anyway having caught the whole thing now, I'm sticking to "good," not great. I felt like he played it pretty safe this season, more sitcom-y beats than I was expecting. a little surprised to see James Ponsoldt's name come up, and sad to see Harris Wittel's.
― the naive cockney chorus (Simon H.), Sunday, 8 November 2015 16:32 (eight years ago) link
My roommate pointed out that a lot of this is like a christian sitcom
― badg, Sunday, 8 November 2015 18:13 (eight years ago) link
I don't know about that. Its view of marriage/domesticity is considerably more ambivalent than, say, the Apatow shit.
― the naive cockney chorus (Simon H.), Sunday, 8 November 2015 19:23 (eight years ago) link
Whats a christian sitcom
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 8 November 2015 19:27 (eight years ago) link
book of job
― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Sunday, 8 November 2015 19:35 (eight years ago) link
Dunno what a christian sitcom is
just seems kind of christian
― badg, Sunday, 8 November 2015 19:40 (eight years ago) link
Honour thy parents (by casting them as thy character's parents in thy show)
― nashwan, Sunday, 8 November 2015 20:13 (eight years ago) link
http://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/_img/153-2.jpg
― hunangarage, Sunday, 8 November 2015 20:30 (eight years ago) link
aziz's dad is so wonderful in this show tbh
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Sunday, 8 November 2015 20:34 (eight years ago) link
He is, and he reminds me a lot of a couple of eccentric Indian dads I know. The parents episode is one of the most charming things I've seen in ages.
― Al Ain Delon (ShariVari), Sunday, 8 November 2015 21:20 (eight years ago) link
Oh man, this is so good! I'm about to start the fourth episode.
Like, it's a level of enjoyment that makes me not even hate Eric Wareheim.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Monday, 9 November 2015 02:54 (eight years ago) link
Aw, Eric is good. Though Tim might be a little better at this sort of thing.
― Evan, Monday, 9 November 2015 03:56 (eight years ago) link
Bearded guy seems like they wrote it for Brian Posehn then couldn't get him.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Monday, 9 November 2015 04:36 (eight years ago) link
good start, stopped watching once it turned into emo relationship without any jokes
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Monday, 9 November 2015 04:38 (eight years ago) link
I like Ansari but the uptalk inflection he does at the end of a sentence can be grating.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Monday, 9 November 2015 04:40 (eight years ago) link
Just finished the Nashville episode. That was my favorite episode yet and had some great character-dependent jokes (like, ordinarily doing the voice of a ghost koala would be stupid, but in context it was funny and charming). Didn't find it emo at all, but maybe that's still to come.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Monday, 9 November 2015 04:57 (eight years ago) link
Just watched the first 3 episodes, decent so far but more muted chuckles than laffs
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Monday, 9 November 2015 05:03 (eight years ago) link
I don't get a moralizing tone from this at all - agree it seems much more ambivalent about domesticity than Apatow and co. The opposing fantasies of having children in that one episode were lol funny, I liked how Aziz's ideal parenthood scenario looked like it was set in 1965.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 9 November 2015 18:33 (eight years ago) link
Also agree Parents episode was incredible. All of the ethnicity/race stuff seems very well done - I lol'd at "Is Mindy Kaling real?"
― Οὖτις, Monday, 9 November 2015 18:34 (eight years ago) link
I thought all the parents were hilarious. His mom's caustic facial expressions were great.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Monday, 9 November 2015 19:50 (eight years ago) link
just watched the whole thing. firs episode i thought was sort of terrible - it felt like that was a rehearsal almost, like it wasnt even written or the actors hadnt even worked together until someone started filming. but it gets progressively better. last episode is actually really great (though maybe just because his concerns almost exactly mirror my own). the parents and indian casting ones are brilliant. though oddly, in the guardian review it talks about how the show is so great cos its about how there are next to no white people in it, and the show is about inter-ethnic relationships, which is kinda true, and what makes it novel actually, but white people have pretty significant roles in this... like.... his girlfriend! and apart from the indian casting episode, there are no other south asian ppl in this except his parents, which strikes me as... interesting. its not really a comedy series though, forget what people are saying. its basically just a US indie drama, delivered in a slightly 'funny' tone. like how i feel when i watch a lot of modern american indies. the tone is that of a comedy/dramedy but there arent many jokes, or funny scenarios. which is bit of a problem with AA in general - his lines often feel like jokes, but the actual joke doesnt come. i wonder if the series would have worked better as one indie movie, but its a good first series. and the first real US series presented from a south asian perspetive (apart from mindy obv) as far as i know...
― StillAdvance, Monday, 9 November 2015 21:47 (eight years ago) link
did anyone else think in that episode about the father john misty show, that the 'smoking hot' barmaid alice wasnt actually all that smoking hot?
also, soneone needs to broaden AA's taste in tv and movies.
― StillAdvance, Monday, 9 November 2015 21:49 (eight years ago) link
I think she was just tall which when you are as short as Aziz is probably = hot.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Monday, 9 November 2015 21:52 (eight years ago) link
I HATE it when women on TV aren't hot enough.
― schwantz, Monday, 9 November 2015 21:54 (eight years ago) link
im not moaning about women not being hot enough on this series - the girl playing rachel is very hot. but i am entitled to comment on the hotness of a character who is explicitly referred to in the episode as being 'the super hot' girl that is way out of AA's league etc etc.
something about this show made me weirdly happy. i wonder if there will be more. it ends in a weird, semi rushed way.
one thing that bothered me, but is fairly typical of movies/tv shows these days - he is this struggling actor, but did you SEE the apartment he lives in? and how does someone only doing adverts and shitty movies get to eat out that much?? also, why must he be an actor? do comedies with people doing non glam/media jobs still exist in the US?
the funniest character in the whole thing is the colin salmon character.
― StillAdvance, Monday, 9 November 2015 22:00 (eight years ago) link
Is he struggling? He seems pretty successful to me. He notes that residuals from one of the commercials is paying his apartment rent.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Monday, 9 November 2015 22:03 (eight years ago) link
I think the only other job for people on TV is in advertising.
― schwantz, Monday, 9 November 2015 22:04 (eight years ago) link
He says the Gogurt commercial alone has been paying his rent for years, which is maybe not realistic for that particular apartment but I've heard that residuals from a national advertisement can be shockingly good money.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Monday, 9 November 2015 22:15 (eight years ago) link
well hey, who needs black virus movies when you have gogurt money....
― StillAdvance, Monday, 9 November 2015 22:20 (eight years ago) link
Claire Danes best role since the one where she went to a Thai prison for trafficking drugs
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Tuesday, 10 November 2015 02:37 (eight years ago) link
"personally, i think dryers are full of shit man"
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 10 November 2015 03:04 (eight years ago) link
The opening and closing music choices are so good.
Through the ep after Nashville, curious if they're going to give Rachel any characterization that's not "adorably perfect."
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 11 November 2015 02:52 (eight years ago) link
Yes, and it's done very well.
― Al Ain Delon (ShariVari), Wednesday, 11 November 2015 07:10 (eight years ago) link
this has good stuff in it. weird that it was so hard for him to find the right asian actor:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/arts/television/aziz-ansari-on-acting-race-and-hollywood.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=wide-thumb&module=mini-moth®ion=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&_r=0
― scott seward, Wednesday, 11 November 2015 14:35 (eight years ago) link
lol at his dismissal of the Martian, I skipped it for the same reason
― the naive cockney chorus (Simon H.), Wednesday, 11 November 2015 15:01 (eight years ago) link
I like the writing, but so far (first 2 episodes) the acting has been pretty awful. Obviously the dialogue isn't super naturalistic, but the cast can't seem to pull it off. Hopefully they get better...?
― schwantz, Wednesday, 11 November 2015 16:01 (eight years ago) link
finished this last night and felt like it got more like GIRLS and less like Louie as it went on (with attendant drop in amount of laffs). good overall though.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 11 November 2015 16:32 (eight years ago) link
In the first few episodes the dialogue does feel quite stilted, reminded me of the adverts I've seen for "scripted reality" things like 'Made in Chelsea'. Gets less so as the episodes pass and the relationship narrative takes over a little more.
― michaellambert, Wednesday, 11 November 2015 20:08 (eight years ago) link
not sure i'm gonna be able to handle three so-so episodes of anything starring aziz ansari with the promise of "it gets better"
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 11 November 2015 20:39 (eight years ago) link
It's so long since I've seen Short Circuit that it had completely escaped me that the Indian character wasn't Indian.
― michaellambert, Wednesday, 11 November 2015 21:02 (eight years ago) link
It's hard to see the parallels w/ Girls since every character on Girls is a horrible person.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 12 November 2015 01:20 (eight years ago) link
the acting has been pretty awful
lol Two of the main actors in the 2nd episode are Aziz's real life parents, who are not actors, but are very charming, so I was able to forgive their transgressions.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 12 November 2015 03:46 (eight years ago) link
i don't think anyone's complaining about them when they talk about the acting. a lot of the scenes with just the main cast members sound like a fucking table read.
― Viva la Wu Tang or Meth and All His Friends (some dude), Thursday, 12 November 2015 10:28 (eight years ago) link
the last couple episodes were a bit of a drag, their relationship is the least interesting thing on this show
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Thursday, 12 November 2015 13:21 (eight years ago) link
started this last night, I like it. It feels light, obv, compared to Louie or some other things; and it's more 'thoughtful' than 'LOL' sometimes, but it's pretty good. The bartender woman was hot enough.
― akm, Thursday, 12 November 2015 14:44 (eight years ago) link
GIRLS in the sense of declining laughs/"serious" relationship nonsense ratio
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 12 November 2015 16:52 (eight years ago) link
Ansari would be better off as a cable talk show guy ala Conan than acting, he's just not good. All the OTT movie bad acting lines were indistinguishable from the rest of his performance.
The actress who played Rachel was solid, I thought, despite the one-dimensional character.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 12 November 2015 16:56 (eight years ago) link
I though Ansari was ok. Tim Wareheim is kind of a terrible actor though.
― Al Ain Delon (ShariVari), Thursday, 12 November 2015 17:45 (eight years ago) link
yeah Wareheim is a little distracting, not sure who/what his character is supposed to be exactly (stunted manchild?)
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 12 November 2015 17:59 (eight years ago) link
all my actual laughs were from Eric, i think.
i (as usual) didn't mind the stilted dialogue, the only thing that bothered me was the exhausting, cute-sy banter format between Aziz and his girlfriend. it was "i say something sarcastic/faux-mean/clearly untrue, you pretend to take it at face value" over and over, ad nauseum. in the last couple episodes i really expected one of them to say, "hey, can we stop doing that thing?"
but overall this was hugely enjoyable to watch.
― expertly crafted referential display name (Jordan), Thursday, 12 November 2015 18:04 (eight years ago) link
My main takeaway is that some of you read for outrage rather than comprehension.
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Wednesday, 26 May 2021 13:36 (two years ago) link
around the time Them was about to launch on Amazon I saw a lot of slms against Waithe on Twitter circulating around two main areas: 1) claims that she was no longer very original and 2) the 'black torture porn' aspect of something that happens in Them (which I didn't watch, in part because of the description of that scene). But she was responsible for one of the best half hours of TV in recent memory (the thanksgiving episode of MoN) and I really liked Queen and Slim. I only saw season 1 of the Chi which I thought was good. So I'm willing to cut her some slack and I don't know that she is to blame for how Amazon decided to market Them (which made it look like a mockbuster of Us).
― akm, Wednesday, 26 May 2021 17:43 (two years ago) link
have not read that article. Have tried watching Master of None, The Chi and Twenties and didn't like any of them; deduced from that experience that Waithe's work is not for me.
― Draymond is "Mr Dumpy" (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 26 May 2021 19:32 (two years ago) link
I seem to be in the minority as someone who greatly enjoyed the two first seasons of MoN (especially the second one). Wasnt expecting this type of depth from Aziz Ansari. Does his character even take part in this new season?
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 27 May 2021 07:46 (two years ago) link
2 scenes only, and the first one is a real barn-burner.
― henry s, Thursday, 27 May 2021 12:26 (two years ago) link
watched the first three of this last night, I agree it is very good. I can see why some people are disappointed; it does draw things out, you get very very long scenes of, basically, nothing happening (folding laundry, eating a sandwich), but if you have tolerance for that sort of thing its worth it.
― akm, Thursday, 27 May 2021 15:01 (two years ago) link
We watched ep 2 last night and immediately started fast forwarding, knowing that the opening scene would consist of the entire song + entire sandwich
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 27 May 2021 15:11 (two years ago) link
the only thing I remember about s2 was wishing eric wareheim would stick to directing
― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Thursday, 27 May 2021 15:13 (two years ago) link
I absolutely cannot relate to this impatience people are expressing with scenes that unfold slowly and carefully. Life is already much, much too fast and most shows are unwatchable because they move even more quickly.
― treeship., Thursday, 27 May 2021 15:20 (two years ago) link
Also the unimportant details in ep2 made no sense. Doesn't matter for the story I guess but it was driving me crazy.
-Denise's friend/hook-up said she was too drunk to drive home, implying that she had driven there. So was Denise driving her home in the friend's car? How did she plan to get home?
-Also the car accident was staged extremely randomly. And the friend was on the passenger side, where the other car plowed into. No word about what happened to her?
-Why would she have left her underwear lying on the floor...like, they showed her getting dressed, you would think she would notice that when she put on her jeans?
-This is silly but Denise offers her cookies, the friend eventually says 'sure, go put them in the oven', and then makes fun of her for having Tollhouse dough. Wtf who assumes that when someone offers them cookies, they're talking about (homemade) dough that they are about to go bake, as opposed to already baked or bought cookies?!
So far I keep going back and forth about whether this is deeply felt & observed material or bullshit that deeply wishes it was serious art.
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 27 May 2021 15:23 (two years ago) link
The disappearance of the “friend” was weird to me too. I guess a Femme Fatale can never really die.
― treeship., Thursday, 27 May 2021 15:48 (two years ago) link
lol
(oops, sorry about messing up my spoiler text, oh well)
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 27 May 2021 16:03 (two years ago) link
They also never dealt with who naomi ackie’s character had slept with. I wonder if she even cheated or just made it up to even the score—resist casting herself as the more innocent, sensitive one...
― treeship., Thursday, 27 May 2021 18:14 (two years ago) link
Just saw that that actress is only 28. She does a good job playing someone a decade older. Very emotionally plausible
i don't really remember a huge amount about season 2 other than that I liked it and I got sick of Aziz saying "allora" and there was a pretty Italian woman.
― akm, Thursday, 27 May 2021 21:45 (two years ago) link
finished this last night. Its very good but I can see how people would be disappointed at lack of firm resolution. It does wind up being a study of Naomi Acker's character more than anything else; I could have done with one more episode focused on Denise.
― akm, Friday, 28 May 2021 14:43 (two years ago) link
the IVF episode is incredible.
― horseshoe, Monday, 31 May 2021 21:00 (two years ago) link