by Deborah Lipp
Last night I sat down to watch Hulu's new series, Four Weddings and a Funeral. First I looked in their “TV” section and couldn’t find it. Then I looked in their “Originals” section – it wasn’t there. Then I searched. “F” and “FO” did not bring it up. The only result for “FOU” was Found. I had to enter the R before the title appeared in my search results.
Folks, be warned: Even the network is hiding it...
Naturally, I had some trepidation about a TV show based on one of my all-time favorite movies, but the presence of Richard Curtis and Mindy Kaling was somewhat reassuring. I was prepared not to like it, but I was not prepared for how globally, fundamentally bad this show is. None of the characters are terribly likable. Kash, played by Nikesh Patel, is an exception; he has a sweet and sorrowful charm. But the big disappointment is Nathalie Emmanuel, who seemed ready for a breakout role after Game of Thrones. Unfortunately she’s a blank slate, with no comedic timing, and her character, Maya, is nothing but a series of stupid life choices. She’s a problem solver who solves no problems, and a communications director who fails to communicate.
Jokes fall flat, timing is off, characters are jerks, and the music is awful. Why am I watching? Oh, yeah, I promised Nathaniel a review.
Nikesh Patel, left, is the MVP of the Hulu series
Oddly, this show is obsessed, not with the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral, but with Love, Actually, to which it nods as often as possible. I caught two references to the show’s namesake movie (including opening with a barrage of “fuck”s), but at least four or five to Love, Actually, including a stupid and insulting return to the white flashcard messages which have been parodied too often to take seriously (or comedically, I guess).