Living with Yourself is a great concept. Everyone loves Paul Rudd! Paul Rudd starring alongside an even better version of Paul Rudd? Totally bingeable! At least in theory; the show’s pilot fails to live up to its amusing premise.
While billed as a comedy, “The Best You Can Be” is more horror with a drop of comedy. The premise of the show is hilarious. The execution is terrifying because it poses the question “Would you go to a shady spa if you knew they’d kill current you, replace you with a better version, and no one would know?”
If you’re honest with yourself, that’s an uncomfortable question. Albeit a question that Miles Elliot (Paul Rudd) never has to answer because he unknowingly strikes a Faustian bargain. He thinks he’s going to a normal expensive spa that happens call Tom Brady a client. The next thing original Miles experiences is waking up in the middle of a field, wrapped in a plastic bag, wearing nothing but a diaper, and having no way to get home other than by walking. When he gets home, old Miles meets new-and-improved Miles, who can’t explain their current circumstances either.
The Miles’ visit the spa together. They find out this wasn’t supposed to happen and has never happened before. This sets up the rest of the series, which presumably has the two Miles’ trying coping with each other’s existence and trying to navigate the world as one. Is one going to kill the other? Will they become best friends? Could they pretend to be each other’s long lost twin? You’ll have to sit through 7 more episodes to find out. Unless you’re stoned with nothing better to do, you probably won’t.
Netflix piqued everyone’s interest with Living with Yourself. However, the premise would’ve worked better as a kitschy 90-minute movie that leaned into the throwaway joke nature of its concept. What we got is a pseudo-psychological thriller with slapstick comedy. The funniest part of the show is when it’s over and you laugh at the absurdity of whatever the hell you just watched.
Rating: 5 out of 10
