Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant show! Fresh, funny and thought provoking.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2018
I'm a big Donald Glover fan ever since Community. I'll start by saying this show has a very different feel to it than the kind of comedy Donald is known for - it's no Community, 30 Rock, or SNL. I've read other reviews that call it ground breaking and I would agree - it can take you from balling over laughing to slamming you into a brick wall with a 30 second gritty situation that shines a light on life being poor and black living in the ghetto.
Earn (Donald Glover) is a smart, caring screw up always trying to ice skate up hill. In the first few episodes we learn he's dropped out of an Ivy League college up north to return to Atlanta and his parents won't let him in the house. He's always down on his luck-sometimes due to discrimination, sometimes due to growing up poor, others just because of his own poor decision making. But Donald makes the character so human you have to love him, even if you think sometimes he's getting exactly what he deserves. He's trying to figure things out with his on again, off again girl friend whom he has a young daughter with.
Straight man Brian Tyree Henry (Albert) is also brilliant. He reminds me very much of Bud Abbott although his Costello changes from scene to scene. One way his character stays fresh is that Albert is caught between a rock and a hard place - be the thug that promotes his rap in order to make it in music or, be who he is in reality: a pretty straight laced, nice guy (pot dealer) who has to get rough in some situations, mostly to fight getting screwed over because people try to take advantage of him or his cousin. He wants to be famous, but also wants to be able to be himself with his friends. One of my favorite episodes in this series was when he's featured on public access as a typecast as a thug against gay people. (Even if you don't like the first episode or two, please watch that before writing off the show.) Mix in Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) as your Kramer and you get comic gold.
Overall, this show is fresh, funny, and thought provoking. My husband and I still talk about some of the skits from Season one, even several months after watching it. It's definitely a comedy with lasting value.