Hi! So I haven’t done an Amazon Prime video round up in quite a while, thought I would rectify that!
Here are my favourite picks of what I’ve watched in the past
few months…
Loudermilk: This dram-com stars Ron Livingston as Sam
Loudermilk, an AA group leader (I don’t know if they ever say if it’s AA? It’s
definitely an alcoholics anonymous type group). Loudermilk is the kind of
character the acerbic Livingston was born to play, he is a natural in this
role, and at the same time has room to express more emotions than perhaps some
of his other well-known roles have allowed (I mainly know him from Office
Space, Band of Brothers and a few other indies, and of course the infamous SATC
arc where he played Carrie’s boyfriend Burger, who broke up with her in a post
it note!). This show is the brainchild of Peter Farrelly (There's Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber Kingpin always Kingpin! ;-)) but it is far more
understated and low key than that might imply. It does have elements of the
zany, which honestly came close to wrecking it for me in a couple of instances.
I was not crazy about the plot twist at the end, I thought it was super dumb
(let me know if you watch it what you think!).
At any rate, Loudermilk is not your usual kid gloves type AA
leader. He’s rude and grumpy and kind of an a-hole, as the show is keen to
point out from time to time. At the same time, he is basically a decent guy who
does the right thing even when he really doesn’t want to. Loudermilk is a former music writer living in Seattle,
the show has a few punchy anti-hipster refrains that manage to come off as not
too trite, or maybe I am just of an age where I enjoy grumpy old people my age
complaining about the youth! His
character reminds me a little bit of John Cusack in High Fidelity, albeit in a
slightly less self -serving way. He has
an unavailable neighbour he fancies and a fellow recovering alcoholic roommate.
He also takes in a young addict who has gone off the rails after her Dad died,
and the unlikely pairing of their slightly paternal relationship adds a nice
touch.
The one thing I didn’t always enjoy was the subplot involving a corporate
guy whose boss makes him go the AA classes for him after he gets a DUI, where
he attracts a sponsor who is a little intense to say the least, who aggressively
stalks him to keep him on the straight and narrow (the joke being the character
is not really an alcoholic, which wears thin fast). I liked the actors and the
relationship they develop is sometimes funny, I just felt like this storyline
maybe took up too much of the show at times and it never seemed to go anywhere.
Other than that I really like the setup and the dry humorous
tone of the show, Ron Livingston is just great in it and I am happy it has a
second series in the works. Loudermilk is one of the first shows from the Audience network I believe, and I am not sure how you access that outside Prime, presumably streaming?
The Bold Type: Ok yes this is maybe a “guilty pleasure” type
show, but I need a bit of froth in my telly diet, especially as the husband and
I have been recently watching more grim shows like Manhunter, Narcos, Dark et
al. on Netflix. Anyhoo, The Bold Type is a show about three young women working
at a fashion magazine in Manhattan. It is based on the experiences of Cosmo
editor in chief Joanna Coles. It is a fun watch but also deals with a few
deeper issues so it’s not all fluff either.
It’s great to see a show so focused
on young women trying to navigate their fledgling careers, making various
dramatic and hilarious mistakes along the way. It feels very authentic with the
amount of detail that goes into the feature writer character Jane’s storyline
especially. In charge of social media is Kat, who often makes p.r. disasters/faux
pas, as a blogger it was kind of fun to watch this aspect too! The other main
character Sutton is working in admin but longs to be in fashion, which is by far
the most competitive field to get a foot in the door at a fashion magazine. Seeing the characters grow in confidence and find their footing was pretty inspiring actually, I admit I did start this show thinking it would just be some brainless fun but I ended up really caring about the characters.
The show focuses on their romantic
relationships too, but for me their life at the magazine and friendship
is the best part of the show. It also stars the always excellent Melora Hardin (Jan from The Office ;-) as their editor in chief, and she is really great in this, the last episode has a very moving
moment that I kind of saw coming but it’s still a powerful punch and gave this
show a depth to it that was a bit unexpected. I think this show is on Freeform
in America, not sure if that is streaming or cable?
Hap and Leonard season 3 (on Sundance TV in America): You guys this show is so good! I
wish more people watched it. Based on a series of books, Hap and Leonard are
two best friends from East Texas. Raised as brothers after Leonard’s Dad is
killed in a tragic accident, Hap is white and Leonard is African American, which in the show's universe often raises eyebrows, which Hap and Leonard often take sarcastic glee in poking fun at and undermining the backwards attitudes they encounter in the deep south.
James Purefoy is the laconic ladies man Hap, and Michael K. Williams is his slightly more uptight friend, who also happens to be gay. The race issue is treated in at times dark and upsetting ways in this season, as for the first time Hap and Leonard come face to face with the KKK in a neighbouring town called Grovetown, which has a long history of pervasive and ugly racism. At first it feels somehow hard to believe as the show is set in the late 80s, but given recent tensions in America it feels more relevant that ever.
James Purefoy is the laconic ladies man Hap, and Michael K. Williams is his slightly more uptight friend, who also happens to be gay. The race issue is treated in at times dark and upsetting ways in this season, as for the first time Hap and Leonard come face to face with the KKK in a neighbouring town called Grovetown, which has a long history of pervasive and ugly racism. At first it feels somehow hard to believe as the show is set in the late 80s, but given recent tensions in America it feels more relevant that ever.
Hap and Leonard are just two everyday working joes who somehow always end up knee deep in various
crimes or criminal investigations, sometimes they are on the wrong side of it as in the
first series, but this time they are actually de facto investigators trying to
find their missing friend Florida. They can handle themselves in a fight, having been through
their own school of hard knocks – Hap went to jail in protest of the Vietnam War, whereas Leonard served in the army of said war (also
Leonard is some sort of jujitsu type master), which helps as they are guys who
end up in fights a lot! The violence in this show veers from the comedic to the
gruesome, in this series there were definitely some hard to watch scenes
though.
This season was definitely the most uncomfortable to watch,
the trademark wry humour of the characters helps occasionally ease tension, but
it really is a dark and upsetting reflection of the ingrained racism in parts of American society, both historical and lurking underneath the surface. Hap and Leonard consistently
has a very noir, southern gothic feel to it, but also manages to feel modern in
attitude. The acting and layered storytelling in this show are reliably stellar, and at six episodes it is always
over far too quickly.
Mozart in The Jungle:The fourth and final season,
apparently. Le big sad sigh. I am truly SO sad/mad that Amazon cancelled this!
I could write a whole ranty blog post about how Amazon never promoted this show
properly or treated it the way it deserved given that it won two Golden Globes.
Grrr. Anyway. I love this show about a slightly chaotic New York symphony and its eccentric maestro, Rodrigo de Souza. I think I described
it in a previous review as a “quirky whirligig”
and I will stand by that! You could call it a romantic comedy, but it’s not
your average rom com either, what with its delight in embracing silliness and being a bit
nerdy about art and classical music. It’s got a unique joie de vivre, an innate
feeling of life is a fun adventure for the living, and I always feel
inspired and happy when I watch it.
The maestro Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal) and the New York
symphony orchestra have settled into perhaps a slightly too comfortable
relationship. Rodrigo and Hailey are finally a couple, and they are adorable
and not annoying at all. Ok so Hailey refusing to admit they are in a real
relationship because she is afraid of Rodrigo’s previous form for flakery is a
problem, but I just love the way the show portrays their relationship, from its
most joyful to even in its saddest moments.
There is this moment when they are
in Japan, running and laughing, holding hands, and it is the epitome of how sweet and
happy they are together and it has a vibrant energy to it that captures young love so perfectly. Hailey and Rodrigo are friends, and their romance has always felt
destined, but the show manages to keep their friendship and joy in each other’s
company as a central part of their relationship, avoiding pretty much every
romantic trope and pitfall that happens when a "will they won’t they?" couple
becomes real.
Hailey is now an aspiring conductor with her own small Brooklyn
(of course) orchestra, and they travel to Japan for a young conductor’s
competition, where Rodrigo is both fascinated and deeply disturbed by a robot
conductor. Rodrigo, as ever, is having an existential artistic crisis (only
Gael Garcia Bernal could continue to keep this man child of a character so dang
likable!), he is kind of over music, he dabbles with dancing, which is kind of
silly but fun.
Meanwhile, the
business of the orchestra is having its usual financial and admin quibbles; to
be honest many of the characters had slightly less of a storyline this season.
Bernadette Peters wasn’t given much to do besides look fabulous, although she
did have a great Nancy Sinatra karaoke moment. Thomas (Malcolm McDowell) gets a
new avant garde composition and ramshackle orchestra which is diverting but now
that the general storyline is less focused on improving the orchestra as a
whole it did lose some of the cohesiveness for the rest of the cast I felt. Rodrigo’s
youth orchestra has been passed on to cellist Cynthia, but this felt like a
storyline they couldn’t quite manage to keep afloat with everything else going
on.
I appreciate that they focused on Hailey’s maturation as a
woman and artist, but the music felt like it took a back seat compared to
previous seasons (I say this having been re-watching the earlier seasons in
recent weeks). There really weren’t as many goosebumps from the classical music
brilliance punctuating the storyline moments.
Saying that, the show delivered and then some with some of the episodes, in particular with the Japanese teahouse episode, Ichi Go Ichi E. This was a sublime episode that conjured Alice in Wonderland with its trippy and stunning fantasy visuals, evocative Japanese cultural beauty, and the slowly unravelling heartbreak at its core: it is hard to believe this episode won’t win all of the awards.
Saying that, the show delivered and then some with some of the episodes, in particular with the Japanese teahouse episode, Ichi Go Ichi E. This was a sublime episode that conjured Alice in Wonderland with its trippy and stunning fantasy visuals, evocative Japanese cultural beauty, and the slowly unravelling heartbreak at its core: it is hard to believe this episode won’t win all of the awards.
What makes me particularly sad is that while the show ended
on a sort of demi-finished note, it did feel deserving of a better ending (SPOILERS
AHEAD!). Rodrigo seems on the cusp of (maybe?!) becoming a composer, or who
knows maybe he will go live in a wigwam somewhere he is Rodrigo! But to not get
the happy ending or even one with more closure feels more than a bit cruel, especially given the
(SPOILER!) last shot of Hailey’s violently sobbing face.
I find it hard to believe that is how the creator’s would
have wished to end it, the show coasted along with a small but devoted audience
for four years, and Amazon’s decision making seems to be motivated by cutting
quality to produce their big dumb epic Lord of the Rings type show. I have
struggled to get into a lot of Amazon Originals, including Preacher, that weird
Neil Gaiman one, Mr.Robot, and they are still making Transparent because WHY
THOUGH. Sorry, I am just a little heartbroken still. I really don’t think they
gave this show the chance it deserved for a fitting finale, they hardly
promoted it at all (I have never once seen an ad for it before one of their
shows), and it kind of stinks that the fans won’t get a little more closure with this
very special show.
Anyway that's enough for now, are there any streaming shows you are digging right now? Have you seen any of these?
via GIPHY