Flack - Series 1 [DVD]

I am in a quandry. How many stars should I give a series that I just didn't like at all.?? I cannot and won't criticise the actors who give their all - Paquin/Lydia Wilson/Sophie Okonedo and Rebecca Benson all do the best they can with what I felt was a script that did not do the subject justice. Neither Fish nor fowl - drama or comedy - an uneasy mix of both. I found myself unable to find anything likeable or sympathetic about any of the characters, and oddly, found the constant (and I mean frequent) use of the "f" word and to a lesser extent, the "c" word to be gratuitous (Paradoxically I can take it in "DEXTER" so why not here? Don't really know. The guest stars are OK, particularly Bradley Whitford in Ep 5, but like the other eps I couldn't see the point. I write this in the teeth of 5 star reviews, all obviously heartfelt, so It's minority/unpopular time for me, but I thought it worth putting my neck on the line. The DVD looks fine, some nice location work, good sound and optional English subtitles. Extras include an interview with Paquin, and actress I have secretly been in love with since "True Blood" - just not here. I have given 4 stars because my disliking the series does not make it bad. Judge for yourself!

If this film were half as funny or half as clever as it thinks it is, then 10 stars would be too few. I suppose if you enjoy gratuitous insult, cheap upper-crust grunge, fatuous story lines and characters unlovable to the pount of "fetch me a bucket just in case...." you might get a kick out of this. The sets are as unconvincing as the old Monty Python skits used to be (the aircraft and its bumpy landing!), the filming is unimaginative and repetive, the delivery of the lines is rapid-fire and half-inaudible (except for the one per-sentence f- and c- words). WHAT A WASTE! The idea that lies behind the show is brilliant: to reveal to hollowness, the deceitfulness, the dishonesty, and the hypocrisy behind the fake news, the fake celebrities, the fake entertainment and the fake cleverness that threatens to engulf our daily world. Good idea too to see this threat from the viewpoint of the manipulators -- give them enough rope to hang themselves. But they don't hang themselves -- they just make themselves look like pigs in lipstick. Five stars for the idea: no stars for the execution. Balance: 2 stars.

Some guy on GQ gave this the thumbs down but I can't believe he was watching the same series. It's set in a trendy PR Agency and maybe he thought it was meant to be a serious treatment of that world. Instead, it's a tragi-comic pastiche of that world, a Devil Wears Prada meets Mad Men thing, which I found both hilarious (the Cheshire footballer's wedding is utterly priceless and had me gasping for breath) and touching (the main character isn't without redeeming features). I really hope they make another series.

I saw a few clips and thought I would give it a go and I wasn't dissapointed! It is shockingly accurate in today's online world where celebs are dying to improve their followers and it's all about 'spinning' a celeb story. Each episode gets more and more shocking, in a 'how far will she go' kinda way! Thankfully the American guy gets his karma via a tip off but by the end of the series it just reinforced all the things I personally hate about this new breed of fame hungry wanna be's. The footballers act like a headline from the late great News of the World and everyone is deliciously bad! I can honestly say the cool calm wit of the PR boss played by Sophie Okonedo is legendary but Anna Paquin definitely steals the show! I'm praying for a 2nd season!!!