Mr. Corman

In the first few episodes I kept waiting for this series to be funny. It doesn't go there. It goes deeper. It's compelling as you try and unravel the big picture. It can be hard to watch sometimes. The anxiety is deeply upsetting. Strange and dark, I think there's something going on and I'm going to stick with it.

I didn't like "Don Jon" - despite it having some outstanding moments - and I missed "Hitrecord on TV".

Mr Corman won't be remembered for any spectacular scene, directing trick or great actor's moment. In fact, looking at the reviews here, it's likely it will be even forgotten. Still is a brillant production where realism and characters' inner thoughts and feelings meld together; where surrealism, grit and misery mix effortlessly.

Mr Corman - except for at most 10 minutes over the whole series length - is incredibly solid in depicting crisis, incommunicability and modern human condition in all its personal dimensions. Aging, loneliness, family life, love relationships, friendships, financial hurdles, societal pressures, work-life up to the meaning of life: JGL provides a very mature and refined ouvre, which surprisingly gets produced (possibly due to a very limited budget?). All the while avoiding being preachy or overly depressing.

It could have winked a bit more to the viewers by introducing more immediately funny or tear-jerking stuff and by cutting out some of the heaviest scenes (ep 2 and 9 IMO): but is this a flaw? I'm not sure myself so between 8 or 10 I'll go with a 9.

Kudos for a great job.

It's very well made, written, acted... but it's absolutely not what I need right now in my life (personally). More anxiety, stress, despair, depression is not what I need from my entertainment when my state is on fire (California) and we're in a pandemic and teetering towards fascism. That mixed with the "life of despair" element to this, where he's clearly not feeling happy or satisfied with his life... yeah, after 2 episodes, I had to stop.

Again, extremely well made. Just not what my brain (or soul) need right now. It's hitting a little too close to home, given everything.

But I don't want to rate it for the same reason...

After the first two episodes I feel like there's a little of Mr Corman in a lot of us post-2020. That wound-up, restless anxiety that stems from nothing going how we planned is very relevant and sometimes a little uncomfortable to watch. But I found Mr Corman an engaging character, and look forward to getting to know more of the supporting cast (and hopefully seeing things go his way, at least a bit) in the coming episodes.

Existence in all its frustration. Fears, facades, buttons and conditioned responses, and worse-- conditioned, cliché dreams imposed by an overwhelming society.

Actors are great, direction is smart, dialog insightful, everything pro with some interesting dabs of creativity... but this show may not be the experience most people are looking for.

On the other hand, everyone can relate to something in this show and snicker or sneer... it's a must-see for psychologists, psychiatrists and anyone who has experienced paranoia, depression, severe anxiety or panic attacks. For me the real mastery in storytelling here was showing that these are all related, overlapping symptoms hinting at a greater underlying condition beyond anyone's control.