A funny video of Hung decided me to watch its pilot. In fact even if its main subject is serious, male prostitution, it reminded me of the film Deuce Bigalow : Male Gigolo, a quite good comedy. Moreover it's produced by HBO so as a fan of Six Feet Under I thought it could only be good. I was right because this first episode really delivered. First I think many men should relate to Don's middle life crisis. Something terrible happened but it opened his eyes. A wake up call he needed to realize who he's and to find solutions to his problems : Work, family
But even if some scenes were quite dramatic they were balanced with funny ones. The actor is really good and his performance made the protagonist even more believable. However I'm not really convinced by the other cast members and the scene with his wife was over the top as the context wasn't explained. So I really hope his past will be covered in the upcoming episodes to help better understand who Don was. Last but not least the production quality was great so it really felt like a refreshing ice tea.
2 Reviews
His winning tool
jotix1004 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Ray Drecker's life is a mess. The West Lakefield athletic coach finds himself at a difficult time in his life. His wife of twenty years, Jessica, left him for Ronny Haxson, a successful doctor. His twins, Damon and Darcy are confused teenagers who, when we meet them, are living with their father at the lake front home left by Ray's parents.
The area of Detroit where Ray lives is not like much of the rest of Detroit, a city that shows its decaying self in abandoned and dilapidated buildings. Ray's modest house stands next to the home of a successful lawyer, who wants to buy the adjacent property, but Ray would not hear about it. To complicate things, there is a fire in the house that practically destroys everything. The cost of repairing is something Ray cannot afford.
As a way to improve his condition, Ray attends a motivational class given by Floyd Gerber, who tries to inspire his students by identifying a "tool" to help them explore an unknown quality they possess. Attending the session is Tanya Skagle, a poet, that had gone to Ray's high school as a guest to talk about her skills in verse. After the class, Tanya invites Ray to her house and they end up having intercourse. Tanya makes one amazing discovery, Ray is more than well-endowed! Ray, who has been told about that particular aspect of his own anatomy, decides he will offer his services to women that need that sort of attention, for a price. The only problem being that when he knocks at the door of the hotel room where the tryst is supposed to take place, the woman never opens, but slips a fifty dollar bill for the inconvenience she caused. Ray ends up giving the money to Damian who wanted to see his goth idol at a concert.
Alexander Payne, one of the creators of the series, directed the first episode. Mr. Payne shows a gift for this type of comedy that perhaps with another director would not have been the same. The screenplay provides a great material as written by Collette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin, who are credited as the creators of the program.
The director gets excellent performances by his cast. Thomas Jane delivers an effortless performance to match Jane Adams' quirky take on the neurotic Tanya. Anne Heche appears as Ray's former wife, Jessica, a great take on her character. Eddie Jemison and Steve Hytner are featured, as Ronnie and Floyd. Charlie Saxton and Sianoa Smit-McPhee are seen as Damon and Darby Drecker. Marylouise Burke has good moments as Ray's former mother-in-law.
A courageous series that deserve to be seen by discerning viewers with its frank take on sex.
The area of Detroit where Ray lives is not like much of the rest of Detroit, a city that shows its decaying self in abandoned and dilapidated buildings. Ray's modest house stands next to the home of a successful lawyer, who wants to buy the adjacent property, but Ray would not hear about it. To complicate things, there is a fire in the house that practically destroys everything. The cost of repairing is something Ray cannot afford.
As a way to improve his condition, Ray attends a motivational class given by Floyd Gerber, who tries to inspire his students by identifying a "tool" to help them explore an unknown quality they possess. Attending the session is Tanya Skagle, a poet, that had gone to Ray's high school as a guest to talk about her skills in verse. After the class, Tanya invites Ray to her house and they end up having intercourse. Tanya makes one amazing discovery, Ray is more than well-endowed! Ray, who has been told about that particular aspect of his own anatomy, decides he will offer his services to women that need that sort of attention, for a price. The only problem being that when he knocks at the door of the hotel room where the tryst is supposed to take place, the woman never opens, but slips a fifty dollar bill for the inconvenience she caused. Ray ends up giving the money to Damian who wanted to see his goth idol at a concert.
Alexander Payne, one of the creators of the series, directed the first episode. Mr. Payne shows a gift for this type of comedy that perhaps with another director would not have been the same. The screenplay provides a great material as written by Collette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin, who are credited as the creators of the program.
The director gets excellent performances by his cast. Thomas Jane delivers an effortless performance to match Jane Adams' quirky take on the neurotic Tanya. Anne Heche appears as Ray's former wife, Jessica, a great take on her character. Eddie Jemison and Steve Hytner are featured, as Ronnie and Floyd. Charlie Saxton and Sianoa Smit-McPhee are seen as Damon and Darby Drecker. Marylouise Burke has good moments as Ray's former mother-in-law.
A courageous series that deserve to be seen by discerning viewers with its frank take on sex.
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