The Curse

In the company of maybe Twin Peaks, The Curse is flat out the most bizarre and genre-breaking show i have watched. But there is also a strong grasp on human nature. A stream of brilliantly realized and utterly, utterly uncomfortable scenes that keep surprising. It never goes for The Laugh - which i admire so much. Yet i've been in tears with laughter often. It's such a punishing watch, but i can't stop thinking and laughing about the characters. A masterpiece with an unforgettable ending

Manufactured discomfort that is so pure it is genuinely transcendent, reflecting the behavior of our species in a modern, honest light. There is a surprisingly complex emotional core and a baseline of humanity here that never gets obscured by his use of absurdity and artifice. This ascends Fielder to new heights.

I intensely enjoyed this show. The fun an awe arise from great acting combined with storydriven adjustments in form, like geniuses as Lynch, Tarrantino, Cassavettes, Aronofsky are able to make work to tell a story for which the known techniques aren't sufficient. To me, Fielder is also on that list. The type of social cringe reminded me of The Office (the Gervais-version of course, which hasn't really been repeated since despite several attempts) and it took it a step further even.

There are times where it feels like a bore, but others when they really reach for the sky and achieve true poignancy. It mostly stays totally grounded, while at the same time being completely bizarre. It really sticks the landing with the (admittedly divisive) finale. Fielder is just next level genius and creates maybe the best Kafka-esque comedy we've ever been given.

If this was your first time seeing Nathan Fielder's dick, then you haven't dug deep enough

It’s 2023 and people want their entertainment pre-prepared, burnt to a crisp and blended into a rancid smoothie that they can lick up like a cat. These misguided mouthbreathers then take the time out of their day to log onto IMDB and shout their disparaging 1/10 reviews into the cold, uncaring void because they can't bare to actually chew their food for themselves. It seems the market wasn't ready for it, but if you've ever read a book longer than 120 pages then you may well be.

The first episode is one hour and just purely uncomfortable. Not once did I think this is a modern comedy. Not once did I snicker. Not once did I think, "Oh that was atleast clever.". It just flat out sucked.

Unless you're a massive fan of the actors in the show, then I would recommend skipping the season, but watching the finale. The finale basically has almost no relation to the rest of the show, but is particularly brilliant and will stick with you for a while. But my rating is for the show as a whole. I watched because I love Emma Stone, but the show fell flat in a lot of areas. The finale however was insane.

It's weird, funny, and uncomfortable to watch. Casting is fantastic, and so is the writing. Loved it

I don't think I disliked it. I don't think I liked it either. Expectations were beyond subverted, but with Nathan Fielder I was expecting subversion, which might have dampened the surprise. Maybe that's why I couldn't get into the whole drama before the finale, I knew something odd would happen due to Fielder making the show. How to rate this? Wish I knew.

It lacks Nathan's earlier parodization of the reality genre as it chooses explicit critique, instead of embodied mockery. Its mockery of white liberals' hypocrisy is too blunt and explicit to merit any praise. Plus, it tries to create an eerie, Lynch-esque atmosphere but falls short of that either. Many side characters are one-dimensional and superficial, not helping the plot at all. The final episode thinks it's so clever and original, but it's neither of those. Dull and sociopathic.

I hate saying about TV shows "it gets good at episode 5, I swear!" But that was certainly the case with this one, and I'm so happy I stuck with it, because this has really resonated with me. The precise satire is certainly funny, taking jabs at this woke white woman and her beta husband, but does so from a humanising place that takes some thoroughly unusual and surprising turns. In general, this has many scenes that are fantastically written and acted, and the last episode made me very anxious.

The first nine episodes could have been better, less cumbersome (no recency bias for the crazy finale, sorry)

I thought that "Nathan for You" was brilliant, and I don't mind glacial pacing if it builds to something worthwhile... but unfortunately the final episode was super lame!

First episode has set too high expectations for me. I love Nathan Fielder mockumentaries and a good portion of Safdie's work. But then it became meandering right until the last episode. That ep. is it's own surreal movie. Emma Stone was really good in this, if only they had the script to push it further.