Ma mère l'arnaqueuse

With all these con related documentaries you always find yourself saying 'how are people so gullible'. Well for the first 20/25 minutes the con seemed plausible, until we find out Netflix are holding back on some of the important information.

The name of the show is a bit of a spoiler in itself. I won't be giving anything away by saying the 'Mum' is a con woman. The story is about how she dupes her 'son' 45 years after she gave birth to him and gave him away as a newborn.

He thinks he's getting the dream reconciliation, where in fact it turns into a nightmare for him and his family.

It's intriguing enough to keep you interested. You probably won't remember it in a years time.

Oh wait, they don't mean convention? Dang it - no pun intended of course. And all kidding aside - because this is serious stuff. As you can imagine (more than me I assume or if not before then now), this is about someone taking advantage of another human being.

The constellation may be interesting and quite a few things had to go wrong (or right from her perspective) ... it's kind of crazy that people still fall for stuff like this. Mostly either someone gullible or someone who gets way over his (or her) head ... good people also mostly, so I am not trying to put anyone down here ... well done and really well edited. I assume some things have been re-recorded - other than that, really gripping if you let yourself immerse ... and go on this wild ride ... we're outside and can judge differently ... still you would hope some people would fight back more .. anyway let this be a warning!

While the villain here is obviously the mum, the real villain to me is the son. Like his mum, Graham exhibits no real joy or anger or any genuine emotion. His cold retelling the story, his limp excuses, his emotionless expression, his negligence of his wife and son are all that needs to be told. Like so many people bordering on sociopathy, Graham tells a good tale and the doc makes it seems like he's a good guy, a victim. But he's not. Heather and his son are the real victims.

While the documentary on the surface is kind to Graham, underneath you being to feel the creepiness of the man. It's not just that he and his mum look alike, they are alike in most ways. And that's the true value of the documentary. Unfortunately, not everyone will see through Graham and that's the shame.

(Same could be said for the woeful Peng. He shows this documentary is also a story of the toll of avarice coupled with naivete has on people who put themselves first.)

Wow...what was that forced, fake, vocal fry affectation all about? It ruined the whole thing for me, and that's saying something considering what a naive, greedy, selfish dick Graham turned out to be. How could he have really fallen for it all? The answer seems to be that his head was turned by his mum's lies and deceit. I know he was put through the wringer, but look at the pain his little boy, greedy naivety caused. He was so stupid and gullible. Ach, maybe we all would get taken in, by this kind of thing supposedly dropping in your lap, who knows. I like to think, though, that I'd smell a rat quite early on.

Con Mom had potential - the story is wild, the production isn't bad, and it's the kind of show that should pull you in easily. But there's one thing I just couldn't get past: Heather Kaniuk.

She plays one of the main characters, but her voice is so painfully forced - like this fake, low, raspy tone that sounds like she's trying way too hard to be intense or mysterious. It's not natural, it's not engaging... it's just ugh. Every time she speaks, it completely takes me out of the story. It feels like a parody of a true crime character rather than a believable performance.

I'm sorry, but it's genuinely one of the most irritating and frustrating vocal performances I've ever heard on a show. It's killing the vibe entirely.

I wanted to like it, but I just can't sit through it with that voice constantly dragging things down.