Reviews

There are many aspects about this series that I love. The cinematography is beautiful. The choice for B&W works. Others complained about the pacing, but I liked it. It's a great looking show and well written.

There are however a lot of things that irritated me. For one, the casting of Andrew Scott as Ripley. He is too old for the role. And he made the character seem unintelligent and charmless. Why would Dickie and Marge be his friend? Why would they invite him anywhere? Both Dickie and Ripley lacked a certain mid-century, classic "American-ness" in their roles for obvious reasons.

The casting of Freddie felt a bit off for me as well.

Overall, I thought it was a good effort. But just a bit flat. Beautiful but flat.

There is something so fun and refreshing about this show. I was just expecting to watch it for the eye candy (the costumes and sets are gorgeous) but stayed for the plot! Kristen Wiig is a surprising yet perfect choice for Maxine, and Allison Janney is understated and hilarious. It's nice to see a cast of people where the average age is above 35. (Also, what a treat to have a 90 year old Carol Burnette still funny without saying a word) Not many shows are as delightful as the Palm Royale, perfectly balancing light-hearted entertainment with a sexy who-dunnit-plot. I'm sure some people will say it's too much fluff, and maybe it is, but all I know is that I'm extremely entertained and want a Grasshopper. Watch this show!