Tiny Beautiful Things

This series mirrors Cheryl Strayed's real life with a few variations. It has a lot of similarities to one of my all time favorite movies/books, "Wild", by Cheryl Strayed. However, the direction is subpar and the screen writers constant switching from past to present is mind numbing at times. In my mind, Reese Witherspoon perfectly personified Cheryl, so it's hard for me to wrap my head around anyone else playing her. Don't get me wrong, I love Hahn, but I feel her true character gets lost in the shoddy direction and bad screen writing. Also, Laura Dern will always be Cheryl's beautiful, kind, thoughtful mom; The flashback mom in Tiny Beautiful Things tries hard to relay that same beauty, but falls short unfortunately. The series is entertaining and maybe if I haven't seen Wild 10 times and read the book twice, I would find it better (or maybe worse??) but in my mind nothing compares to the portrayal of Cheryl's life like Wild.

Cannot say enough about Kathryn Hahn. She is one of my favorite actresses from back when I first saw her on How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Amazing actress.

If you've lost your mom, this series might be tough emotionally. It was for me.

Merritt Wever's character made me want to be a better mother. She needs to be in more films! She was great in Nurse Jackie and fabulous in this.

Thoroughly enjoyed this series. It was thought provoking, heart wrenching, so many different emotions. It left me rethinking my own life and realizing I am not living my best life. Its difficult but if you want more only you can make it happen..

This is a must watch!

The writing! The poetry! The music! The art of the acting and mixing of it all together to a perfect musical pitch that carries you away with it and then, with that perfect pitch, rips your heart and make you weep.

This series hits all my buttons: losing my younger beloved, brilliant, kind brother to lung cancer as I view this; lost a mother too soon.

The major problems for me - and costing a star - was the age discrepancies. The Hahn character is supposed to be super young when she has Francis Rae, but the age makes the Hahn character 33 when she had her daughter. Also, to me, the mother seemed to die when she was terribly young. However, Frankie, the mother, was played brilliantly.

What I liked about this series was that while it a deep and dark, there's good comedy interwoven to keep us from getting to far in the pits. Well worth the watch!!

This show is based on the book by the same name, a collection of Dear Sugar letters answered (originally anonymously) by Cheryl Strayed. Anyone familiar with Cheryl's work knows her life story and will recognize the real parts of her story in this show. About half the show is a Strayed biography and half is fiction. The overdubbed real letters are original and beautiful. Cheryl is an extremely gifted writer and advice giver, and she based her Dear Sugar advice on her own life experiences. The show creates a fictional narrative of a woman's messy life partially based on a real woman's messy life, incorporating the letters into the narrative. Although clever and well executed, the parts of the show don't completely add up. But the book is amazing, and given the choice between the book or the show I would definitely choose the book.

The start of this TV series is incredibly confusing, making it difficult to follow. The writing is poorly executed, and only those with an optimistic outlook might be able to endure it. However, there is a glimmer of hope that emerges later on as the writing improves slightly. Many discussions about the fragmented script are warranted, as there is a lack of likable characters in the show. It's challenging to form a connection with them, and when you do start to feel sorry for them, they disappoint you with their nonsensical actions that make you think they deserve their own consequences.

While the occasional use of an out-of-order narrative can be effective, in this case, it creates an unrealistic portrayal of the main character's mother. She is depicted as perfect, which could be interpreted as the protagonist's idealized memory rather than reality. Nevertheless, the entire story feels disjointed, with disconnected elements such as the brother, mother, father, and rebellious daughter. It simply fails to come together in a cohesive manner, leaving the audience feeling unfulfilled. It's a chaotic mess that relies too heavily on excessive swearing, sex, and unmet expectations.