Rating: 3.5/5
At a very first glance, a quick Google search will open up the initial premise of this show as a dark comedy or satire in the eyes of any viewer, and why wouldn’t it be?
With Bill Hader as not only the lead but also the executive producer and director for a good number of episodes in all three seasons; and with the magic of the 5-minute SNL skits not lost on anyone, every seasoned viewer can smell a potential comedy-drama brewing with fairly short episodes. But to anyone's surprise, it's so much more.
Bill Hader plays a depressed and dejected low-level hitman in this dark comedy, who is lonely and unsatisfied with his life and on an unappealing trip to Los Angeles to carry out a hit on an aspiring actor; Barry finds a welcoming home in a bunch of eager dreamers within the LA theatre industry after following his "mark" into an acting class, especially a fellow student Sally (Sarah Goldberg). Inspired, he attempts to seek a way out, but his handler, Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root), and his tainted criminal past are not easy to let go of.
With 9 Emmy wins, including outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (2019, 2018), Bill Hader delivers the performance that is the epitome of an anti-hero whom we can’t help but root for. And not only he but every major character is portrayed so realistically in their complexity that there is no good person or bad person. There will be instances or actions that’ll make the audiences dislike one or more characters at some point but also with the slightest hardship that any of them face, the pang of pity is undeniable.
As a viewer, you’re on the edge of your seat with every action (whether rash or unnervingly strategic) that Barry takes and the offbeat delivery of most of the scenes occasionally and convincingly gives a peek towards something much more intense to the very core of the mature nature of some of the themes that the show seemingly tackles (like PTSD and domestic violence).
But even the appalling and dreadful aspects of the plot cannot hold back the show from being funny. Surprise is the element of greatest importance with the crafty switch and alteration between the comedy and drama elements of this “dramedy”, with no indication for the audience to determine what will come next; the gasp or the laugh.
There is a commendable build-up in the intensity of all the characters’ actions as a viewer moves on to a new season from the previous one. The sympathy that all of us might’ve felt for Barry despite the wrongness of his actions in the first season, feels something wrong to have by the third season. And his struggle with the core of his own violent nature of being is well-depicted by Hader as seen in a closing scene in one of the episodes in the second season. The slightest flicker of the duality of emotions on his face with the anger that builds up in his eyes and the cruel turn of his lip that points to the very flaw of being human: ‘not being able to change who you are’ is all overwhelmingly genius.
One of the most imploring themes of the show, especially in the first two seasons is the satire it poses on Hollywood and its fragility of success through the character arc of an aspiring actor, Sally Reed. And it boils down to Hollywood being nothing but a dehumanized corporation that increasingly relies on algorithm-producing creativity every day.
As seen in the show itself, Sally who has worked herself hard every single day to fulfill her dream finally lands a project that is worthy of her talents and hardships but all of it is lost just because a few numbers on the screen do not match what the people may or may not like. But on the other hand, Barry who has never been career-driven towards acting and has mostly seen the classes he attends as an escape lands a co-lead in a feature film by simply being tall and not even trying.
Overall, the show gives the concept of a ‘dark comedy’, ‘drama-comedy’ or a ‘dramedy’ a new face with the freshness of a plot that attempts to fit in the Venn diagram with the utmost sincerity and creativity.
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