Luke Kalamar – Review
Review was a show that interested me from the moment it premiered in 2014. Starring comedian Andy Daly, Review is a mockumentary that follows a man named Forrest MacNeil as he reviews life itself. Not books, food, or movies. Life. What he reviews is sent in by “viewers” and he’s contractually obligated to do anything. No matter what. It’s an incredibly unique premise for a television series and it quickly received extremely positive reception. However, for reasons I cannot remember, I completely missed the entire first season, and sadly forgot about the show until Season 2 was on the horizon. I’ve since caught up and now consider it one of the funniest shows on television.
If you enjoy the equally hilarious Nathan For You, you will really like Review. Both star comedians playing fabricated characters who attempt to help people. The only major difference is Nathan Fielder’s persona is “helping” actual small businesses and real people with absurd ideas, while Daly’s MacNeil is surrounded by fiction in his attempt tell people what it’s like to do certain things. Both shows are also very much about subverting expectations. You have no idea how people will respond to Fielder’s ideas like a Ghost Realtor or Dumb Starbucks. Similarly, the nightmares that befall MacNeil during even his simplest of reviews are impossible to predict.
Those very nightmares are what make Review shine. Despite his best intentions, reviewing almost always blows up in MacNeil’s face. His relentless dedication only makes things worse too. Certain requests are already terrible, like Blackmail and Murder, and yet MacNeil goes through with them like he has no choice. Even the innocuous ones become disasters. Being a Little Person resulted in MacNeil burning his father’s house down because he couldn’t grab a fire extinguisher. Going out on a Rowboat became a nearly 100 day odyssey at sea with our protagonist surviving on floating garbage. Having a Pillow Fight goes horribly wrong because it happens in a prison and the pillows are filled with weights. Truly, the writing on this show is a masterclass in absurdist humor.
There’s also an overarching story that connects everything. MacNeil’s personal life suffers horribly throughout his reviewing, and the show essentially is the slow unraveling of everything he holds dear. He started off the show happily married, but once he was requested to review Divorce, everything crumbled beyond repair. Now he’s just a shell of a man kept going solely because of what he views as his obligation. Unless he’s killed of course.
Season 2 recently wrapped up, and I really hope a third season comes. The only thing worse than missing a show entirely is getting on board with it right before it ends. This is a five star show and it deserves more material.
[php] wp_link_pages(array(‘before’=>’
‘)); [/php]
=========================================================================================================
