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sadietuescher
Reviews
Stuck in Love (2012)
Stuck in Stinking
The only thing worse than the acting is the plot. Christmas themed movie with a mid-level star cast but with no believable characters (except maybe the dog near the beginning). Writers love to write about other writers when they have nothing else to write about.
This is the story of a privileged family unhappy at Christmas. None of the characters have back story and I found everyone unlikable. I found the daughter Samantha particularly unbelievable, a college girl who sleeps around constantly and then finally agrees to date a nice boy named Lou who is a nice guy and pretty darn boring.
I really liked when Samantha cried, great application of fake tears. Just a terrible movie.
Bored to Death (2009)
Pretty good show - for adults
Overall I find all the characters quite likable and believable, complex and interesting but also consistent. Emotions are real and the writers bring us through the emotions, consequences, and reactions.
Why 8? It is unnecessarily dirty. Drugs, sex, profanity. If they took this out it could be a hit for all ages. Genuine questions of friendship, love, what is right and wrong, and hilarious mysteries, are overshadowed by constant drug usage and profane language--it just isn't necessary.
I enjoyed the show and laughed very often. I watched it twice in fact. But it gets 8/10 because it could easily be family-friendly (and no, I don't have kids) but they chose profanity instead.
Transparent (2014)
Great idea, execution misses the mark
I love the concept of this show, but the writing falls short. The characters are not likable--a few side characters (the Rabbi, for example) are likable. The whole family is extremely flawed, but the writers never redeem them. They keep screwing other over and coming back for more. I find that many of their reactions aren't believable. Essentially this show is about a family with 5 individuals who are totally incompetent in life, relationships, and love. 5 people who constantly fail in their relationships with others and each other and they don't learn a single thing. The take away is that we live in a sick world and sex is all there is.
Finally, this should be rated NC-17. It is extremely dirty and graphic, but not in an artistic way.
I love the idea for the show, but it just falls short. The youngest daughter, Ali, has flashbacks of a trans relative in Germany as the Nazis come to power. It is a great idea, but the string to the story is weak. I wish they expanded on it more. My main beef is that none of the characters learn or grow--if anything, they become more immature. I don't find this believable. Jeffrey Tambor's acting is great, and I find Maura to be the most likable and believable character, even though the writers do let me down with Maura too. Just failure to execute emotions. Bad stuff happens, no one reacts or changes, except to become more bitter and selfish.