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March 28, 2024, 05:14:13 PM

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The Rehearsal - Nathan Fielder's new HBO series

Started by Small Man Big Horse, June 25, 2021, 09:11:24 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

McFlymo

Yes, the many layers of reality Nathan is playing with / juggling / working through is a bit mind boggling in itself.

What do you do when you can control everything (and everyone)?

Certainly very Synechedoche*, New York and kinda like all of Charlie Kaufman's stuff, really.

As others have said: I am enjoying it, but I am unsure what I am meant to feel, other than perhaps the numbness of choice paralysis.

Must say there have been some great moments though.
Spoiler alert
I was glad that that woman revealed herself to be quite a horrible anti-Palestinian, because she seemed quite shit at arguing with Angela. And when Angela simply said, "I believe in Jesus" seeing her lose her temper and leave, I was left thinking, "Is that all you've got?" So yeah. She was pretty awful.
[close]


* - More like Syneche-DOUCHE, am I right?

Ferris

Synecdoche is pronounced syn-ECK-do-KAY isn't it?

MrMrs

Correct and i rewatched this week. It's so good

Ferris

Unusually, I've got a bit of time tonight so I'll give this one another go.

Ferris

Rewatched it and thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Fuck is wrong with me.

McFlymo

Quote from: Ferris on August 17, 2022, 09:07:21 PMSynecdoche is pronounced syn-ECK-do-KAY isn't it?

Synec-DOUCHE-kay...?

I rewatched episode 4 before embarking on 5 and yeah, I invested a lot more into the emotional side of it than with the first viewing. That seemed weird, because I was sort of paying less attention (using the rewatch more as a reminder / recap).

Ferris

T-16 hours for the finale. Really excited to see where it all ends up, especially as I can't imagine what a second season of this looks like so it's probably a conclusion rather than an "end of series" if that makes sense (it doesn't).

sevendaughters

Not really getting the Synecdoche vibes everyone else seems to. In fact, I kind of come at Nathan from documentary rather than comedy, so I think I'm not really looking for the laughs so much. I think N4Y really switched its animus part way through, that the show became split between 'funny business advice parody' and 'a sophisticated unpacking of televisual artifice' that had a compelling lead/puppetmaster. The form of this show, his relationship with John Wilson, the direction of the 'special episodes' of N4Y all sort of say to me this is a guy who was looking to break out of a particular stylistic straitjacket. But also there's something fundamentally hilarious about the N4Y type bits in The Rehearsal too, like the whole Thrifty Boy thing. Just rambling here.

notjosh

Quote from: McFlymo on August 17, 2022, 08:41:05 PM
Spoiler alert
I was glad that that woman revealed herself to be quite a horrible anti-Palestinian, because she seemed quite shit at arguing with Angela. And when Angela simply said, "I believe in Jesus" seeing her lose her temper and leave, I was left thinking, "Is that all you've got?" So yeah. She was pretty awful.
[close]

I thought it was pretty unfair of her to label Angela an anti-semite (even though she might be - I wouldn't care to guess) on the basis of her objection to a specific part of Jewish religious doctrine.

QDRPHNC

Quote from: notjosh on August 19, 2022, 05:11:07 PMI thought it was pretty unfair of her to label Angela an anti-semite (even though she might be - I wouldn't care to guess) on the basis of her objection to a specific part of Jewish religious doctrine.

I thought so too, she's perfectly entitled to her (nutty) beliefs without being labelled a bigot.

The Crumb

Apparently it's been renewed so probably no reality destroying televisual apocalypse for the last episode.

sevendaughters

Quote from: notjosh on August 19, 2022, 05:11:07 PMI thought it was pretty unfair of her to label Angela an anti-semite (even though she might be - I wouldn't care to guess) on the basis of her objection to a specific part of Jewish religious doctrine.

it was but the ending changes this when you realise who the real bigot is

PlanktonSideburns

Quote from: Ferris on August 19, 2022, 11:53:31 AMT-16 hours for the finale. Really excited to see where it all ends up, especially as I can't imagine what a second season of this looks like so it's probably a conclusion rather than an "end of series" if that makes sense (it doesn't).

hope he does this evey year for the rest of his life

angela back in for a couplea episodes in season 12, walks again

g0m


g0m

For how intense that was it also had some of the biggest laughs of the series too [thinking
Spoiler alert
the extras at the party and adult adam
[close]
. Not sure how the fuck series 2 is going to pick up from this but it'd be funny if it was just wholly a standalone reboot

PlanktonSideburns

anyone found a uk accesible verision of the last episode?

g0m

no sorry an american friend with a hbo max trial account streamed it over discord

PlanktonSideburns


elliszeroed

That was intense. I'm going to have to binge watch the whole series for the full effect I think.

Definitely something special there.

PlanktonSideburns

Quote from: PlanktonSideburns on August 20, 2022, 07:40:04 AManyone found a uk accesible verision of the last episode?

DM me anyone with this problem


PlanktonSideburns

Spoiler alert
yea, that landed the plane for me - that one was full of laughs and nice characters to balance the sinister meta stuff, some of my favourate funny moments in this have been nathan being a cheeky uvunular with the kids. really enjoyed last weeks crazy episode, but this one worked as a drama as well as a meta doco
[close]

Memorex MP3

Opening scene of that episode was the best thing in the season other than the stuff with the dragonball guy in episode 3, a great bit.

The stuff with Remy was pretty great too. I imagine we'll never hear much detail about what went on there due to it being a young kid but it seemed really concerning.


Rewatching some episodes of season one of Nathan For You I forgot how there were bits that didn't really work where he was probably getting far more out of the experience than the audience. I think a lot of this show has been that kind of impulse of just doing stuff that he thinks will be interesting for him to experience taken into overdrive, it's a guy who isn't the most natural presence on screen (and probably in person?) forcing himself into situations where he'll be emotionally compromised.


My suspicion is they planned a format much closer to the first episode with the Adam stuff running alongside them (and taking complete focus in the finale) but totally failed and had to focus on Adam much more as a result. The end result is a hell of a lot more interesting than most stuff on television but still felt like it didn't hit anywhere near as hard as it could have for me.
Probably gonna rewatch it all pretty soon so I can watch it without issues around overly high expectations.


Long post to type on my tiny phone, that's all probably incoherent but I needed to say it asap

Moribunderast

I don't think I've posted in this thread but I have been reading along as I watch the show each week. I think I've found it funnier than most seemed to but have found the cerebral aspect of the show very intriguing and that finale certainly delivered more of the latter than the former for me.

Spoiler alert
I felt VERY uncomfortable with the Remy stuff - it was quite upsetting. There's been the concern through the whole show that these rehearsals could be quite mentally upsetting for people involved and it was sad to see the kid so confused. I will say, the direction the episode took surrounding that confusion was absolutely compelling and though I laughed quite a bit it felt more like an intense drama to me than a comedy show by the end. The very last scene was absolutely fascinating and I'm looking forward to smarter people than I making their comments about it.
[close]

Overall, I adored the show. I have a heavy bias because Nathan For You is arguably my favourite comedy show of all-time (in the conversation, at least, with Brass Eye, Larry Sanders and Delocated) but I thought this was a very strange but very enjoyable extension of Nathan's previous work. I would love to hear some behind the scenes stuff because it feels like there "should" have been more rehearsals and I wonder if some attempted ideas had to be aborted or just didn't work out. The first episode was certainly completely different than what followed and I'm intrigued to see if that was deliberate or a matter or circumstance. Either way, Nathan continues to be one of the most compelling comedic minds on television and I'm thrilled this has been renewed for a second season. It'll be interesting not just for the continuation of the story and themes but also to see if they change things up based on lessons learned from the first.

sevendaughters

I really enjoyed it. I'm going to have to see it again because some of the v/o stuff felt like it was veering toward Americanist 'we all learned what was really important' but I also think it might have been a piss-take of all of that too. At least three bits really went near the knuckle in quite a thrilling way, but I think I was also too concerned to be laughing. Such a weird and unique place to be in as a viewer, unforgettable stuff really.

elliszeroed

I find it hard to talk about this stuff- like butting my head against a grey wall.

I hope all the Remy stuff was acted and not genuine. Otherwise I think it is a form of gaslighting/ child abuse- which could lead HBO into million dollar lawsuits. I like to think the best of the production team, and the legal team (!), that they would take great lengths to make sure the child actors in this show were protected.

There is a lack of context here. What is real, what is faked? These questions puts both the audience and the production on uncertain ground, how do you relate to such a slippery thing? Without the context/ ground, it is hard to get a perspective on this, but at the same time, because you have no ground, and you're just floating around the experience, it allows for multiple perspectives.

This made sense, to me!

Ferris

Really enjoyed that, but I think you need to watch the whole thing in one go to get the full effect.

Spoiler alert
The last scene was properly... something.

I can understand the kid being upset and it goes beyond a tantrum or two but I also know that small kids are very resilient so hope he wasn't too upset.
[close]

I don't know what to make of it all really. Some much better throwaway gags in that one but it's not a comedy at all. It's closer to a psychological horror if anything.

up_the_hampipe

Man, that Remy stuff was really heavy.

I think I was expecting some sort of bigger reveal, but it hit the conclusion I was expecting. I agree with others who've said it might work better as a whole thing, and the renewal for a second season is intriguing. It is definitely a comedy, even if it's weird and unsettling, but I was honestly more engaged with the rehearsals like Kor and the "gold digger" guy than the larger concept, which felt a bit empty or frustrating in weekly instalments.

Chollis

Fucking hell, that was masterful. I've been feeling middling to good about this so far but that was tremendous. The ambition paid off - that took me round the houses emotionally. The Remy stuff with his mother was genuinely heartbreaking and really uncomfortable and difficult to watch. I'm still struggling a bit with the long-term damage it could do to these kids, Remy in particular, but I guess it's quite likely they'll forget about the whole thing in a few weeks. And then, all of that pathos punctured so perfectly right in the middle, with the adult child actors giving me the biggest laugh of the season. Honestly thought it might end up with Nathan getting together for real with Remy's mum - she seemed sound and that would have been the ultimate meta. I still found some of the self-reflective bits a bit too on-the-nose, but overall that was a triumphant way to end the season.

elliszeroed

I think the Remy stuff in this episode was all scripted- I don't think they could get away with doing it otherwise. Wasn't there a case/ issue a few years ago where some parents played practicaljokes on their kids on youtube and got in trouble for it when the kids started crying?

I also wonder if the stuff we're shown is highlights, or whether that is the only footage they shot. Some lines are too good to be natural, right? "You're a good scene partner." Adam smoking. I think there's a higher level of artifice, especially with the kids, than we suspect.



Here:
Parents Played Pranks, Got Five Years Probation For Neglect

Although the above is horribly cruel.

Mobius

Yeah I have to say I really enjoyed that last episode, got real weird towards the end. I wasn't too hot on the series as a whole but imagine I'd love it a lot more on a rewatch.