Listen. This show is fundamentally about people who do not fit. And often that fault is their own, through belligerence or unreasonable and unfair demands, offering no attempts to understand of their own. And then sometimes, they’re just sad and lost people who don’t know how to communicate what they need, and these people flounder in an ocean of loneliness and missed connection. The man who latched into an excuse to fantasize of a dying wife who loves him and the cars he always wanted- better to have a love you’re losing than a love never had. The guy in the haunted mansion, looking to freely express himself in a traditional religious household and in his first outing away from it not knowing how to do it in the right way. He seizes on the first sign of connection, approval, and permission, and goes too far never knowing why. Or the old man in the Claire’s video, with no more time to fix anything, screaming into a video void for someone to hear him.
That’s what makes the moments when these weirdos are heard, despite the odds, hit for me. Like the guy who used to be a real piece of shit being allowed to change. And here, a guy just looking for love who was truly cheated. It’s set up perfectly to make you sympathize with him over oddballs like him seen before. He earnestly compliments the woman next to him that she’s nice. When chastised, he’s truly apologetic, saying it won’t happen again. And it’s the people around him who prompt him, who can’t help getting progressively drawn in and agreeing with him. There’s so much great delivery and expressions from these people. Starting from incredulity to curiosity to sympathy to empathy. By the end, they’re all on his side, and the weirdo gets his win. He doesn’t push it, he laughs along, satisfied that he did what he could, even laughing at his past with a “What the hell?” It’s a response usually saved for the characters around the weirdo or for the audience, but for once the oddball gets to be in on the joke.
And it’s a very funny joke, with the absurdity of the situation blending perfectly with the earnest energy of the performers. But I dunno. I teared up as much as I laughed, and I know that’s silly. But I think that sort of thing is what makes this show more than just excellent cringe comedy, but a series of vignettes with a thematic throughline and heft.
Review by JCVIP 4BlockedParent2023-06-06T05:25:39Z
Listen. This show is fundamentally about people who do not fit. And often that fault is their own, through belligerence or unreasonable and unfair demands, offering no attempts to understand of their own. And then sometimes, they’re just sad and lost people who don’t know how to communicate what they need, and these people flounder in an ocean of loneliness and missed connection. The man who latched into an excuse to fantasize of a dying wife who loves him and the cars he always wanted- better to have a love you’re losing than a love never had. The guy in the haunted mansion, looking to freely express himself in a traditional religious household and in his first outing away from it not knowing how to do it in the right way. He seizes on the first sign of connection, approval, and permission, and goes too far never knowing why. Or the old man in the Claire’s video, with no more time to fix anything, screaming into a video void for someone to hear him.
That’s what makes the moments when these weirdos are heard, despite the odds, hit for me. Like the guy who used to be a real piece of shit being allowed to change. And here, a guy just looking for love who was truly cheated. It’s set up perfectly to make you sympathize with him over oddballs like him seen before. He earnestly compliments the woman next to him that she’s nice. When chastised, he’s truly apologetic, saying it won’t happen again. And it’s the people around him who prompt him, who can’t help getting progressively drawn in and agreeing with him. There’s so much great delivery and expressions from these people. Starting from incredulity to curiosity to sympathy to empathy. By the end, they’re all on his side, and the weirdo gets his win. He doesn’t push it, he laughs along, satisfied that he did what he could, even laughing at his past with a “What the hell?” It’s a response usually saved for the characters around the weirdo or for the audience, but for once the oddball gets to be in on the joke.
And it’s a very funny joke, with the absurdity of the situation blending perfectly with the earnest energy of the performers. But I dunno. I teared up as much as I laughed, and I know that’s silly. But I think that sort of thing is what makes this show more than just excellent cringe comedy, but a series of vignettes with a thematic throughline and heft.