Blockbuster

2022 - 11 - 3

Post cover
Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Blockbuster review – like stepping into a time warp (in a very bad way) (The Guardian)

This timid sitcom set in the last ever video rental store has such a dated feel. In the age of streaming services, this isn't good enough.

I think it is aiming to be a warm workplace comedy, and it has all those elements in place: the hapless yet lovable boss, a spark of romantic tension between colleagues, an ensemble of characters with their tics and quirks. Even more subversive might have been the fact that a show about the decline of a business that offered in-person recommendations and the human touch is housed on Netflix, which is, of course, part of the reason for its demise. Maybe it is unfair to expect this to be a spiky dark comedy, despite its themes. But the worst crime Netflix is accused of here is its algorithm recommending The Great British Bake Off to a man whose girlfriend left him for a pastry chef. Those of us old enough to remember the ceremony of renting a film at the weekend may be curious to see what nostalgia Blockbuster (Netflix) is able to conjure up. [“the last Blockbuster on Earth”](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/06/blockbuster-video-closes-remaining-stores).

Post cover
Image courtesy of "Variety"

'Blockbuster' Tries, and Fails, to Escape the Irony of Airing on Netflix ... (Variety)

Netflix's 'Blockbuster' can't escape the irony of its situation, despite Randall Park and Melissa Fumero's best efforts.

It could’ve ditched the 2022 setting and taken place in the past, even if a more recent one (the late aughts would do!). After this point, though, the show quietly drops this thread — or even any real suggestion that the last Blockbuster might follow in its doomed parent company’s footsteps — for so much of the 10-episode season that you’d be forgiven for wondering if it was suddenly taking place in an alternate universe. It’s not the fault of the show itself — a workplace comedy set in the last Blockbuster video store — that the biggest streaming service on the planet bought it, but without being set in the past, it has a hell of a hard time getting out from underneath that shadow all the same. For as hard as its upbeat music and capable actors try to sell it, “Blockbuster” struggles to land on a comedic tempo all its own. Even though the pilot episode throws out jokes that could’ve used a couple more passes, it at least promises some kind of mission statement for the show to come. Rounding out the Blockbuster staff are Madeline Arthur and Kamai Fairburn, who bring some welcome wild card energy to otherwise predictable scenes.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "Roger Ebert"

Netflix's Blockbuster is a Cute, Forgettable Sitcom | TV/Streaming ... (Roger Ebert)

Netflix got one of its biggest ha-has (read in Nelson Muntz voice) when it started hosting last year a little-seen documentary called “The Last Blockbuster ...

But there was a moment in which I was watching it that I forgot it was on and just went to do some dishes, only to remember that it was still playing. And then every now and then it’ll batch references in a manner that can best be called impressive, like when a single sentence mentions both “Escape Room 2” and “ But here, the employees are a pseudo dysfunctional family who talk about movies a lot (more on that later), and don’t have to worry too much about their store's relevancy.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "The A.V. Club"

Actually, maybe you don't want to make it a Blockbuster night (The A.V. Club)

Netflix's workplace comedy has plenty of talent, thanks to a cast led by Randall Park and Melissa Fumero, but not nearly enough laughs.

[Midsommar](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/midsommar-2019) and [La La Land](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/la-la-land-2016) to calling [James Corden a bully and a menace](https://www.avclub.com/james-corden-balthazar-apology-late-late-show-1849699576)—but none of it elicits as much as a chuckle. And [American Vandal](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/american-vandal)’s Tyler Alvarez and [To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/to-all-the-boys-i-ve-loved-before-2018)’s Madeleine Arthur are MVPs as the other fun duo, young coworkers and BFFs Carlos and Hannah. [Fresh Off The Boat](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/fresh-off-the-boat) and B99, respectively, aid the ensemble. The jokes often feel as dated as the Blockbuster gimmick it’s trying to pull off. It’s specifically reminiscent of workplace comedies like [Superstore](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/superstore), [Brooklyn Nine-Nine](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/brooklyn-nine-nine), [Parks And Recreation](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/parks-and-recreation), or the sadly short-lived [Great News](https://www.avclub.com/great-news-brings-a-bit-of-30-rock-s-spirit-back-to-nbc-1798191211) in terms of tonality, its diverse ensemble, and how it tries to tap into the zeitgeist. The humor is either cringe-worthy or forced, as are the situations that lead to it, including a prank gone wrong and a ridiculous solar storm that briefly turns off the internet. [Blockbuster](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/blockbuster-2022) is meant to evoke nostalgia. In typical Leslie Knope or Michael Scott fashion, his employees are pretty much like his family (a trope that rarely exists in the real world). Here, she’s saddled with a mostly one-note character as a disheveled wife fighting to find her “me time.” Fumero is quite entertaining, but the script doesn’t do her justice. In fact, the very first joke in the premiere is about how audiences have quickly pivoted to streaming over renting DVDs. Timmy Yoon (Randall Park) is the lovable manager of the last operating Blockbuster. the list goes on and on) that have tried to recapture old-school sitcom magic.

Explore the last week