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I managed to get through three episodes of this series and I'm trying to force myself to watch a fourth. It's like watching an incredibly superficial 60's sitcom but with gay characters thrown in. The three actors play their roles as complete stereotypes, of course continually referring to each other as "girl or queen" for laughs; even the overdone interior of their house looks like a gay cliche. The jokes just aren't funny - I think I laughed twice but I can't be sure -and the plots were so hackneyed and predictable that they felt like they were just lifted from other sitcoms.

I have to agree with some of the others writing here that I'm doubting the credibility of some of the rave reviews.

The series may have sounded like a good idea when it was pitched, but the writing and characterizations just aren't original or interesting enough to make it watchable. I was frankly embarrassed for Bomer and Lane.

I'm really shocked at some of the gushing reviews for this film. Despite looking forward to seeing it, not only did I find it to be a huge disappointment, but I was angered at how one-dimensional and manipulative it was. The film purports to be about a road trip throughout the United States with Farrell and his transitioning friend Harper, and yet besides less than three minutes of footage displaying a few nasty tweets they received while in a Texas restaurant, everywhere they go Harper is welcomed by absolutely everyone with open arms and friendly acceptance! There's even a scene of them in a redneck Republican biker bar and no one blinks an eye when Harper announces she's transitioning, lol!! Did the filmmakers think the audience would be too stupid to realize that the reactions were obviously because she was flanked by the well-known actor Will Farrell, who everyone is mostly focused on, along with an obvious entourage carrying cameras and lights?

Is this the filmmakers' idea of an accurate representation of the life of a trans person in America right now... all acceptance and love? The film's message seems to be that Harper's happiness depends on her self-image... that may be somewhat accurate, but tell that to the many transgender individuals who are continually ostracized in their communities and are often terrified to even leave their homes because they're afraid for their lives.

I really enjoyed Coralie Fargeat's 2018 film "Revenge," but I think "The Substance" is even better. While the theme of seeking eternal youth and paying a high price for it isn't new in horror, the sheer outrageousness of this film sets it apart. What I loved most was its freakish, sarcastic style and Fargeat's use of wide-angle lenses, which deepened the film's brooding sense of alienation. It 's also commendable that two fairly well-known actors trusted the process enough to step outside their comfort zones, taking risks with the frequent nudity and extreme excesses.

Despite how much I was awed by it, the film felt about twenty minutes too long-some of the repeated aerobic TV footage of "Sue" could have been trimmed and long scenes of Demi Moore's character alone in her apartment became slightly tedious. There were also a few improbable details, like how the main character, a TV personality, is able to effortlessly find a vein to give herself an IV or stitch up a body with surgical precision. But this is a fever dreamed, metaphorical horror film so it's easy to overlook those minutiae.

I'll see "The Substance" again, just to re-experience the last thirty minutes; there was so much going on that I feel like I couldn't take it all in. It eventually became obvious to me how the film was going to end, but then it just kept going, outdoing itself in extremes and gooey, viscous gore (to call this a "body horror" film is almost an understatement). It eventually became so insane, cartoonish and excessive that I felt I was laughing along with a nightmare.

That "The Substance" stands out is a reminder of just how few films today possess an original vision. It rises far above the endless stream of safe, cookie-cutter superhero sequels that are being churned out purely for profit. I hope this film makes a sizeable profit -it's high time audiences show studios they want to see something fresh and unconventional for a change.