KIDDING

After a very long time, our screens have been finally blessed with a show worth watching – Kidding. Its exceptional, enlightening writing paired with the outstanding cast make the show more of an incredible masterpiece than it already is. 

Kidding is about Jeff (Jim Carrey), better known as Mr. Pickles, who is famously known for being a presenter on children’s television. He’s a happy-go-lucky, simple man who learns, soon after his son dies and family starts falling apart, that life isn’t always a fairytale and that his puppets can no longer guide him through the rocky road of reality.

As we go about the show, we come to realise that Jeff is completely bare of incredulity and is naïve, with his kind mind unable to think of any bad. Although these words paint him as an innocent man, the show portrays him as impaired. Damaged goods, you could say.

Sebastian Piccirillo (Frank Langella) has no idea on how to empathise with his son, instead insisting that he’s fine without actually checking. “Sometimes, we think that we’re opening up but we’re actually falling apart.” One of his dialogues that I absolutely loved and one of the only ones where he sounded the least bit of sympathetic.

While sitting with Conan for an interview, playing the ukulele as the audience sings along with him; that’s where it hit me. Jeff will always be known as Mr. Pickles. Mr. Pickles will be the only one people will care about, not Jeff. And that was sad to watch. Carrey’s extraordinary acting is brought into light with the way he keeps Jeff’s irritation boiling under his skin, a smile on his face through everything. Langella plays his role as Jeff’s father way too well, throwing him into character – literally – whenever the man acted out. It’s truly an impressive show, and if you’re into dark, realistic shows like Kidding, I’m more than sure that you’ll enjoy it.

Rating: 4Stars

REL

Rel, starring Lil Rel Howery as Lil Rel, focuses on a father who finds out about his wife having an affair with his barber whom he greatly liked. Hit with multitudinous emotions over losing not only his wife and kids, but also his trusty barber, Rel tries to bring his life back on track with the support of his best friend, Brittany (Jessica Moore), Nat (Jordan L. Jones) his brother who had just recently been released from prison and his dad (Sinbad) who’s even more shocked than the man himself.

Rel is about a man attempting to find love, respect and of course, a barber while living his life as a long-distance dad.

It definitely needs time to improve. I’m willing to give it a chance, but the pilot is a major letdown with mediocre jokes and way too much artificial laughter that kills the vibe, like when Howery revealed he was actually talking to customer service about his unsatisfying love life and the audience went nuts over it. 

Friendly banters are welcomed, but if they’re nothing more than unfunny sentences, boredom sets in quickly. Besides, their jokes are mostly cringe-worthy and that thought is encouraged by the over-usage of fake laughter. Pushing aside the failing humour, Rel stands with a mainstream plot which can be easily found in any other sitcom.

With only one episode released yet, Rel has a lot of time to redeem itself and hopefully, the writers can work their magic to improve its plot and humour.

Rating: 2Stars

VIDA

Vida is about two distanced sisters, Emma (Mishel Prada) and Lyn (Melissa Barerra), who are brought together in East Los Angeles when their mother dies. With unsaid words and hidden feelings left between them, they soon find out that their mother had been hiding a lot of things from them, like her marriage to another woman, Eddy (Ser Anzoategui).

Lyn and Emma have their own differences, with the former being the more out-going and party-animal out of the two, and the latter acquiring cynicism as a defense mechanism, we learn. Even with the large difference in their personalities and constant banters, the sisters get along well together, once they come to a mutual agreement over something like their hostility towards Johnny (Carlos Miranda), Lyn’s ex’s sister, Marisol (Chelsea Rendon) who strives to become a woke vlogger.

Barerra shows Lyn with bubbly innocence and naivety, whereas Prada portrays Emma as the badass girl with sarcastic contempt. The humour is there and that’s it. It’s just there, barely existing. Vida tries to exaggerate everything in a slightly childish way and attempts to pull it off, but fails. 

The theme, I think, is adventure. The show brings into light the daily inconveniences in the life of Latinas and Mexicans, as well as people’s opinions on queer issues and female freedom. 

The show’s great, honestly, but I hope to gather a little more insight of Eddy’s situation along with the rest of the cast’s role. With a lot of time to improve, I’m sure Vida will manage to bring out something more entertaining out of its potential.

Rating: 4.5Stars