I'll preface this review by saying that back in the day, I loved Reckless Tortuga. I thought they struck absolute gold with the Online Gamer idea, and their other videos and series were vastly underrated. The "New Yorkers" PSA was so perfectly written and acted that I find myself imitating it every so often because of how funny it was. I vaguely recall sending an email to them once (maybe I never sent it) telling them that the combination of the quality and variety of their sketches was bar none. Consistently hilarious, unique, and spot-on.
That's why it pains me to say this series was not that. On the one hand, it makes me excited that they've branched out, so to speak, to feature films and a series like this one. On the other hand, the writing was almost entirely missing the mark. It elicited infrequent chuckles at best; more often, I groaned.
Here's an example: one character gets locked somewhere, the rest don't know he's in there, he goes all... Tom Hanks in Castaway... and eventually they discover him, and he just kind of crawls out. Roll credits. There was a lot of potential for some offbeat joke or ironic observation or something! But no, it just falls flat, like a deflated beach volleyball. The character who found him was just like "Ew," and that was it.
Another character at one point suggested killing someone, and when that idea was shot down, he or she (no spoilers!) yells that they're no fun or boring or something. Being consistently wacko or psycho would've made a consistent character out of this, but instead it felt like it came completely out of left field... and not in a way that made sense.
Plot-wise, it had some semblance at the beginning, but it felt like it didn't go anywhere. There were aimless subplots that didn't add anything. Relationships didn't go anywhere. Characters didn't evolve. Sigh...
I've seen Reckless' previous output, and it's not just nostalgia speaking when I say I know they're capable of stellar writing, directing, and acting. The protagonists and foils in Online Gamer were great. The PSAs were short, clever, and funny. Psycho Girlfriend nailed the YT thumbnail in that one episode where she screams that bone-chilling, scrotal-retreating scream. The neighbor one, the ghost-hunting one, they were all unique and funny. This one? It just wasn't funny, sorry to say.
I gave it a shot, because I like them. I watched all the way to the end, because I believe in them. It wouldn't do not to be honest. There's probably no catching lightning in a bottle like they had before, but they don't need lightning. They have already have the talent.
