Barry: Season 1 (Digital HD)
TV Reviews | Jun 24th, 2018
Starring: Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan
Created By: Alec Berg, Bill Hader
Studio: HBO
When I think of Bill Hader, I don’t think hitman which makes Barry such a unique show. The first season is dark, at times very funny and it’s enjoyable enough to continue watching it. Barry Season 1 is now available on digital download.
Barry is about former marine and hitman Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) who gets jobs from his handler, Monroe Funches (Stephen Root). He isn’t exactly happy with his life but begrudgingly accept his latest job in LA. He has to perform a hit for the Chechen mob and follows his target to an acting class. He ends up liking the acting class so much, he wants to become an actor instead. Of course, he still has to complete the job, and then deal with the Chechens, Funches keep trying to give him new jobs, as well the police trying to track down a killer. Meanwhile, he falls for a classmate Sally (Sarah Goldberg) and gets guidance about his acting from his teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). Even though he’s trying to act and be a better person, he still has his past creeping up in various ways.
I didn’t know what to expect from Barry but ended up liking the first season a lot. It wasn’t the type of show to watch live but definitely I watched it the next night. Let’s get to the minor negatives first. The episodes felt short in a way and kind of wished it was an hour but have fewer episodes. Once the episodes would get into some sort of rhythm, they were over. I thought the show was funny but could have been funnier. The show can be very dark, considering he’s a hitman and still has a habit of ya know, killing people and snapping at people. The finale was a bit dark with what happened in the final minutes and really curious to see where the series will go next. Honestly, I can’t see it going past season 3. After that, it just feels like it will outstayed its welcome and get stale in terms of story. At some point he will have to face what happened in the first season.
The positives for the show is despite it being about a hitman, it’s still hilarious in the way it’s done. The bad guys (Chechens) are funny and add to the comic relief. Bill Hader plays the conflicted character quite well but sometimes I still can’t get past that this guy is Stefan. I think the scene stealer for the show is the Fonz, Henry Winkler. The stuff he says and does in the classroom is good, but him hitting on Paula Newsome’s character was great. I thought Barry visualizing his normal life with Sally was funny too. Again, no idea where the show goes but I hope it keeps getting funnier and less dark but can’t see how that happens with the subject matter.
I’m reviewing the digital download since that’s currently out. Not sure when the Blu-Ray is available but the streaming of the episodes looked good. It’s what you expect from HBO and streaming. Each episode had a brief inside look in the episodes, which I believe are the same things we can watch on YouTube. There’s also a World of Barry featurette. The extras are only available for participating providers though but they were there for my Vudu account.
Barry is definitely not a show for everyone since it’s a dark one. It’s also very funny, but can be troubling to watch at times. I’m hoping season 2 is funnier and less dark but I wouldn’t mind it having the same balance as season 1 either.
Features:
World of Barry
Inside The Episodes
Bottom Line: Dark but very funny first season from Bill Hader’s Barry
Rating: NR
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
