scotiandy

I tried this and gave up half way through the first episode. Independently about 6 months later, I picked up the book and was hooked. I've now gone back and can see what is off with the series. The characters are simplified beyond recognition. The charm of the book is that as they reveal themselves to each other, they are revealed to you. Here there is nothing to reveal. Also the tone is completely different, hard and slightly unpleasant, drama for the sake of it. I don't really care about these people unlike those who inhabit the book. This is ok entertainment but not for me. The actors do a decent job with what they've got but to my view that is corrupted, shoddy material.

This starts well but as I watch on, I feel the same way as I did the first time I watched it. Nobody can doubt Melissa Macarthy's excellence in physical comedy but she is capable of so much more. Her character becomes increasingly clownish as the series continue. She girns and prat falls her way through each episode - not her fault but I suspect down to lazy writing. Between this and the odd dodgy line, it comes across as something 20 years older than it is. Shame because it started off as a sweet sensitive love story highlighting two leads against physical type. I am in no way qualified to comment but the friendship with Carl and later with Samuel also appears well handled, embracing their colour and differing ethnicity but not reliant on it.

I'm enjoying a re-watch of this. It's better produced and written than I could have hoped. The performances range from very good to at least competent. I think I may have to turn off if we see Linda Purl as Curtis' sister again however. We had better American accents in our Hebridean production of Arsenic and Old Lace and she's actually American. She seems to have gone on to play Helen Keller - well that role had one advantage for her. Nice singing voice tho.