Archie

Having read Dyan Cannon's book first, I was not as taken aback as many of the reviewers appear to be. The series is very much from Dyan's point of view and from her emotional stance. It portrays how she felt in various situations with Cary before and during their relationship. It's her story, not Cary's. Go into it with that understanding and you will enjoy the story for what it is. From his overcoming some traumatic situations in his youth, to using them to build a new character he could embody to protect himself, he learned how to cope with the expectations people had of him as an actor. He was not quite as successful though with coping with relationships, feeling very much like he always had to come on guard and leave before he could be abandoned. Bittersweet story that viewers may not appreciate if they have not read her book.

Isaac's portrayal is really good. I would never have guessed someone could nail the part. But don't say it is true if it isn't. His brother died before he was born. Made it look like Mae West movie was his first and so on. Stick to the facts so we all won't doubt the movie.

Any huge fan of Cary Grant will enjoy this and I did get entertained. The implied part of his Randolph Scott relationship is movie time crap. Jennifer Grant always claimed he wasn't gay. She knew him better than anyone. Read her book Good Stuff.

Also, what an inappropriate song to play when portraying New York. Movie looked so timely but failed there.

Look up the only photo I could find of his father, he was spot on.

Cary/Archie would be disappointed and disgusted.

This is a very entertaining and beautifully made drama. It is not really a biography, it doesn't go through his life story - indeed it virtually glosses over his Hollywood career instead focusing on his relationship with his fourth wife in the 60s and his relationship with his mother. It does this sensitively, emotionally and intelligently.

Not simply listening his career allows the story to explore the man himself and what's wonderfully refreshing these days is that is doesn't dis him like so many biographies of celebrities tend to do these days. He wasn't perfect but he comes across as a genuinely nice guy.

Whilst the main narrative is set in the 60s, there are flashbacks into his awful childhood in Bristol. These insights into his past explains who he became. Considering these traumatic experiences, it's amazing that he turned out so normal.

It's a very watchable four hours.

The praise for Jason Isaacs that I've read in other reviews is certainly justified but I would not go so far as some who declare that he looks and sounds just like the original. The accent is good but it's not exactly like the man himself (actually I think that Captain Scarlett and Fancy from Top Cat were both slightly better), also it rather comes and goes a bit. That, of course, could be deliberate given that one of the main themes is that the character Cary Grant was all an act. As for the visuals, from what I've seen Jason Isaacs looks nothing like Grant, but long hours in makeup have made him into a good imitation, most of the time. At other times he looks like Eddie Albert or Robert DeNiro.

One thing that keeps coming up about Grant is whether he was gay or not. That's not addressed here. It seems a bit unfair that his great chum Randolph Scott is sidelined to one small scene though.

Cary Grant was always one of my favourite film stars.

When I saw this series and Grant being played by Jeremy Issacs I thought he doesn't look anything like Grant and it would be terrible .

How wrong I was. Very quickly Issaacs became Grant in a compelling series of the man behind the name 'Cary Grant' .

Binge watched the 4 episodes and found it riveting .

Isaacs plays Grant brilliantly

Can't really say much else, but need to fill out the required wordage to say I think it is certainly worth a watch particularly if you enjoyed Grants' films and gives a riveting glimpse behind the persona.