Florida Man

I wasn't going to write a review, but I'm not sure where the hate is coming from. Now, how many times have you read all that?!

This is a fun summer watch about varying groups of very dysfunctional people chasing various dreams in various ways. All mostly illegal. Some more illegal than others.

It's shot well, for Florida, and has some surprises. And has the prerequisite number of Florida "characters" that we try not to think about when we are faced with Florida. And alligators. What's a series in Florida without an alligator cameo?

What I wanted to know was, why did the eldest son have a heavy accent and no one else in the family did. That was never answered, so don't count on that.

Enjoy it for what it is - a summer fling.

Mike Valentine is a former Philadelphia cop; his gambling problems led to him losing his job and his wife and having to work off his debts to local mobster Moss Yankov. One day Moss's girlfriend, Delly West, takes off in her new BMW and heads to Florida. Moss tasks Mike with bringing her back. He doesn't know that Mike is from Florida and for family reasons would rather not go back. Things soon get interesting for Mike and those around him as he gets caught up in a tangled story involving the missing girlfriend, a father he dislikes and a search for a possible fortune in Spanish gold!

I thought this series was a lot of fun. If you like your crime drama gritty and serious it won't be for you but if you enjoy it with plenty of laughs and don't mind if it stretches your suspension of disbelief more than a little bit you should really enjoy this. Every episode provided sufficient laughs and the characters were a lot of fun. The cast was solid, especially Édgar Ramírez as Mike; Anthony LaPaglia as his father Sonny and Abbey Lee as Delly. The series manages to wrap things up nicely in its seven episode run so viewers aren't left waiting to see further seasons. It won't be for everybody of course; there is quite a lot of swearing and some sex and violence so the easily offended might want to give it a miss. Overall I'd certainly recommend this for fans of crime comedy.

At some point in episode 1 or 2, I was laughing out loud a lot and wondering why the humour seemed familiar - I noticed Jason Bateman in the credits. Not sure if he had input in that area or if he helped select the right cast and crew, but if you like Ozark / anything with Jason Bateman, you'll like this.

It has the usual tropes but it's all done really well with superb acting and comedic timing where needed. Abbey Lee is a natural and the whole cast is believable and charismatic. Sad it was only 7 episodes but better than dragging out too long.

Ignore rotten veg - I don't trust them if they can give a series like this one star.

Florida Man Netflix series with 7 episodes, featuring Mike (played by Edgar Ramírez), a former police officer who resigned due to gambling addiction. He must return to his hometown in Florida to search for his girlfriend, Delly (played by Abbey Lee), the daughter of a mafia boss in Florida. The search turns into a journey filled with suspicion from everyone involved, and involves an ancient gold coin treasure hidden in Florida.

Overall, this is a dark comedy series that may not look interesting from the outside. The protagonist's appearance may not be charming, but believe it or not, this is a dark comedy story filled with thrilling games. The characters are all significant and interconnected with hilarious and unexpected situations. The series also weaves in stories of love and family relationships well. Moreover, it is a well-crafted mini-series that is beautifully wrapped up in just seven episodes.

As a current resident of Central Florida, who was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, where this show was filmed, I can honestly say this is a very accurate depiction of both places. Dive bars, quirky people, boats beer and good fun. All of the marina scenes are filmed on the Sound and the intercoastal in Wilmington. Brings me back to my youth. You can almost smell the salt air like you were crabbing with hot dogs off the dock.

The story is smart and clever, with a lot of twists and turns. The anti-hero main character has a dynamic arc abs leaves the audience wanting more. Best thing Netflix has put out in a while.