Reviewed by Allie Schembra
Three-time Emmy-nominee Bill Hader (SNL) stars in the critically acclaimed dark comedy series, Barry: Season 1, available for Digital Download on June 18th. Cast regulars also include Henry Winkler (Royal Pains), Stephen Root (True Blood), Sarah Goldberg (Hindsight), Glenn Fleshler (True Detective), and Anthony Carrigan (Gotham). Barry (Hader) is a depressed hitman from the Midwest, and while on a job in Los Angeles, he follows his mark into an acting class and has a career epiphany when he discovers the intoxicating world of theater acting. Instantly drawn to the class and students, Barry is eager to leave his lonely, cold-hearted job behind, but as he attempts to start a new life in LA, his criminal ties won’t let him walk away, forcing him to find a balance between both worlds.
Show (3 out of 5 stars)
Here's a breakdown of the season:
Chapter 1: Make your Mark -- Barry is a contract killer who is hired for a job in Los Angeles. While he's doing recon on his target, Ryan, he inadvertently joins in on the Ryan’s acting class. After the class, Barry hangs out with the group, and ends up befriending them. He then decides he wants to be an actor and officially auditions to join the class. When he goes to kill Ryan, he sees the men who hired him has already done it and takes them out instead.
Chapter 2: Use It -- Barry decides to tell Fuches he doesn't want to be an assassin anymore and dedicates himself to his acting. When the acting class decides to hold a memorial for Ryan, he, for the first time, sees the aftermath of one of his kills. Meanwhile, the Chechens who hired Barry want him to instead kill someone else and threatens him and Fuches.
Chapter 3: Make the Unsafe Choice -- Barry continues with his acting classes and also as an assassin. As he's about to perform the hit, he receives a call telling him to wait. Fuches is still with the Chechens and is doing his best to stay alive by analyzing everyone he comes into contact with.
Chapter 4: Commit... to You -- Barry continues his double life and decides to tell Fuches once and for all that he's out. But Fuches has other plans and after showing up at a party Barry is attending, he gives him the information for his next job. Barry joins Facebook and reconnects with an old friend from the marines who shows up to the party with a couple others. After causing trouble at the party, Barry and his friends leave and Barry's secret may be out.
Chapter 5: Do Your Job -- As the police get closer to identifying Barry in relation to Ryan's murder, he and Fuches meet with the Chechens who consider calling off the new job. In acting class, Sally tells Barry they should not talk to each other and are subsequently paired up as scene partners. As they work the scene, Barry related it to his life and loses his temper with his classmates. Barry finally pulls off the new job with Taylor, a guy who found out what was going on... and introduces him to Fuches.
Chapter 6: Listen with Your Ears, React with Your Face -- Barry, Fuches, and Taylor do recon for their next job and when hanging out with Taylor later, Barry realizes that Taylor could replace him. Taylor, though has other ideas. Barry continues rehearsing his scene with sally, who decides she's better than the lady Macbeth role and asks gene for more. Detective moss runs into one of the Chechens who is at the theater to kill sally, and ends up facing off with him outside the theater. On assignment day, Taylor shows up at the hotel and when Barry rushes him out of the hotel, he sees Taylor has brought back up.
Chapter 7: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going -- At the job, Barry, Taylor, and the other run into trouble and after a deadly shootout, Barry and Chris make it out and Barry rushes to class and finds out Sally has taken his role. NoNo Hank calls to tell Fuches Barry may be dead, and Detective Moss connects Taylor to the acting class through Ryan. At the class performance of Shakespeare scenes and monologues, Barry freaks out, but delivers his line perfectly which provides Sally with the emotion she needed to nail her performance.
Chapter 8: Know Your Truth -- Fuches goes to the Chechens to turn against Barry who has firmly told him that he’s out. As the Chechens begin to kill Fuches, Barry arrives and kills them, wrapping up Detective Moss' whole case into a nice, neat bow. Barry meets the acting class at the bar, and has a moment with Sally who asks him to do a play with him. Barry and Sally rekindle their relationship and Gene and Detective Moss rekindle theirs. At Gene’s mountain home, the four of them enjoy a weekend together. Gene tells Detective Moss about Barry's first monologue, which gets Moss's wheels turning again. As she secretly checks out Barry, she realizes he's the one she's been looking for the whole time. Barry confronts her and tries to explain everything to her, asking her to understand and to just let it all go.
“Barry” is an interesting show. I liked it enough, but it’s not one of those shows I would binge watch multiple times. For me, it’s more of an “if it’s on and I don’t have anything else to watch” kind of show. I did really enjoy Henry Winkler as Gene, the acting teacher. He brings a lot of laughs to the show. Bill Hader was as awkward as Barry, the assassin-turned-actor and it worked well. The ensemble cast worked well together and the story held my attention. The direction was really good and each episode flowed perfectly into the next and each scene flowed well.
Video (3 out of 5 stars)I watched a digital version of “Barry,” so the picture wasn’t anything extra like if it were on a Blu-ray or DVD. The picture was fine, colors were good, and there were no issues with the picture. I liked how the scenes transition into each other whether it was by color, fade, or cut away.
Audio (3 out of 5 stars)
The volume levels in “Barry” were good. At some moments, the gunshots seemed a bit too loud and I adjusted my volume a little bit, but nothing was significant to cause any real issues. The dialogue was clear and easily heard, and the background flowed nicely into the dialogue.
Extras (2 out of 5 stars)
I don’t know if what was available could be actual “special features,” but each episode has a short behind-the-scenes featurette with the creators. Each was slightly interesting, and would have been better as one long featurette.
Summary (3 out of 5 stars)
“Barry” is a show with an interesting concept. While it isn’t my favorite and won’t be added to my DVR list, I am sure I will watch it if it’s on. For me, it also wasn’t a binge-worthy show, as I started getting distracted after a couple of episodes. In this time of instant watching, “Barry” is a good show to pass the time or have on in the background.
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