The Unusual Suspects

I'm ashamed - I was 3/4 through the first episode before I thought - hey this is OK. I then binged the whole four episodes and then re-watched them a week later. This was good. Not perfect - but pretty great. (Thank you to Miranda and Peter doing the obligatory advertising on The Project) - because I may never have sought it out on streaming.

I was so excited to watch this, I love Miranda Otto and I want to support an all female lead but this is not great and I have no idea how it received so many 10 star ratings, could it be friends of the the crew/cast/network trying to bump the score?

Let's start with the Filipino stereotypes. Between the gold digging Filipino wife and the Filipino servants (mind you, one is wearing an actual uniform) this feels borderline racist. Don't even get me started on the poor little rich girl who is sent from Philippines to work as a cleaner. Miranda Ottos character is so overacted at times it pains me to watch her. Cue the evil mother in law, the philandering husbands...

The story has more plot holes than Swiss cheese, the viewer this needs to be as drunk as Sara to overlook them.

This wasn't a drama, this wasn't dark enough to be a noir, this wasn't remotely funny, so what genre was this? I think it could have swung a little more in any of those directions and achieved a far greater story.

There were some rather well placed flashback scenes but overall 80% of the show I found almost too cringe worthy to watch.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this and when it finished I wanted more!! Yes you can pick holes in it. But if you want a refreshing take on a heist with a great cast, the odd twist and be entertained at the same time, then sit back and enjoy the ride.

Funny Australian comedy about women attempting to steal a $16 million necklace.

Miranda Otto is a scream as Sara, a major Internet influencer who has gone through all her family money. She is desperate to sell to an American company; however, her ex-boyfriend, a horrendous artist, is about to ruin that.

Sara's maid is Evie (Aina Dumlao), who left her daughter behind in the Phillipines in the hope of making enough money to return home, get away from her husband, and move to a new home with her daughter.

Sara can no longer pay her.

Evie's friend Amy works for the well-known Roxanne Waters (Michele Vergara Moore) and has had her pension stolen due to Roxanne's husband's ponzi scheme. Both Amy and Roxanne want out.

Roxanne receives the necklace from her husband which actually belongs to his mother from hell. The women decide to steal it, setting up an elaborate plan that involves a carnival, a rock band, a drill, and a mannequin.

Very enjoyable. The cast is terrific.

No pun intended and obviously the characters here are not supposed to be ... well obnoxious. Not as much as the seagulls I borrowed my summary headline from at least. Especially rich people are not a group most viewers will feel closely attached to. But they are people too - of course the show gives us the helpers - which is they eyes we watch most of it through.

And it has a lot of female power behind it. Miranda Otto may be the best known of the bunch, but all the cast is doing an amazing job. The show may be a bit longer than it needed to and if I got it right, something like this actually happened ... but just roll with it and suspend your disbelief. Interesting stuff - a bit like the Bling Ring, but a bit more sophisticated I reckon ... and "different" ...