The Hookup Plan

Don't watch the dubbed version, it's painful and unnecessary. Read the subtitles, it isn't that hard. First season is genuinely funny, endearing and surprising. I think the writers in second series gave up and forgot to actually care about the characters they had given such richness to. Pretend the second series doesn't exist. I made it to episode 2 and I was just angry and the ridiculously forced situations and hollow storylines. Do watch Call My Agent. That's good all the way through.

The first season is hilarious.

The second not so much.

And the third is a mixture between one and two.

There are characters that we love to hate, and simply love watching.

The group of friends sometimes are nuts and sometimes are loveable.

Who doesn't have a group of friends like that!?

I enjoyed it a lot!! Paris!! Didn't know there's street called "Buenos Aires"!!!

Watch it. You won't regret it.

Season 2 is starting out with a very unrealistic story and I'm sure it will only get worse from here, but I'm afraid they've lost me. I'll consider the season 1 finale as the end of the story. That works better I think.

I initially gave 9 stars as SEASON 1 of The Hook Up Plan was a pleasant surprise. Witty, intelligent, and enjoyable. Excellent acting and far more believable than your typical romantic-comedy type TV show. Characters were multidimensional, episodes were coherent, soundtrack was good, and the Parisian scenery is always a delight to look at. The fact that I laughed out loud several times while watching a French series with English subtitles means the humor translates very well. Also, this might be a bit vapid - but the actors were all quite attractive in somewhat unconventional ways which gives this show that extra boost in my opinion.

Fast forward to Season 2 and I was left rather disappointed, hence my new review and lower rating. Lots of irrational, borderline bizarre behavior among the characters made the show loose a lot of its realistic and relatable appeal. Everything felt rushed, incoherent, and definitely lacked the original humor and cinematic creativity from the first season. It was still alright to watch but unfortunately not as entertaining or memorable as the first season.

Elsa (Zita Hanrot) has just left her darling after discovering he has an affair. When she also uncovers that they will soon be married, it is then total depression. She completely loses her self-confidence and becomes a real wreck. Her two best friends are Émilie (Joséphine Draï) who is a stifling and irritating woman and Charlotte (Sabrina Ouazani) who is a hot and sexy woman despite her voice of Mike Tyson. These two friends will have the idea as wacky as ludicrous to hire Jules, a handsome man (Marc Ruchmann) who will play the role of a male prostitute (this is actually his everyday job) without Elsa being aware of the trickery, so that she may regain confidence in herself. And what was to happen ... will happen!

It's invigorating and well played, especially with Zita Hanrot who is excellent, as usual. If you liked her in this role as depressive as irresistible, I recommend you one of her first films Fatima (2015) and one of her last School Life (2019) that I already saw early July, in preview. In addition, Paris is well highlighted, between the Hôtel de ville and the Île Saint-Louis.

As a synthesis, 6/7 of 10