High Maintenance

I really enjoyed this show. Yes the first episode was not the best, but I still enjoyed it enough to watch another. Soon enough, I found myself finishing the whole first season within one day. The show is more so about residents in New York than about just the dealer so it feels like 2 short films in each episodes. It's both funny and depressing. Definitely not what you want if you're looking for a Seth Rogan type of stoner comedy. A lot of the negative reviews here came from people who didn't make it past the first episode or bothered by the explicit gay sex scene. I personally really liked this show though and can't wait for more.

I can't find the words to describe how good this series is. The freedom of being able to make each episode just as long as it needs to be provides a lot of good returns in terms of the narrative. Weed plays a prominent part in the stories in terms of stringing them together, but it is far from the only thread, and each episode is a hilarious, depressing,or somewhere in between, slice of life. The characters run from archetype New Yorkers to some serious weirdos, both of which can exist in the same person. The dealer and main character played flatly and beautifully by Ben Sinclair is both a kind of a low key superhero, and a deus e machicna that lights the bong in each tale. This is far and away the best web series I've seen, and possibly the most artistic.

This show is more than just a guy selling weed. It's about interactions we all have between us and what it means to be alive and part of the human experience. The Guy is just another person that passes through these events and is a ubiquitous, yet relate-able, presence throughout the series. Each of these episode's vignettes give us a somewhat voyeuristic look into the lives of many people that happen to be the Guy's customers. The stories are like a short novel that can vary from episode to episode, yet continuously follow the main character as he progresses throughout the series.

Ben Sinclair plays the Guy and is often a soft-spoke yet vocal character that weaves through each episode and offers insight, a laissez faire attitude, and general openness to life. The show is written by both Ben Sinclair, and his wife, Katja Blichfeld. High Maintenance was based on the web series which HBO had picked up after 19 episodes. HBO produced Season 2 and it has recently been renewed for a 3rd season (as of February 21st, 2018).

vis-a-vis an earlier review: if you typically watch, and laugh at, shows like "how i met your mother" or "big bang theory", this show isn't for you. simple as. there is no laugh track. there is no set-up for one-line zingers. the characters are real... they have jobs, use the toilet, pay bills, have unattractive sex, and (of course) get high. each episode is a different length. this is not determined by the attention span of the average American sit-com viewer, but by the amount of time the creators felt was sufficient to convey a single point/humorous scenario. there are no pratfalls, and characters aren't easily labeled (the funny guy, the cute one, the spoiled sassy girl, etc). so, if you're looking for something to hold you over until the next season of whatever kevin james is starring in this year, then look elsewhere. and enjoy your mccomedy.

High Maintenance is like nothing I've ever seen before.

This is not a typical "stoner" comedy. Yes, the title. Yes, the one regularly recurring character is "The Guy," a likable, articulate weed deliveryman. Yes, the current poster for this IMDb page features said likable, articulate weed deliveryman smoking a joint. All that aside, this is not Pineapple Express or Harold and Kumar. Nothing against those two films, but High Maintenance is something far more subtle, beautiful even.

Each standalone episode is a window into the daily lives of different New Yorkers. "The Guy" provides that window, as he is the only stranger the characters let in the door.

There are so many things High Maintenance absolutely nails. There's the stellar acting. There's the rich detail in almost every shot. There's the complete lack of melodrama. There's the runtime (6-15min) that feels so natural. There's the way in which it portrays the commonplace struggles of everyday people in such an honest, compelling way. Somehow, this web series is more than the sum of its parts, though. It's authenticity is just so damn captivating.

For me, watching an episode of High Maintenance is like reading a brilliant short story. I finish, slightly entranced, thinking about the characters for days.

Long live this web series.