See, the problem with celebrity "based on my life" sitcoms, is their inauthenticity. Bojack Horseman, a cartoon, is far closer to the real needy dysfunction roller-coaster of competitive vanity, haute vivre and self-aware lunacy that's modern fame.
No doubt Gad Elmaleh has an interesting backstory - but we're not seeing any of it here. His own current "real-life" family dynamic is mirrored in the TV show - but it's only offcuts making their way into the C-minus script.
To make a show about wealth and fame that's both funny and relatable demands either brilliant writing or relying on an inventory of comedy cliches. Huge In France mostly goes for the latter, e.g. it presents the Hollywood fame industry as mostly incompetent and parochial, so the audience gets cheap self-congratulatory laughs, when in truth, Los Angeles is one of the most knowing, cynical and cosmopolitan places on the planet. Dodging having to take on subjects like this - and face handling uncomfortable implications - leaves very little substance for the sitcom to stretch out across eight episodes. Stretch it does, however, and with resolute professionalism start to finish.
If you've 4 hours to kill, and you're an unabashed Gad Elmaleh fan (is anyone?) or an uncritical Francophile or you're a patient fan of this show's particular eye-candy, watch Huge in France and good luck to you! If not, there's a thousand better shows in the Netflix repertoire.
No doubt Gad Elmaleh has an interesting backstory - but we're not seeing any of it here. His own current "real-life" family dynamic is mirrored in the TV show - but it's only offcuts making their way into the C-minus script.
To make a show about wealth and fame that's both funny and relatable demands either brilliant writing or relying on an inventory of comedy cliches. Huge In France mostly goes for the latter, e.g. it presents the Hollywood fame industry as mostly incompetent and parochial, so the audience gets cheap self-congratulatory laughs, when in truth, Los Angeles is one of the most knowing, cynical and cosmopolitan places on the planet. Dodging having to take on subjects like this - and face handling uncomfortable implications - leaves very little substance for the sitcom to stretch out across eight episodes. Stretch it does, however, and with resolute professionalism start to finish.
If you've 4 hours to kill, and you're an unabashed Gad Elmaleh fan (is anyone?) or an uncritical Francophile or you're a patient fan of this show's particular eye-candy, watch Huge in France and good luck to you! If not, there's a thousand better shows in the Netflix repertoire.