Government Cheese

Between Aeysha Carr's wicked sense of humour, and director Paul Hunter's zany music clip background, the two creators and writers have got this absolute hilarious series covered. It is a blend between the Coen brothers and Wes Anderson, with David Lynch in the mix, creating what could have been a basic story and embellishing it with magical creative flare. To top it all off is David Oyelowo, playing the main role of Hampton Chambers to near perfection, entertaining us with the wild antics of an ex-con attempting to make it straight in an unforgiving world. Oyelowo is backed by a brilliant cast who play it right, giving this outrageous story an extra edge with the quirky characters and surreal moments...

This is really good and has a lot of opportunity for character development. There will be many lessons to be learned here. I'm excited 😁 TV and entertainment with DEPTH and many layers.

I don't recognize any of the actors, meaning that the writing is spectacular. I like the cinematography, too, because the topics are HEAVY and quite sad, but they manage to keep it light and manageable and not laden and depressing. There are definitely some Wes Anderson vibes, but it doesn't seem like a ripoff.

These unfamiliar actors make it more interesting, too. And, the music isn't bad. The opening credits are cool, and I like how they nerd out.

Had it in my watchlist for a while. Any show / movie PRE - cellphones i appreciate more and will give it a shot. And I am happy I did. A needed break from serious drama's - It won't get the recognition it deserves because majority of people like instant gratification and don't give things a shot. And anyone younger than millennials (IMO) tend to shy away from series set before the 90's (again, IMO) - I think the acting is solid all around, and takes a used base storyline and adds a great, unique twist. Parts of the storyline that are usually filled with predictable characters, stereotypical placement is not what you find. Even "the bad guys" have a unique and funny take. Highly recommend.

Loving the style and setting of this. Anything that has the music of Can in it is obviously a labour of love and this programme is swimming in love from the set design to costuming and the performances. Wonderfully cast and acted. As the title says it's very reminiscent of Greg Garcias work to if you enjoyed My name is Earl or Raising Hopeand most latterly Sprung, the style of this and choice of shots will feel very familiar. Having to enter extra words just to meet an arbitrary word count is both ridiculous and and wasteful. If you can say everything you want to say within a few sentences why prolong?

There is a lot going on in Government Cheese and, for the most part, it works. The actors are all very appealing. The writing is quirky and engaging. The period sets, costumes and music are fantastic. Having said that, I'm not sure the whole show comes together, as there are a lot of disparate elements, rabbit holes and dead ends that make the first season a bit scattered.

Still, I appreciate that Apple TV+ continues to produce out-of-the-box, entertaining series that you typically won't find anywhere else. This includes offerings like Acapulco, Hello Tomorrow, The Big Door Prize, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, Palm Royale, etc. All those series kept me entertained, even if some of them didn't completely work.

Without giving anything substantial away, Government Cheese leaves a lot of balls in the air at the end of season one. So, like some of the above-mentioned shows and others, I really hope that Apple TV+ greenlights a second season. As far as the first season, I'd rate it an 8.2.