Real Rob: Really Strange

This week I decided to watch the docudrama Real Rob about the life of Rob Schneider. Not only was the pilot episode unamusing, the vibe of the show was similar to one of those shows you watch in middle school about the life of a good kid gone drug user. By that I mean that the acting is horrible and predictable, overall aesthetic is sub-par, and the message is overdone. I was really not a fan of this one and not sure what the point of this show is, but it seems to me that it's Schneider's last ditch effort to remain relevant.

The show begins with an odd cuddling scene between him and his wife in which she doesn't let him touch her boobs because all he does is touch himself, then his face, then his phone... Understandable. After a brutally staged baby cry, Schneider does the ritual that she accuses him of. I found this to be an incredibly dry and predictable format that carried out in the rest of the show. I suppose the point was to be comedic, but it didn't reach that point for me at all.

Later, Schneider's assistant fails to pick him up on time from the airport and the whole encounter is just a mess of terrible acting. Apparently, the assistant had a bad break up with his girlfriend and had to move out, leaving very little room for anything in his tiny car packed with his personal items. Schneider's reaction is horribly cookie cutter and at this point I'm not quite sure how "docu" this docudrama really is.

The scenes are interjected with random interview portions, like a documentary, but they seem scripted out of the wazoo. The effect I think they were going for was like a Modern Family, awkward-funny style, but unfortunately it fell short and again, missed the point of what should've been achieved.

The remainder of the show follows suit in such a way that exploring more examples would be a cycle of cliche repetition. Overall, this show was a 1/10 for quality of the acting, originality, and comedic effect. I'm kind of sad that Netflix gave it a 97% match for me.

As far as the opposition of my opinion, one could argue that the weird, failed awkward effect is exactly what they were going for and that, perhaps, it mirrors Schneider's life quite well. To that I would say how sad. If that's the case, it gives you a glimpse into the utterly tragic life of the "Real Rob."