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/r/tvcritic
Just five months ago, I called Hulu’s This Fool "amazingly hilarious," TIME Magazine has called it "one of TV's funniest shows," and The New Yorker called it "summer's best comedy." So then how did The A.V. Club recently have this headline? "Those fools at Hulu cancel This Fool."
Perhaps those fools saw things winding down. Season 2's focus on the gang trying to get a South Central L.A. coffee shop operated by ex-cons up and running was definitely not as funny and endearing as Season 1's setting at an unorthodox rehab center calls Hugs Not Thugs for ex-cons. The cancellation is still a little surprising, as high-water marks continued to sometimes pop up.
Episode 1 of Season 2 about the neighborhood rooster keeping everyone up at night is a TV classic. The same can be said about Episode 4, in which Julio and Luis convince chef Percy and Minister Payne to join in on the coffee journey. But too many of these episodes didn't really quite hit the mark. There are still lots of humorous moments, but the diversions of the two-episode supermarket robbery, Julio acting as a dad for his girlfriend's daughter, and the episode focused on Julio's mother just don't live up to the perfection of Season 1.
Even when This Fool had a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, there didn't seem to be enough people watching. Almost everyone I've told about the show hasn't even heard of it. Chris Estrada, who plays Julio, is the mastermind, so it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.
3 out of 5 stars
Megachurchs are a little bit of a small obsession for me. They seem so weird and culty and foreign. I guess I just wasn't brought up in a way to think that religion could somehow be entertainment and that I would want to go and invest a lot of my time and money into helping one operate. I'm sure they're helpful to a lot of people and provide a strong community where there might not otherwise be one.
Maybe if they didn't have to base everything around one book that, speaking as a former literature major, is such a major snooze. Bible 101 in undergrad at Southern Illinois had a very nice professor but the content was by far the most boring of all my classes. The little made-up story is pretty nonsensiscal and just basically fails at storytelling, characterization, plot, and every other key element of writing.
Bible 101 aside, I just finished season 3 of The Righteous Gemstones (on Max), which is thank-the-Lord coming back for another season soon.
Here's what I wrote about season 1: Led by the masterful patriarch John Goodman, this ensemble cast gives us a look at what life must be like - albeit taking it to ridiculous and hilarious heights - to be megachurch leaders. I especially like the performances of Danny McBride as the oldest and seediest son, Edi Patterson as wacko sister Judy, and Walton Goggins as Baby Billy, a low-budget pastor stereotype. The gang needs to cover up all kinds of misdeeds. 4 out of 5 stars
I liked season 2 even more: A lot of Danny McBride-watching can never be bad. He’s got to be my favorite comedic actor at this point, up with the likes of Bill Burr and Mike Myers (still). The family continues to show its mega-church evil, wackily obliterating anyone who dares to threaten the empire. 4.5 out of 5 stars
I'm not going to jump to giving season 3 5 out of 5 stars, but it is still every bit as great as season 2.
These televangelist and megachurch pastors are a hoot, totally out of control, and quite possibly uncomfortably realistic. The family has dealt with rivals from other local smaller churches, investigative journalists, nonsensical but fun motorcycle assassins, and now needy and estranged family members. Oh the poor lives of megachurch leaders.
Some evangelicals haven't appreciated the show (such as the "media organization" The Gospel Coalition, which wrote, "This show ... feels built on cheap shots and easy caricatures rather than empathy and incisive observation. Created from a mood board that draws inspiration from Falwells, Bakkers, Benny Hinn, T. D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Bieber-looking hypepriests, and PreachersNSneakers, the Gemstones are essentially the Ewings of holy-roller evangelicalism"), but surprisingly there hasn't been much real backlash.
Interesting things about real megachurches (which I'm pretty convinced includes the church of The Righteous Gemstones; heck, I would actually pay good money to see Danny McBride preach every Sunday morning, even if I knew he was doing an 8-ball of coke backstage before each sermon):
Re: monster truck.
Can't wait for season 4. As for season 3, it gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.
https://popculturelunchbox.substack.com/p/ive-finally-found-my-church-the-church
Who gave the best / your favorite acting performance in The Bear?