charlesr-8

A few people I've chatted to have struggled through the first season and weren't that impressed. I was impressed, but I can understand the hesitation.

In the second and third season, the step up in storytelling, character backstory, and redemption arcs is really noticeable, and notable. Richie's ep in particular took a character that was annoying or a bit douchey, and turned him into someone you were rooting for.

Also cool to observe is the way that the Michelin Starred chefs jumped on board in the later seasons, Noma and The French Laundry in particular (both the restaurants and the chefs themselves.) I learnt a lot about some of the dining experiences I've enjoyed, in terms of what happens in the back of house too.

There's lots of subtle details I will be going back to watch for - Carmen's denim discussions and the S2 finale as well.

The show is great for anyone that likes witty dialogue, fine dining, basic dining, hospitality lifestyles, and shows with real character development. This isn't a standard "show you everything about the characters up front and develop the story from there" - this is far more expertly crafted, and a lot more subtle.

I went into this movie completely unaware of any storyline, media, etc. Given the cast and premise, I didn't have high expectations, but figured I had time to kill and felt like something light on intellect.

It met my expectations - light on intellect - but credit to the movie for having some interesting twists and turns, the odd chuckle, and requisite heartwarming moments etc. It delivered as expected without really challenging me much. From the start it was set up as the "geeky guy thrust into a new world" storyline, and that's the way it was structured and concluded. No glaring gaps in the storyline, no major revelations, just a feel good rom com with a few laughs.

So close to good, but I was just left wanting it to deliver more.

More stories on some of the characters, More Closure of some of the storylines - I just felt like the concept had more to deliver than what it gave us.

There is a lot that's right about the movie. Great characters, good laughs, solid emotions, and i loved the way this felt like it wasn't all filmed on a sound stage/green screen. But it felt like there was more potential here. With great comedians like Bobby Lee and Theo Von in the cast, it felt like it had more laughs and emotions to pull on (and both are sober as well - so experience to draw on.) Kate Upton's character felt like there was more storyline available. There were a number of things where we got a taste of something but it didn't move/resolve/progress - the Diner scenes/story, Kate Upton's character, the music video situation, Garvey's roadtrip, what happened after the game, etc. There were just a bunch of questions that could have been answered and would have raised my enjoyment.

It's thoroughly watchable, with some solid performances from a range of quality actors/personalities, and a decent smattering of laughter and emotion. There's nothing "dumb" about it or cliched - it just felt like it could have been 10 mins longer and given us a lot more, or 10 mins shorter and removed some storylines that didn't go anywhere.