I am back with another fruitful month of watchables and since we are already halfway into May, I apologize, and I shall not waste time with further ado, and jump right in.

From Scratch

I’ll start with the theme of Italy. From Scratch is partially based in Italy (Tuscany and Sicily to be exact) and has been one of the few productions that has not completely ignored the facts, customs, and culture of the country. Zoe Saldana plays an American student in Florence who meets and falls in love with an Italian chef, they get married, move to the States and struggle with anything and everything that challenges an international couple.  Frankly, initially, I thought this was just another cute rom-com about Italy with stereotypes left, right, and centre. But no, it was quite well-researched and well-made. Perhaps the fact that Saldana is married to an Italian for years and has half-Italian children, kept the producers and cultural researchers on their toes, not allowing them to slack off.

The main reason this show is not too far from reality and steers clear of the stereotypes is that it is based on a memoir of the same name written by Tembi Locke.

Maybe the most unbelievable thing about the show was the fact that Saldana at the age of 42, played a twenty-something-year-old.

Available on Netflix.

Wellmania

I loved this. Adored it. Recommend it one hundred percent.

I knew Celeste Barber from her sarcastic Instagram videos mocking stunningly fit, thin, tanned, and affluent influencers, bragging about their wealth and good genes.

Ignorantly, I thought she too was a body-positive influencer and had no idea she was an actress and comedian as well as a writer.

This show is hilarious but also hits all the right notes when it comes to real-life issues and “drama”. The storyline is pretty simple-ish. Aussie food writer living in New York goes back home for a weekend to surprise her best friend for her 40th birthday, gets stuck in Sydney due to a series of unfortunate events not particularly pointing at her innocence, and has to get fit and prove to the American Embassy that she has some level of mental stability and physical health to be regranted a Green Card.

The humour is on point, the events are believable and the dialogues remain sharp throughout the season. Not to mention the acting that is marvelous, and I’m not just talking about Celeste Barber. Just fantastic. Give it a watch.

Available on Netflix.

Obsession

Yeah, no, don’t waste your time on this.

Superficial characters, unrealistic storyline (it’s supposed to be a drama, so you’d expect some level of believability), bad acting, and zero chemistry between actors.
This is if Anatomy of a Scandal and The Undoing had a baby and a pubescent teenager attempts a replica of it and feeds it to AI to sell it to us. Doesn’t make sense? Yeah, I know, neither does this show.
I don’t even want to know what in the Fifty Shades of Grey is the novel that inspired this show.

I mean look at the poster. I really tried to find another less ridiculous photo for this post, but could not find any. And honestly, if that’s what the producers are comfortable putting out there, then so be it.

Many a sex scene, yet no meaningful moments. I don’t know why I’m including this. Then again, if you are looking for something slightly better than reality TV, this should be your pick.

If you must, this is available on Netflix.

Beef

I had high hopes for this one. It’s not every day, month, or even year that you see a popular streaming service come out with a show or film with minority protagonists (or antagonists in this case). Beef does just that. But that is almost all it gets right. The show revolves around the subject of revenge and anger and basically not letting go. And boy do they not let go. The series is just too long for what they are trying to convey and quite frankly, boring after the fourth episode.

The characters are unlikable and annoying, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as they are all created as antagonists, but the point could have been made and the show wrapped up in three episodes.

Available on Netflix

The Diplomat

I’d been excited to watch this ever since the trailer came out, mainly because it’s about politics, specifically American and British politics, and as an icing on the cake, Iran is involved. Yes, in all the wrong ways you would imagine Iran to be involved in the plot of a political drama. But that’s what we have to work with currently. Until the revolution prevails…

However, I will have one entire post dedicated to this one as I want to go into a more in-depth review of the way it portrays women in politics.

In the meantime, I urge you to watch it.
Available on Netflix.

The Sum of it All and Subtract Album by Ed Sheeran

And to end the first part of this month’s reviews, I’ll wrap up with a music-themed show.
It’s no secret that I am a huge Ed Sheeran fan. My admiration for him isn’t limited to the way I adore his songwriting abilities. In fact, a large part of my respect for him comes from how I see him as a human being and an artist. I am not naïve. I understand that this could be a fake persona he is presenting to the world, and in reality, he’s an absolute stuck-up narcissist. However, I do believe from personal experience of being close to several narcissists, that they cannot keep up the “acting” for more than a couple of years, max.
I appreciate Sheeran being humble without selling himself short, his pride in giving hard work the utmost importance and not crediting all of his success to talent alone, and his dedication to family, friends that are family, and home. He has molded his career in a way to accommodate his role as a father and husband and has employed all of his friends and family (cousins) to have a piece of home when he is on tour and away from his hometown of Suffolk. This is extremely rare for a globally acclaimed recording artist, and it makes him unique.
I do believe these attributes have largely contributed to him becoming a great songwriter and an absolutely incredible performer (his concert to this day is the best I have ever been to. It was just him and his Loop in a full arena in Miami).

In his most recent documentary, a four-part show by Disney streamed just before the release of his “most personal album yet”, Subtract, he delves into the most personal challenges including grief and fear of losing loved ones.
Frankly, even though the most recent album is very unapologetically sad, it is my favourite work of his so far. I am wondering if I had not watched the documentary I would feel the same way, as the majority of the album’s context was discussed in the show. But a couple of the songs have me in tears each time I listen to them, whether I am behind the wheel on my way to work or on my Peloton sweating my tits off. Honestly, listener discretion must be advised.

You don’t have to be an Ed Sheeran fan to enjoy this documentary. The topics discussed are so universal, they spill over the borders of culture and musical taste.

And if you are a Sheeran fan, then you’re in for a treat, or an emotional ride. Either way, it is a great watch.

Available on Disney.

That’s it for now. Till next time, Happy Bingeing!