Kidding

Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry can still do great things. It has never been so emotionally challenging to visit the backstage of a children's show. In terms of the acting, it's all on Jim, who still has it. He is well supported by Frank Langella (the great Dracula 50 years ago) or Catherine Keener. Even the hostesses show interesting faces here and there. An intense experience. (16/08/2019)

Season 1: This series is unlike any other and it's hard to describe in words what it is. On one hand, it breathes positivity on you, but on the other hand, it breaks your heart. Jim Carrey excels in his dramatic role after a long time, and it is visible that this is exactly what he needed, wanting to carve out a partial reflection of his own life through the character of a childlike role model, at least in a series format. The script is terribly strange in itself, often I didn't know what to think about it, even the form seemed terribly strange to me, not at all like a series. Gondry's style is simply extremely unclassifiable and unique, which is why it took me a while to get into "Kidding" and truly watch it. However, the dialogues and speeches are so heartfelt, human, tragic, but also incredibly funny, and each character seems to be from a different planet, which is why "Kidding" captivates me even for the second season, despite my reservations for some reason. Mr. Pickles's world is completely from a different universe, and I don't know why. Season 2 of "Kidding" is even more out of this world than the first, which I really can't explain. Many mysterious to fantasy elements are introduced here - for example, the storyline with Willem's son was incredibly interesting to me, but the second season was such a mess that I really don't know if all the events can be justified or clarified in any way. The twists gain momentum, swirling even more emotions here and each character deals with acute life struggles. I liked the character of Justin Kirk here, which enriched the plot with an interesting subplot. It must be said that the individual quality of episodes varies greatly, especially the middle part lacking creative depth and the fifth one with Ariana Grande was a total mindf**k, but the final three episodes were incredibly brilliantly written, they absolutely captivated me emotionally and spoke to my soul with several philosophies about life's happiness and unhappiness. Each character got their space to conclude their storyline, and I haven't seen a better series finale in a long time. Unfortunately, it doesn't compensate for the previous dull episodes. Even so, this series will be etched in my memory due to its human side. (28/06/2022)

1st season – 70% – I have long labored under the belief that half-hour dramedies from Showtime have been irreversibly stuck about ten years in the past. Dave Holstein (not coincidentally one of the writers of the great work Weeds from the same TV channel) decided to fill this gap in the cable market, but he grabbed it too forcefully. There are far more bitter moments than sweet ones, the line between weird and strange trembles dangerously throughout the entire season and breaks several times. Just like there are several scenes that I never knew I needed to see, there are many more that I definitely did not need or want to see. I'm not sure about the rating because despite the excellent performance by Jim Carrey and my beloved Judy Greer and Justin Kirk in supporting roles, it is pretty inept at building sympathy for the main character. The increasing intensity of his episodes and confusion is unsettling, waiting for a real turning point puts a decent amount of tension, but after the last episode (even though it was perfectly tight), some part of me doesn't want to keep on going, contrary to all my TV habits. 2nd season – 85% – A departure from incomprehensible scenes towards drama. Occasionally mischievous, more often surprisingly sad, but above all, good. Carrey, moreover, has definitively found himself in this role, and Jeff's vulnerability repeatedly brought tears to my eyes. A beautiful phenomenon when a series departs (however involuntarily) after its best episode. (25/08/2020)

There are several reasons why a viewer and a film (or in this case TV show) connoisseur should see this show. One of those reasons is the creator Michel Gondry, and another one is the lead role, which is portrayed by Jim Carrey who seems to be enjoying it. If you follow movies, TV shows and Hollywood in general at least a bit, you will know that Michel Gondry is crazy about efficiency and the anti-Hollywood absurdistan. Well and Jim Carrey? He’s an actor that pervades my entire life, so watching him in anything doesn’t require any justification on my part. But the result was a bit inconsistent. If you know Michel Gondry’s work, you can count on the fact that it will be no different in this case. On the other hand, Jim Carrey portrays himself to some extent and I can’t make up my mind as to to what extent he is doint that. The thing is that his character is very sad and at times so depressed that the depression spreads into your consciousness. But this might be why I find the TV show so interesting. Jim and depressions? You say that these things don’t work together? Then give this a try. (14/11/2018)