I really like Melissa McCarthy and will seek out most of what she does. In the past few years she has been in stellar comedies and dramas alike and I always look forward to her involvement in any project. There is just something about her that people find hilarious or when she isn't being silly, deeply tragic.
When this first popped up on my Netflix radar a few days ago I was excited because it's a short series and at least to some degree McCarthy was going to have creative control since her husband wrote it and "stars" in it. We all know who really stars in this though.
The story goes like this - and no, this is not a spoiler since it is contained in the trailer and is evident in the first 5 minutes of the first episode: Clark Thompson is a simple man who works in an office, loves his cats and his dad, and is content to live a boring life until one day he is struck by a magic heaven cloud in his backyard. When he awakens he is a messiah of sorts but doesn't know how to handle his new powers.
As the episodes go on a battle between heaven and hell is revealed to us and an an array of demons and angels are introduced to us. Some of them are interesting but for the most part it gets trivial and tiresome pretty quick because so little happens.
As the public becomes increasingly aware of Clark's connection to God, they get more and more involved in his life with some people hating him and some people wanting to get as close to him as possible. Then, I can't really even tell you what happens because the show becomes so repetitive and boring that I didn't finish it.
I was hopeful after finishing episode one, which was entertaining and introduced us to all of the major characters. Clark (Ben Falcone) is the star of the show but it is very clear to all of us that without Melissa McCarthy that this series never would have seen the light of day. Melissa is the unofficial star of the series but even her portrayal of Amily gets old pretty fast. There are only so many jokes that can be told about a person who has very little respect for authority and abuses drugs consistently. Seriously, this is at least 30% of all the material in the show as Amily continues to tell her coworkers about how much she loves tequila and cocaine.
By the time the actual battles between the angels and demons start happening you no longer care because you have already sat through 2 and a half hours of office politics and how nobody respects the supervisor named "Frisbee." The battles also have very little in the way of budget and the effects are quite painfully fake.
One professional reviewer said the show is"a waste of precious time in the career of a talented performer, one whose fans will follow her anywhere, and who rewards them with so little of what she can do."
This poor performance on the part of McCarthy likely isn't her fault because there is only so much that even the best actress or actor can do with a bad script and this script was written by someone with almost no experience in that real, McCarthy's husband. I think it is safe to say that this show was only made because of McCarthy's involvement and it would have been DOA had she not been in it. I hope her husband appreciates what she has done here because she has only hurt her own career by being involved in it at all.
Should I watch it?
I dug 4 hours into this show hoping that it would turn a corner at some point and it never did. Honestly, each episode is essentially the same thing.
- talk about how Clark doesn't want to be the messenger from God
- showcase some of Amily's substance abuse
- everyone disrespects other people in the office, especially the boss, "Frisbee"
- occasionally show a demon or an angel
Lather, rinse, repeat.
This show is boring, stupid, and something that McCarthy probably already wishes she hadn't gotten involved with. It currently has rather terrible ratings on IMBD and RT and I don't see that changing. I would spend your time on almost anything other than this show.
