Mr. Corman: What the Must Watch reviewers think
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell share their thoughts on Mr. Corman on Apple TV Plus.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a teacher struggling with anxiety and loneliness.
Apple TV
Hayley says: "A drama that’s occasionally very funny"
“I liked it. We’ve had a kind of drought lately of slick, well-made shows like this. It feels more like an indie film in multiple parts than a normal sitcom. I always find Joseph Gordon-Levitt is watchable no matter what he’s doing, and that counts for a lot in this because the synopsis for this show is ‘man in his thirties who doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life' which could be the synopsis for about 50 other shows that came out this year.
It's billed as a comedy-drama, so it's not always laugh-out-loud funny. There are bits that are quite bleak and real because he’s going through anxiety and loneliness, and clearly these experiences and feelings come from a real place, and are very relatable to anyone who's lived through it or been with someone who did. But mixed in there with the horror of existing in the world, there are some things that are just incredibly funny. There’s a bit where his flatmate sees he’s having a panic attack so he tries to make a weight blanket for him by bringing in a normal blanket and then laying on top of him and refusing to get up. I thought it really captured that uselessness you feel when you see that a friend is struggling and you want to help but their mental situation is beyond your remit.
“It’s not strictly a comedy don’t go in expecting one, but if you want a drama that’s occasionally very funny – I think you might like it too.”
Apple TV
Scott says: "This is experimental – it requires your attention"
“It does take a while to get into and I did find Joseph’s character really difficult to read. You need to have a character – even if they are struggling – that you can latch onto a bit understand what they’re going through. The first episode is very disjointed and I really found it was lacking a sense of direction, but then in the second episode it has the most perfect depiction of anxiety and a panic attack I have ever seen on TV. You really feel his heartbeat constantly increase and his anger and frustration that nobody understands what he is going through.
“This is experimental – it requires your attention. It is sometimes verging on a level of pretentiousness that gets a bit frustrating, but I do admire its originality. It’s worth sticking with and as Hayley says, there’s been a bit of a glut of shows on at the moment and this is a show that can help fill the gap.”
Apple TV
Mr. Corman is available now on Apple TV Plus.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other good podcast providers.
This week, the team hear from Iain Stirling and Steve Bugeja about Buffering on ITV2. Plus, Scott and Hayley review Write Around The World with Richard E Grant on BBC Four.
