Small Town, Big Story

Chris O'Dowd was great in the It Crowd. And nothing else despite getting some great parts he's proved to be a sh&te actor. Nevertheless I had high hopes of this; a returning Americanised Irishwoman to make a movie in an Irish village. So much material for a darkish comedy! Jesus wept! I couldn't finish the first episode! Did they even rehearse it? The script is witless, the continuity abysmal, like an awful version of Derry Girls. Just goes to show. Sorry Chris but you can't king write or direct. That's a fact. I'm only adding this sentence in the hope that it will reach the required number of characters.

I heard Chris O'Dowd talking about this show on a podcast. He doesn't make an appearance till episode 4, which is, in my opinion, a missed opportunity. However, Christina Hendrick, and the rest of the mad irish cast, do a great job, especially Paddy Considine, who is marvellous. If you liked Bad Sisters you'll like this, because it has the same crazy vibe. I think the bad reviews are missing the point. It's a piss take, and as such it works well. It's funny, in an off beat way and the cast obviously had a great time making the show. Slight shame that Christina didn't do even a touch of a latent Irish accent.

"Everyone is going to find out......." Probably not as I would not bet money on anyone actually getting to the end of the series.

Not sure I can be bothered to watch episode 3.

It's got an ok cast but that's it.

It's a badly uninspired script that is going nowhere rather slowly.

It's not funny. It is supposed to be.

The actors seem pretty clueless and it just meanders aimlessly and you are left wondering why you bothered as the credits roll.

Now I have to write more about this nonsense as my review is too short by 43 characters.

Did I tell you how bad it was ?

Yes I did.

Sorry but it's a big miss for me.

Hollywood producer Wendy Patterson (Christina Hendricks) goes back home to Drumbán, Ireland which she has picked to shoot a big movie. She has a secret connection to local doctor Séamus Proctor (Paddy Considine) after an incident during the Millennial celebration. She hasn't been back in over 20 years.

Chris O'Dowd is the show creator and has a fun supporting role. It's a little odd that Christina Hendricks is playing a returning local. Most people do return to their old accent, but she's probably not going to do Irish well. She is my main issue with this show. Her character has so much resentment that it's hard to have fun with that. I would rather have someone like Aya Cash who is funny when she's angry. I like Paddy Considine's scared acting. Big Jim McDaid needs to be a little funnier although he does have a nice sweet side. I love what Jemima Rowlands adds to his character. This is mildly fun in an off-centered sci-fi premise.

Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine are great in this, along with Susan Lynch and other cast members, but the script flatlines and the comedy doesn't quite get there.

O'Dowd's direction and script make it a bit wooden and clunky. You are always waiting for the killer laughs, the key character moments, the unique Irish craic, but it never arrives.

It's watchable, but it will leave you with a sense of unfulfilled potential. Key relationships just take too long to establish, some great character potential is lost because the moment of spark is missing in the script. The actors are forced to act on, dragging out the awkwardness that's not necessarily good for the character, and leaving the viewer frustrated at the missed opportunity to take them further into the storyline.

The cast saved whatever elements of this that made it watchable but they clearly struggled with O'Dowd's flat script.

There just wasn't that link between comedy, plot and irishness that often makes these types of series work.

I think there's an age old lesson that O'Dowd has forgotten here, don't try and do everything yourself. Sometimes you need a critical friend (or two) on the project and this felt that it was the result of nobody being able to say "try that again" to the the ubiquitous O'Dowd.

Maybe a fresh director and a good script adaptation would revive it.

I hope so, there was something in there that O'Dowd just couldn't tease out.