BARRY: SEASON 1 REVIEWED
“Barry” kicked off its first season with a bang. Bill Hader has earned Emmy recommendation for directing and starring in this series. He also got a co-writing nom with Alec Berg, so he’s like a regular Orson Welles of HBO. But, the show is about a hitman learning how to act. Honestly, I can already hear the cynical out there bemoaning that it’s just an uber Hollywood take on “Grosse Pointe Blank”. They wouldn’t be wrong.
However, Bill Hader mines something that John Cusack didn’t touch in the 1990s. This isn’t a hitman that misses the past, this is a hitman that misses humanity. His desperate attempts to bond with his acting troupe or latch onto Henry Winkler should be touching & sad. What HBO found with this Bill Hader project is a dramatic comedy that moves past violence and into the toll it takes. Plus, it also has the funniest performance of Doubt that I’ve ever seen.
I can’t wait for Season 2, as it seems to be rapidly becoming my favorite HBO original series. I’ve been running loose on HBO originals for the last few years. It’s nice to have a new favorite.
SHOW STATS
- 8 episodes
- TV-MA
- HBO
