Nine Perfect Strangers

Fantastic cast totally torpedoed by terrible pacing and direction. The longer it goes on, the less interested I am in the characters' outcomes.

Four strangers, a family of three, and a couple come to an unconventional wellness center run by a Russian immigrant (Nicole Kidman). She asks them to surrender their phones and be open-minded to a variety of therapies, and as the series plays out, we find out they're dealing with a number of issues, including death, substance abuse, bad relationships, anger, and crippling self-doubt. Kidman's character herself has been traumatized and is on a journey of her own, but as a therapist some of the techniques she employs teeter on the edge of being unethical and possibly harmful to her clients, so that even as they make progress, it's a conflicting, somewhat scary ride.

At the heart of it for me, or at least what I thought was most successful, was the storyline revolving around the parents and their daughter who were trying to come to terms with the suicide of their son/brother. The feelings as they unraveled were truly touching, and the performances from Asher Keddie and Michael Shannon were excellent. Also wonderful were Melissa McCarthy and Bobby Cannavale who play an author and retired NFL athlete who start off detesting one another. It's a little predictable where their story is going, but it has nuance, humor, and a depth of feeling that kept it from becoming sappy.

Less successful was the subplot with the married couple who've lost their sizzle (Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg). Her self-esteem issues were the most well developed and held some interest, but it just didn't seem like enough was done with this pair. The guests are rounded out with a mother whose husband left her for a younger woman (Regina Hall), and an uncover reporter (Luke Evans). Hall's performance stands out for its intensity, and how her story intersects the therapist's adds a nice little wrinkle.

Overall, it's a well-made production, with great cinematography, trippy effects, and nice soundtrack. The ending is overly rosy, but there was so much pain in the lives of these characters that I forgive the series (or the author) for that. It definitely held my interest and was fun to binge watch.

There were at least a dozen life lessons taught through the existence and experiences of every character. In my eyes, that makes this series meaningful and gloriously made.

Firstly, I think you need to watch the entire season to get what the series is on about, and if you don't like it then, that's alright, but judging this show based off the first couple episodes is nugatory because the the whole season is about what's gonna happen at the end. So don't watch it if you're unwilling to go the distance, which isn't that far, just 8 episodes.

At first, I thought it was going to have a "White lotus" type of ending, just some cliche finale where murder happened and the culprit is revealed, but not in a million years would I have guessed the direction the show was going even though there were several inklings along the way. I don't think it's the best show out there or anything, but it definitely doesn't deserve poor ratings; the first couple episodes weren't bad either, just left you a little all over the place because you don't get to piece together the full story yet, only that something unorthodox is happening so it's definitely worth a wait till the end before making up your mind about it. And if you are prudent when watching each character's story, there could be a thing or two you can learn from it as well.

If you liked Big Little Lies and were waiting for something similar let me tell you this show has the perfect ingredients.

Based on a book by the same author, check.

David E. Kelly behind the project, check.

Nicole Kidman as the lead, check.

What else do you need. Just put your trust in these talented people, sit back and wait to be entertained.