I'm Dying Up Here (TV Series) Gone with the Wind (2018) User Reviews

Immersive Entertainment

[hilborn · 8/10 · 12 May 2018]

The production design is Mad Men-level quality. The acting is first-rate.

Terrific Series

[jonboles · 8/10 · 1 June 2018]

I'm Dying Up Here is a wonderfully acted and gritty series about the incredibly hard odds facing up and coming comics, set in the seventies. Many of the characters and stories insinuate, or occasionally portray real comedians (Richard Prior.) All of the backstories, and intertwining lives of the comedians are portrayed with excitement, hope, and dread. You cheer for the characters who make it, and grieve along with those who meet a less generous fate. My only complaint is with Melissa Leo's portrayal of Goldie, the tough-as-nails owner of LA's premier comedy club, and launching ground for successful comedians. She is constantly Zippo-lighting a cigarette between clenched teeth as she delivers non-stop stream-of-consciousness threats and advice to her needy herd of comedians. She is wholly unsuited for this role, which requires a hint of a formerly sexy and sympathetic woman. Her scenes are akin to a loud alarm bell that ruin the continuity of the story, while remaining essential to the plot.