Stick

I love Owen Wilson, and enjoyed the first few episodes which focused on him mainly and his pursuit to get back into the golfing world. But I soon realize that I couldn't stand the other lead character, the petulant, insufferable kid, and it made watching the show impossible. I'm sure others are fine with it. That's OK, but I hated this kid with such a passion. Every moment he was on screen I was getting agitated by his antics and why nobody just popped him in the mouth.... yes, I know it's fiction. I'm not insane but when you hate a character that's the lead of the show it makes it difficult to continue watching it.... so good luck Owen...I hope you find another series or movie to entertain us, but I can't stick this one out...

The show started off promising. Owen Wilson is playing his stock likable lead character well enough, but the supporting characters are going to tank this show fast if something doesn't change.

At first, the stereotypical smart alec teen and the sassy Latina mom are okay, but their shticks quickly wear thin. Both are spoiled and unlikable, and by the fourth episode, I found myself fast-forwarding through most of their scenes since they mostly consisted of Pryce (Wilson's character) begging them for one thing or another. You'll find yourself getting angry on his behalf that he has to beg people he's paid $100k for basic respect and to hold up their end of the contract.

I haven't even mentioned yet the caddy-"Zero" is (her?) name-who is some compilation of every radical woke stereotype wrapped up in one. The identity wouldn't matter if the person was even semi-likable. But she too is insufferable and mean and bratty. (Why does one show need to stack up with so many unlikable characters? Every single character must be mean and snarky and pile on to bully the lowly main character? Why did the writers themselves not get how lopsided and hard to watch that would be for the viewer?)

I will give it a little more time, but I have one foot out of the proverbial door at this point. When I'm having to fast forward scenes of a new show because they're predictable and redundant and frustrating, that's not a good sign. I hope the writers course-correct before it's too late.

I only lasted this long because Owen Wilson's onscreen charisma and likability, but even that isn't enough to keep me around anymore.

The show actually started off well. A total Ted Lasso feel but for golf. Enjoyable. The mother/son combo carried some attitude and annoyance that I expected to simmer down as each episode progressed, but it honestly gets so much worse. The mother comes around a little, but the son gets FAR worse and the show introduces the most INSUFFERABLE character in existence as the love interest / caddy.

Overall, the mother/son and girlfriend just ruined the show for me. They're the most unlikable, ungrateful, disrespectful, self-entitled bunch I've seen in a show... maybe ever... and it really just makes the show impossible to watch.

Let's talk anout the things that got me to watch it. Did it look like a golf version of Ted Lasso? Yes. Does Owen Wilson make me laugh? Yes.

So what is it about the show that can't hold up to what I expected to see? The character development is both rushed, and dragged on for too long. They literally have no growth or dimension and it's really hard to just sit there, watching this unbelievable fable, hitting myself on the head thinking, there is no way anyone is this dumb, dramatic, whiny, insufferable, in real life.

What I wish would happen, is that a switch will click and the writers will realize they do in fact have something they can work with. Stop making Santi a kid that thinks he's too good for the game and doesn't need help from anyone. Stop forcing the issue with Zero being a them, and just let the character be. Elena should not be there. Period, she does nothing to the show except cause unnecessary drama and conversation with everyone and it never makes you feel good after she has had her 2 seconds of fluff.

Last thing I would like to say, has anyone seen a show that is worse than this show with putting on the opening credits? Usually a show will leave you on a joke, a feel good moment, or a suspenseful happening that is coming to make you want to continue. But every episode (6) I have almost felt the urge to shut it off at the opening credits because all (6) have been at the worst most mundane start to a show that I've ever experienced. Please I urge you to do better Stick. I don't know if I'll watch another episode. I have a strong feeling this is a one and done series.

Thanks for reading.

Alright, let's be real: Episode 3 of Stick totally nosedived the moment they introduced that girl-Zero. It's like the writers hit pause on everything that was working about the show so far, then dumped in a character that felt like she'd been pulled straight out of some Gen Z marketing focus group. You know the type: hyper self-aware, spouting vague platitudes about "mental clarity" and "living in the now," all while acting like she's too cool to even exist in the same plane as the rest of us mere mortals.

Zero is introduced as a bartender-slash-waitress at Sparling Meadows (because of course she is), and within minutes she's suddenly the moral compass and emotional coach for Santi, the actual young protagonist who we were just starting to get invested in. The show basically stops just to let her deliver this half-baked wisdom, like she's some kind of Gen Z Yoda. It doesn't come off as helpful, or insightful, or even mildly grounded-it just feels smug and irritating.

And that smugness is the real problem. Zero doesn't feel like a character; she feels like a stereotype masquerading as empowerment. She's that stock "alt girl who knows better than everyone" trope who has no patience for the world but still makes time to drop life-changing advice on a boy she's known for all of five minutes. Like... how does she suddenly know exactly what Santi needs to hear? She's not been set up as wise, or experienced, or emotionally insightful. She just appears, says some vaguely "deep" nonsense, and we're supposed to clap?

There's this painfully obvious attempt to make her cool in that hyper-curated Gen Z TikTok way: aloof but somehow emotionally attuned, sarcastic but sincere when the plot needs her to be, and dressed like she's perpetually ready for a Depop photoshoot. It's like the writers tried to craft someone "relatable" for a younger audience but forgot to actually give her a personality beyond the vibe.

What makes it worse is that she doesn't mesh at all with the tone or pacing of the show. Stick had been rolling with a nice balance of awkward comedy and character growth, especially with Pryce and Santi's dynamic. But when Zero arrives, it's like someone flipped the genre switch to "Teen Drama Meets Twitter Therapy Session." The dialogue shifts from character-driven to message-driven, and not in a subtle way. It's all very "listen up, viewer, here comes the Important Emotional Beat." It's exhausting.

And honestly, she's just not likable. That sounds harsh, but it's true. There's a difference between a character being edgy or challenging and one who just radiates this unearned superiority. Zero treats everyone around her like they're dumb or hopeless until she decides to grace them with a nugget of wisdom. There's no vulnerability, no backstory to justify why she's like this, no charm-just this wall of ironic detachment and faux-deep one-liners.

At best, she's a narrative speed bump. At worst, she's the show trying way too hard to be "in touch" with a demographic that can see right through this kind of pandering. If she's going to stick around (god help us), they're going to need to actually flesh her out beyond the Tumblr-era buzzwords and ironic eye-rolls. Because as it stands? Zero is the least interesting, most grating part of an otherwise solid episode-and she might just be the character that breaks the show if they don't figure her out fast.