Jumpygrouch

At the beginning, I thought this show was, as people have said here, "derivative" and only marginally funny. Kept it on because I was doing something and didn't have the free hands to turn it off. I had a few chuckles and wasn't expecting much. But every single person on the show is a great comedian and/or actor, and the situations are novel. By the end of the second episode it had gained momentum, I was won over, but switched to The Americans. Then I woke up today and it was the only show I wanted to watch, for some reason it stuck with me. (Probably because it brings up memories of when I was in the music business and how people treated each other, and times when I made great money but walked away, but this time I'm laughing.) So I put on episode 3 and I've been laughing my ass off ever since. It gets funnier and funnier at each new episode!

I came onto IMDb just to find out more, and see there is a contingent for whom it isn't reaching. Well I would say, maybe you have to watch a few more episodes. But I'm someone who loved BoJack Horseman, Action, Party Down, Extras. Also, there are so many funny details that people might not get -- like the Minnesota hair when she flashbacks to Duluth, or the "Latin" saying on the wall of the church. When I see the flashbacks, I'm laughing already, before anyone opens their mouths.

I can totally get why someone would say this is a poor effort. They don't get what's happening in entertainment today. Ricky makes it seem effortless. For example, My husband couldn't watch Bojack Horseman, until he heard it playing in our kitchen (I was watching while I cooked dinner) and then he thought it was hilarious. I'm willing to bet that if the negative reviewers find themselves watching this again by accident, they will find it better than they realized, like Coneheads or Goldmember -- our expectations ruined it for us. Ricky Gervais just makes us expect something that will shock and amaze and when he comes lightly like a thief in the night, we are underwhelmed until we come back and realize this is the type of comedy that creates classics. it doesn't hit you over the head, doesn't anticipate, but guaranteed to amuse over and over again. Real comedy from people who love to laugh -- Jack Benny style.

Visually this film is stunning and the accompanying soundtrack is perfect. Choreography of the scenes is also superb.I would say this is the most visually perfect movie I've seen in years, bringing to mind The Blue Light, High Noon and other beautifully filmed movies whose images stay with you. Everyone but Krysten Ritter is perfectly cast. Unfortunately having been in similar situations when I was young, I know that she had no idea what this girl was like -- her lines worked, she just didn't know what person would be saying these things and she just isn't that person. It kept taking me out of the movie. Too bad, with better casting, it might have become a classic.