1. Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette - This shit is TERRIBLE. I'm so fucking offended by it. There are so many things I hate about it, I don't even know where to start. I didn't realize that this was a Ryan Murphy show similar to his true crime ventures (which are mostly good - the O.J. Simpson one and the Versace one are both excellent!), but instead of true crime, it's focused on tragic love stories. So, I guess first of all, I could tell by the commercials that this was going to be...not good. The dialogue seemed off, the acting looked atrocious, etc., but I was still curious. But, my GOD, the acting is even worse than I feared. And the absolutely WILD part is that I keep reading about these actors being predicted to get Emmy nominations for this??? WHAT? I think it was smart to cast relatively unknown actors for the main roles (but Elle Fanning would have KILLED this role! Come on, Ryan, she was RIGHT THERE!), but these newcomers can not handle cheesy dialogue. Most actors can't - only true professional strong actors could make this terrible dialogue work. And the woman they got to play Daryl Hannah is mind-boggling bad (not to mention that they portray her as a complete psycho - how is that legal? Can she sue???). And then they cast Constance Zimmer as CBK's MOM?! Get the fuck out of here! I honestly thought Constance was maybe a few years older than me, but she looks 35 (she's 56 and obviously they age her in this. But...just hire someone who looks 56?). But, my biggest problem is Naomi Watts as Jackie O. And this is coming from someone who used to list Watts as her favorite actress (sadly this hasn't been true in well over a decade. I think her last great performance was The Impossible?). I'm kind of sad that she got sucked into the Ryan Murphy machine, but he sometimes has a magical touch with casting. But her accent in this is truly hard to listen to - I get what she's trying to do, but it's just BAD. Aside from the terrible casting and the dialogue that sounds like aliens trying to be human wrote, I have a few problems with how this story is being told too. Like I mentioned - what the do to poor Daryl Hannah is sad. I think it also feels desperate - like they didn't know how to make this love story interesting so they made her a villain to enhance the drama. They also make it seem like CBK is like a fashion and business savant, like she was instrumental in Calvin Klein's success - and those are just actual lies. Klein was a successful brand way before she entered the picture. He influenced her. Sure, she influenced people to buy his stuff, as the director of publicity, that was literally her job, but they make it seem like everyone else sucked and she was the only reason he succeeded. It's a weird choice. Her style was obviously influential (and still is - when this series was being released, even my work did a whole CBK influenced styling, which was weird because the store I work for is definitely known for boho styles, bright colors, mismatched prints - literally the opposite of CBK). But I just don't think she was as important to CK as they imply. It is interesting that she was dating that model before JFK Jr. I didn't know that! I remember those billboards so well (my personal favorite was the Marky Mark one). It's crazy that the brand is still doing those billboards! Anyway, I also hate the actual relationship - all they do is bicker. Episode 7 & Episode 8 are literally just them bickering the whole time. I fell asleep for 20 minutes and woke up to them still bickering. And then I had to watch them go to couples therapy. Ugh...if you don't get along so much so that you have to seek therapy, just fucking break up! I don't understand. The whole thing is just a mess. I think it would have been better to just focus on the Kennedy family as the series of tragedies that occurred and how the Kennedy name became synonymous with tragedy. It's still synonymous with tragedy but in a different way. I'm not sure which is worse to be honest.
2. Best Medicine - I don't really care for this show either, but for very different reasons. It's definitely a show to put on while you're doing other things like cleaning, writing, I think I even put it on to take a nap to at one point. I initially wanted to watch it because I love Josh Charles (obviously from The Good Wife, but he's also in one of my favorite shows ever - Sports Night), and I thought it would be kind of like Hank Med (which wasn't actually called Hank Med, but I don't remember the real name of it??? HELP?!). But unfortunately Josh Charles is the GRUMPIEST man ever and so completely unlikeable as the main character, it's hard to watch. And the characters are so over-the-top in this - nothing like the cool, funny, quirky characters in Hank Med. Every episode has some big "small town" event/festival/competition and everyone comes down with some weird medical condition that might ruin the big "small town" event/festival/competition. It's literally the same episode over and over again. I'm only on the 9th episode, but so far, it's given me nothing. There's a really weird love triangle between Charles and the only two likeable characters - the teacher & the cop (played by Abigail Spencer and Josh Segarra). It's so obvious that this previously married couple are the better relationship because why would I want this sweet woman to end up with a narcissistic, snobby, asshole? It's so stupid. Also, I do love seeing Annie Potts again, though. I wish it were in a better show though. Also, the doctor's name is literally Doc Martin (spelled differently than the boots, but that's all I think about when I hear his name).
3. Rooster - I just finished this show and it's...okay. I like the people involved, but it didn't really hook me like I was hoping. The cast is incredible - Steve Carell (in a very Steve Carell role), Phil Dunster, Danielle Deadwyler (LOVE HER SO MUCH!), Connie Britton, John C. McGinley, and the two sneaky comedic highlights - Robby Hoffman, Annie Mumolo. Also, the star (aside from Carell) is his daughter played by newcomer Charly Clive, and what a casting find she is!! She's incredible! It's created by Bill Lawrence (who is on quite the run right now with Shrinking and the Scrubs reboot), so I think I was just hoping for something with a little more meat. There are a lot of funny moments, the cast seem like they genuinely like each other, and there are some complicated romance plotlines, but nothing that is really hitting me. And I think the worst part is that the episodes are only 30 minutes long but they feel like hour long episodes. I do think that there is a foundation here for a great show - so maybe it will be one of those shows that becomes really good over time. I can definitely see that happening. Like I said, though, there are some really funny moments (the "you've never been to New York? That seems unlikely" "Uh...that seems antisemitic" moment made me laugh out loud). I think it's worth watching, just with low expectations.
4. Vladimir - This is another show in which I enjoy the cast a lot, but it's just not pulling me in. I'm 1/2 way through (so 4 episodes), and so far, absolutely nothing has happened. Just a lot of narration about how hot Leo Woodall is and daydreaming about how hot Leo Woodall is, but the actual story has not moved forward at all. And I'm sorry, but I think it's creepy for someone of Rachel Weisz's age to drool over a 29 year old. She could be his mother! I mean, he's even too young for me. I do think he's hot, but in reality if my choice was him or John Slattery, I would choose Slattery. I also think that this was definitely advertised as being hot and steamy, and like I already said - nothing happens. There hasn't even been a sex scene (??? I mean, maybe she daydreamed one, but I can't remember it - so obviously not hot or steamy). If you're going to make a show like this you have to make it super horny or don't bother. Especially between such a hot cast! Also, pretending like Rachel Weisz has "lost her ability captivate" a man's attention is absolutely ridiculous (it's the same thing they did for Halle Berry in Crime 101 and it's just so fucking dumb. Any man of any age would have sex with both Weisz and Berry if they had a chance. In a heartbeat). I'm never a fan of the breaking the 4th wall element/main character narrating her thoughts unless it's done really, really well. I think it's kind of a cheating way to tell a story. Oh...and the obvious worst part is Jessica Henwick. She's a terrible actress (and yes, I'm livid she's starring in Taron's next movie! UGH!).
5. DTF St. Louis - I guess all 5 of these shows are a disappointment. I didn't even realize that until I started writing this post (here's hoping the next 5 are better. I have Half Man, Big Mistakes, The Testaments, Margo's Got Money Troubles, and Bait on deck). This is a murder mystery series in which the main character dies in the first episode and then we rewind to show how it happened and theorize our suspects. But the big problem is that I don't care at all. David Harbour is the guy that dies and the only likeable character (and his sign language scene during the concert is, in fact, incredibly sexy and hilarious. Anyone who is willing to be silly and fun will automatically be sexy. Period.). There's also a very cute scene of them rapping about a life insurance physical that is so funny. But the whole mystery of the affair between his wife (the lovely Linda Cardellini) and his new friend (Jason Bateman) is deeply uninteresting and the actual affair is so unsexy it's actually uncomfortable. There's a lot of porn images in the first episode which is a little jarring - and I think also feels like it's trying too hard to be provocative. I don't really care which one of them is the murderer or if it was both of them or even a fucking stranger who hasn't been introduced yet. Or maybe it was suicide and he set it up to frame his cheating wife and friend? There is just no reason given to care about any of them. And it all feels a little sensationalized and unrealistic - they arrest him on LIVE TELEVISION? That just wouldn't happen unless absolutely necessary. That automatically taints any kind of jury pool). And why is the one cop SO antagonistic to the other cop? Because he's an old straight white guy? She just has no reason to treat him so meanly - but in every scene she's like "NO YOU'RE WRONG BECAUSE YOU'RE OLD. YOU KNOW NOTHING!" It's eye-rolling. Anyway, I have 3 episodes left that I will eventually watch, but overall I don't recommend this. I do like the line "no one is normal. It just looks that way from across the street". That's a great bit of dialogue.
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