Anyone else watching? I'm digging it, lots of cringe-worthy comedy to be had so far, along with a little heart
And BTW, the sense of desperation and longing, coupled with somewhat unreasonable expectations, is kinda real out here in La-La Land, which is another reason I like the show...
Only legit criticism to me would be that it's hard to buy that these folks are SO dumb as to do some of the things they do, Jessica especially, seeing as she's supposed to be a veteran struggling actress who should know better than to repeatedly play herself in the ways that she does...
Oh, and add another quality series of guest shots to Jenny Slate's resume, alongside her work in House of Lies and Parks & Rec...
Anyway, 4 episodes in and I'm sold. Your mileage may vary.
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8. "Caught the last 2 eps & I'm struggling w/ this" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Oct-22-13 09:54 AM by jigga
it's hard to buy that >these folks are SO dumb as to do some of the things they do, >Jessica especially, seeing as she's supposed to be a veteran >struggling actress who should know better than to repeatedly >play herself in the ways that she does...
9. "The 4th episode was FUCKING BRUTALLY CRINGEWORTHY" In response to Reply # 0
I really dig this show thus far. The criticism is kinda insane, to be honest. It takes more than 30 minutes of storytelling to show multiple sides to a character...people had written off Merchant's character as unlikable and mean after the PILOT.
11. "If you're talking about the Jessica criticism, no." In response to Reply # 9
It really makes ZERO sense for a struggling actres-- er, "actor" like Jessica to stand up in a room full of people she does not know - even if she is competing with a rival for a spot in a prestigious magazine - and not only tap dance for a few beats, but then CONTINUE to tap onto a table and keep doing it past the point she's told to stop.
It's a very funny, very painful bit, but it's also not realistic. And yes, people have played themselves for less in this town, but not in the world of this show.
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14. "i enjoy everyone expect the actor Nate what's his name" In response to Reply # 0
something about him bitching about his wife leaving him just gets on my nerves...lol. Hell Kevin weisman's character is in a wheelchair and he wasn't sulking ,he pulled three ladies in one night! _____________________________________________________ "You can win with certainty with the spirit of "one cut". "Musashi Miyamoto
HighVoltage Member since Jan 04th 2004 16583 posts
Thu Oct-24-13 11:50 AM
20. "I love it... and am really happy for Merchant to finally lead in a show" In response to Reply # 0
Its basically The Office for dating.
yeah, its over the top and may not be incredibly realistic scenarios.... but did you laugh? of course.
and it has heart, so they are likable characters.
The one criticism I have that surprisingly no one has really mentioned is that its becoming painfully obvious that Stuart and Jessica will fall for eachother.
21. "I said this to my roommate the other day...." In response to Reply # 20 Thu Oct-24-13 01:18 PM by Brew
>The one criticism I have that surprisingly no one has really >mentioned is that its becoming painfully obvious that Stuart >and Jessica will fall for eachother.
...but then the show would more or less effectively be over after one season, right? So I feel like they have something up their sleeves. Some kind of wildly awkward/uncomfortable/cringe-worthy attempt at a relationship that will allow the show to continue, or something.
But yea --- I agree that it certainly feels like they are leading towards that in a way-too-obvious way, which is almost *why* I assume they have something good up their sleeves.
23. "I really hope they don't." In response to Reply # 20
>The one criticism I have that surprisingly no one has really >mentioned is that its becoming painfully obvious that Stuart >and Jessica will fall for eachother.
Shows need to just let men and women be platonic sometimes.
26. "Good finale for a very good season" In response to Reply # 0
Just reinforced the idea of friendship with Stuart and Jessica. Kinda knew Jessica would be headed for a tumble when she was flossing a little too hard with ol' girl at Federal Bar. That shit always happens.
The small bit with Stuart and the valets was very funny
And Kives ALWAYS gon' be straight, that's what's up
I really dig the vibe of this show, hopefully HBO will bring it back
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28. "I hated the finale." In response to Reply # 26 Mon Nov-18-13 08:35 PM by subjctmattr
Out of character, they set this show up that dude would kill his momma to be with the model now he got the model, on the beach, skinny dipping, talking about how hard her nipples are, and he gonna bounce??
BULLSHIT!! Not even for Jessica. That's not the character they created.
30. "Come on....that's a bit harsh don't you think?" In response to Reply # 29
I know I didn't create the character, but I did watch the entire season.
I watched him shit on every human being in his life for the dream of a piece of model pussy... But NNOOWWW he finds it in himself to be caring? NOW with the model of his dreams basically begging him to hit it?
Maybe I have no idea about the character. Maybe you know the character better than all of us, maybe the shows creators / writers had a soft spot in the character that they didn't show in all the other episodes, but I'll say that was completely out of character for the guy THEY created for us to know.
32. "Stuart doing what he did wasn't "completely out of character"" In response to Reply # 30
Some may argue that it was "predictable," but it certainly wasn't out of character
He's been living with this person for a minute, has seen her struggles over the years, and also has seen her epically play herself in front of company in order to get noticed
He was also there when she got the NCIS role and celebrated that big win with her, so the empathy factor is there when he learns she lost the role
Not to mention he HAS to feel some kind of empathy after her douchebag of a boyfriend asks Stuart to lie to Jessica for him
Not to also mention that this deal was kinda setup last week when Stuart and Jessica, after once again being handed their respective epic Ls, danced with each other
The point being there's a lot that's been seen, and a lot that's assumed and unseen between these Stuart and Jessica that their moment at the very end of the season is more than well-earned and in no way inconsistent with anything that's come before it.
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44. "I see what you're saying, but I feel like it was out of character" In response to Reply # 32
They created a dude the entire season who's sole motivation was to get a model naked and he one in the water, on the beach and he turned it down for the chick that lives upstairs.
The whole thing about feeling bad about the boyfriend playing her, dude fed into that. He never cared that dude treated her poorly he was an accessory to all that.
I didn't like the situation, and I really didn't like the reaction.
45. "that was the point though" In response to Reply # 44
that he's that guy but he's not really that guy. and that he actually cared about someone enough, that he'd drop the prize he'd been chasing all season.
they were showing us he's a human being underneath it all
"HBO is making decisions on the three new comedy series that premiered last year. The pay cable network has opted not to order a second season of Family Tree. Also not going to second season is Hello Ladies, which will wrap the story of Stuart Pritchard (Stephen Merchant) and his group of friends with a special — similar to the way HBO ended Ricky Gervais’ Life’s Too Short. There is no final decision on medical comedy Getting On but it is expected to get a second-season renewal pending the sorting out of budget issues."
>other than Stuart and Jessica eventually hooking up (which is >where it seemed to be heading), i'm not sure how long we could >watch them both fail. > >I did enjoy it, tho. i was hoping for a second season.
As much as I love this show, it's pretty one note. I would be interested in another season or two. But I know this is a show that could get uninteresting quickly.
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