Mr. Throwback

Stephen Curry (Stephen Curry) recounts an often-forgotten part of basketball history, the Jewish Jordan, to a documentary crew. As a kid, Steph was second banana to his best friend, 12 year old basketball point guard star Danny Grossman (Adam Pally). Then the scandal hits. It was revealed that Danny's father and coach Mitch Grossman (Tracy Letts) had lied about his age. After 25 years, Mitch reconnects with Steph. Kimberly Gregg (Ego Nwodim) is the third member of the childhood trio and she presently works for Steph. Danny has a dysfunctional relationship with Sam Judlow (Ayden Mayeri) and they have daughter Charlie (Layla Scalisi) together. Danny needs $90k and tells a big lie about Charlie. It spirals out of control.

I do not like this family. The lie is stupid. These are bad people. It makes the comedy hard to like. In the past, I like some of Adam Pally's idiocy. It is funny when his schemes fail and he gets ridiculed. It is not funny when it works and he gets his way. I get the idea. I'm just not laughing.

There are so many problems with the show it's hard to know where to begin. Problem #1 - it's not funny. Yes, there are some giggles and a few laughs, but most of the time it's simply not funny. Problem #2 - bad acting. Maybe it's not so much the bad ac ting as it is the lack of comedy, but either way, not very entertaining to watch. Problem #3 - preposterous. Yes, it's not a likely story and it seems so staged it's not captivating. Problem #4 - Who really cares? The "star" of this show is a "nerdowell" who lies, cheats, and otherwise represents a kind of hero it's hard to cheer for. I didn't find a single saving grace in the first show, so won't watch any more.

Given the lack of promotion around this show, I went in with pretty low expectations. But after watching all six episodes, I would definitely recommend it--particularly if you're a fan of Happy Endings, the prior collaboration of Adam Pally and David Caspe. While it doesn't have quite as high of a joke per minute ratio as that show, it has a similar sensibility and many clever set-ups and payoffs. Steph Curry isn't an actor, obviously, but is surprisingly charming here. And major props to the casting director for finding Layla Scalisi. There are so many shows that have been hampered by less than great child actors, but she is genuinely hilarious in her role. I really hope this one gets a second season.

This show is is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand a lot of the jokes really land and are hilarious in that "Office" or "Parks and Rec" brand of humor. But none of the characters are really likable. It is a little too cringe to where you feel bad about some of the decisions being made by the main character. The believability of the outcome of the season is lacking. I just feel what the main character does would have been unforgivable. If you are into dark humor this hits, if not, its kinda hard to watch.

That said a lot of the jokes do land, its short, and Steph Curry does a solid job. I think the users are spot on with their average ratings, I would give this a 6.5/10, but since you can't I will round up to a 7.

I watched this show just because I'm a Steph fan and didn't expect much because, let's face it, athletes usually suck at acting... but I thoroughly enjoyed this show. Every episode had at least one laugh-out-loud moment, and even though the arc was predictable, the show still pulled it off nicely.

That said, Steph is my new favorite NBA Player/Actor. Lebron was funny in Trainwreck, Ray Allen was solid in He Got Game, Kareem was iconic in Bruce Lee's Game of Death, Kyrie was decent in Uncle Drew, and I have to give an honorable mention to Shaq for all the effort in his flicks... but Steph killed it in Mr. Throwback.