I sat down this weekend to watch the show “Ozark”. Set in the Lake of The Ozarks, the main character Marty works as a financial adviser who also takes part laundering money for a Mexican drug cartel. I really hadn’t heard much about it going in, other than it took place in Missouri and involved meth. A classic Midwestern story. The intro begins and I can tell right off the bat I’m in for a dark drama. Or should I say, another, typical dark drama. Last week, my friend Anna Mercer posted a review of this same show. As she put it, the show is “not new. As the plot of the show continued to unfold, I felt like somehow, I’d already seen this before”. And I have to say, I couldn’t agree more.
One of the best aspects of the show is the thriller side of it. The main character Marty is involved with money laundering, as is his business partner and friend. His friend, however, gets caught in stealing some of the money. After multiple people are shot because of what he’s done, Marty quickly must figure out how to prevent being the last victim. After stealing his friends idea of moving business to the Ozarks, he is given 48 hours to get the money back and start the move to Missouri. The viewer is left wondering how Marty will get out of the situation. However, the problem is then solved before the end of the episode, and the pilot doesn’t seem to leave much hype for more after that.
By the end of the episode, the biggest problem is already solved, and the only question we are left with is “how will Marty launder money in the Ozarks”. No other deep questions that leave the viewers thinking for very long. Rumor has it that Marty will start making meth in order to have a large income. If that is the case, I can’t help but view this show as a Breaking Bad knockoff. A father of a broken family, making meth in order to stay afloat. While I’m sold on it taking place in Missouri, one of the major Meth Capitals of the US, the idea seems overdone and bland. As a cross between Breaking Bad and Winter's Bone, it should be a hit. But it offers up nothing new.
While this is not the worst show I’ve ever seen, it strikes me as pretty predictable. While I’m curious to know where Marty ends up, I can only imagine episodes will involve him trying to escape the police a few times, and troubles in his marriage and home life. Therefore, I'll let myself remain curious until I start a new series and forget about this one. While I feel as though I'll let this show be, I would, however, hesitantly recommend this show to a Breaking Bad fan who is looking for a very similar show.
This show actually features no police chases! Marty also definitely never resorts to making meth, especially since the drug the cartel is peddling in this show isn't meth. This show is pretty far from Breaking Bad, as the show starts long after Marty has already "broke" bad. Breaking Bad is all about Walter's slow change, and this show is thematically drastically different. I actually see very few similarities between the two besides their basic drug/family premise. I'll admit that in that respect, this show is derivative. I believe this show has many characters that are well fleshed out. Their actions feel realistic, based on their varying beliefs/motivations. I think you may have been too quick to dismiss this show as "predictable", because the things you have predicted are relatively far from what actually happens, or are intentionally vague.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you point out its similarities to Breaking Bad and Winter's Bone. That said, is it really that similar other than the simple premise? Plenty of classic movies and shows have basic premises that have been done many times before. It's what you do with the premise that will make it fresh or overdone. For instance, Schindler's List is far from the first film to deal with the holocaust, yet it is considered a classic. Same goes with Platoon. By the time Platoon came out in 1986, there had been one million and one films about the war in Vietnam. That said, many consider it to be one of the greatest war films ever and it won Best Picture that year. Because those are based off of real life, I will use one last example that is completely fictional. With that, I turn to La La Land from last year. La La Land is literally a throwback to the old musicals and features many prevalent themes in them including dreaming of fame and finding love. However, it was incredibly well loved and was nominated for 14 Oscars. Is the tone of Ozark similar to Breaking Bad? Does he have a partner? Does he fave family that is DEA/police? Does he also have to deal with a severe medical issue? To be honest, from what you described about the show, it seemed quite different to me. In regards to Winter's Bone, it sounds absolutely nothing like it other than the setting. Also, what about the show do you like? You never mentioned your thoughts on the pacing, music, writing, or acting. I honestly couldn't even tell if you liked the show or didn't. That said, this is still well written, just incredibly confusing to me personally.
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