed. An interesting premise about an out-of-control Amy Schumer-type figure who gets a health scare and is then forced to make serious changes that will turn around her life. Many viewers can identify with this shocker and the ensuing personal and emotional struggle (most of us will experience something like that during our lifetimes). I just got bored with the series after a few episodes and gave up. Grade: 4 / 10.

WACO — Do I really want to watch hours of that David Koresh thingy all over again where a religious nut formed a deadly cult of losers, stockpiled a battalion of guns and ammunition, screwed just about anything that walked, justified his actions with holy scripture, and then morphed into the Waco Wacko? Hell yes! I gave it a shot, but the series fades quickly and I lost interest. Yep, I did consider fast-forwarding to the “good part” where Koresh gets turned into a Reuben sandwich. But rather, I moved on to something else, probably another scandalous murder show. Grade: 4 / 10

YOU PEOPLE — I really enjoyed this unconventional rom-com with Jonah Hill and an all-star supporting cast about a quirky mixed-race couple and culture clash (Jewish and Black) undergoing all of the predictable societal struggles and family pressures, which often play on strictly taboo subjects and anti-PC humor. “You People” has some misses and wince moments, too, but the hits more than were enough to make me laugh several times, and I watched until the end. Strong recommendation: 7 /10  [READ MY FULL REVIEW OF “YOU PEOPLE” HERE]

AMERICAN MANHUNT: THE BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING — I don’t know why and I can’t explain it, but I had trouble watching this. I don’t have any direct connection to that tragedy (I know no one who suffered) but still found myself extraordinarily moved by the horror and was/am beyond angry with the perpetrators. Straightforward docu-series on the two shitbag brothers who murdered lots of innocent people in Boston in a senseless act of terrorism. There’s an interesting emotional reaction to these murders, say, in comparison to John Wayne Gacy or Jeffrey Dahmer, which are also given their own Netflix treatments. Those two serial killings from many years ago almost seem like camp comedy and have even sparked humor. Not so with the Boston Marathon bombings. Tragedy plus time, perhaps? Again, I can’t explain it, and why I (and presumably others) react differently to events that destroy lives. Probably a good topic to explore sometime in the future. Grade: 6 /10

MURDAUGH MURDERS: A SOUTHERN SCANDAL — Wow, have you ever seen a flash in the pan like this Netflix series? It was burning hot, and then vanished. A month ago, while the South Carolina murderer was being tried and ultimately found guilty, this well-done documentary in three parts was the #1 show on Netflix. Then, once the trial was over, poof! Interest in the subject, and Murdaugh himself, disappeared. I doubt this show will be of interest to anyone going forward, but it was one of the better crime documentaries we’ve watched, and did an excellent job detailing the events that led to a trial and conviction. Grade: 7 /10

TRUST NO ONE: THE HUNT FOR THE CRYPTO KING — This might be the most dated 18-month-old documentary ever. Released in 2022, a few months before the FTX scandal, it’s the story of another crypto scumbucket who ran off with everyone’s money and disappeared. It’s impossible to feel sympathy for any of the greedy gullible victims. I’d call this a “cautionary tale” but fuck — nobody will listen. Lather, rinse, repeat. Grade: 6 /10

LIKE A ROLLING STONE — Brilliant documentary on famed Rolling Stone (magazine) writer Ben Fong-Tores.  I’m biased and a hopeless fanboy, but this rang every bell on my enjoyment scale as a writer, a lover of music, and a relentless dreamer trying to make sense while living in the shadows. Insightful, interesting, artistic, inspirational, funny, and a great behind-the-scenes rock and pop culture narrative geared mostly to Baby Boomers and children of the golden age of rock with fond remembrances and nostalgia. It’s like putting on a classic rock album you listened to a thousand times before, but this time it’s a fresh-pressed never heard before bootleg of the recording session you thought you knew but will now absorb in a different way. I claim no objectivity here. I just loved this. Grade: 9 /10.

I’ll post more Netflix short reviews, later.  Thanks for reading.

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