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Well this show is definitely a mixed bag so far. Overall I like it, but it's got so many problems. None of the characters are very interesting, though I don't hate Richie like many seem to -- I just find his arc too monotonous and repetitive. Olivia Wilde is almost totally wasted in the typical Nagging Wife role, just Cliche City. I wish they made use of Max Casella more -- he was great in the first couple episodes but I feel like he disappeared after that. I like Terence Winter's overall sensibility -- I haven't watched Boardwalk yet, but Wolf of Wall Street was great and he was probably the best writer on The Sopranos besides David Chase himself. He has a distinct sense of humor that's pretty great, and a big part of why I'm enjoying this show still. I even thought last week's episode was pretty good, despite the silliness of the Ernst gimmick. I liked that character a lot and was dismayed that he's probably not going to appear much if at all in the future. I guess the main problem, though, is that this is a perfect example of a show that just doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. It veers back and forth between various plotlines, various styles and themes and ideas, never sticking to one in particular. Is it about Richie's descent into cocaine and personal demons? Is it about the music industry in the 70s? Is it just a kind of aimless tour of early-mid 70s rock music with great production design? There's no real unifying story or focus here. Every episode changes the focus, and the result is a mess -- but not a good kind of "messy" as in The Sopranos which would have episodes that took total detours into some self-contained story, but always returned to the overarching theme or focus of the season/series. Vinyl just hasn't found its voice yet, or even its subject. Being about rock n roll isn't specific enough -- how about a Mad Men-ish workplace drama-comedy like the one that it seemed for much of the first two episodes and episode four? But the other hours have veered in different directions, ignoring much of this. Just a strange show, albeit one I'll keep watching. Cannavale is quite good and though Richie needs better writing he's still impressive in the part.
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Mar 27, 2016 00:04
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 17:59 |
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