If you're looking for an empty comedy that's the same as all others, move along, this will go way above your head.
I'm a French native who has lived in the US for over 30 years. So I can see both sides. This show is really funny. Not laugh out loud funny, but much more subtle and basically making fun of how politically correct we've become as a society in the US. France is still a very face value country, where you just live and enjoy living. This is not a knock on the US, I love living here, but in some respect, we've gone too far. You literally can't say anything without being afraid of offending someone.
This show is all about exactly that. The contrast between different cultures. It pokes fun at both, and does not take itself too seriously.
I almost never write reviews. But I wanted this show to be given it's fair shake. And yes, I do like Gad. Too better get this show, I recommend you watch the Gad special on Netflix beforehand, and you'll appreciate this show even more. It's an insight into American culture as viewed from the outside.
Netflix, awesome job coming up with totally different shows versus a rinse and repeat formula that we've seen time and time again.
Regarding Gad speaking in the third person, it's simply Gad poking fun at himself, nothing more. He's acting as Gad. Love the Seinfeld cameo as well.
127 Reviews
BLACK HUMOR! BRILLIANT COMEDY! BUT MISUNDERSTOOD BY MANY...
qqerwin14 April 2019
As often with comedy, you either like or hate it - and i liked this series a lot!
This series is about a comedian who is "HUGE" (very famous) in France, but outside of France nobody knows him..
I must admit i also only recognized his face (not his name) from some great French comedy classics such as "La Doublure" and "La Verite Si Je Mens!"
The humor in this series is mainly 'black humor' , which is often misunderstood (according to some other reviews here no exception this time)
so to set the record straight i decided to write this review !
"GAD" is absolutely not arrogant, but has a great dose of sarcasm and self-mockery here.
The humor reminded me very much of Ricky Gervais (comedy god imo) - especially his "Life's Too Short" sitcom starring Warwick Davis.
I'm convinced this series is much more fun for Europeans (i think many British People might love it) but is often misunderstood by American viewers ; Especially those who dont know there is a world outside the USA as well..
I'm not quickly amused with comedy, but this one was right on target!
Different perspectives.
bion_marysa17 January 2020
I'm French so I guess I have a different view because I know who Gad is. He really is one of the most famous French speaking comedians and really makes big shows. It's funny because he makes fun of himself, of his own life with his kids (his first son really is a model) and also of Americans through his own vision. It is full of clichés on purpose and on both sides, which makes it interesting.
I like it, but I liked Episodes more
emmarestall-300-64625612 June 2021
I feel like it's trying to be Episodes, but it's not as good. I do like it. I very much enjoy and appreciate the idea that Europe and British comedy/style does not translate well to Americans. It's a shame it doesn't, as it's much better.
elyce28
elyce-4199014 April 2019
Many American viewers are rushing to condemn this series. One reviewer even admitted that she only watched one episode. Looking for immediate satisfaction from art is about the most typical American response one can imagine and quite ironic since the whole conceit of Huge in France has to do with a take-down of the shallow, emptiness of fame, in general, and of an American, specifically, an LA version of fame worship, in particular. Admittedly, the show does try too hard in some instances and the many annoying, unlikeable characters are just too one-dimensional, broad and vulgar to connect with the audience, but there are, nonetheless, some really funny moments in Huge and the actor playing the stepfather Jason does an excellent job of portraying an emotionally hollowed out model/actor, who somehow still manages to be the most engaging and sympathetic character of all.
I don't get all the hate.
katesch-4089613 April 2019
This show is sarcastic and dry, it's not meant to be a laugh out loud comedy so I'm not sure what people were expecting. It's a cute story, clever and enjoyable. The characters are very LA, very narcissistic so you really have to laugh at their absurdity, but I guess some people don't get that. I do and I think it's great. A fun show to binge.
Only horrible people.
shadowmailboxer12 April 2019
He (the real Gad, who speaks of himself in the 3rd person) is a narcissist, everybody who has ever seen anything with him, knows that. No surprise, also not really funny. Your jokes don't land? People don't recognize your genius? Aww, poor manipulative millionaire.
It never feels like a parodic, hightened version of himself, more like the viewer should feel pity if not sympathy for the poor guy.
She, his ex, is a hollywood housewife clichee. Life coach, pyjama designer, treats her man(-toy) of 8 years like s*hit. Like an disgruntled ex-husband would write an ex-wife...
Their son is a one-track-mind spoiled wanna-be model brat.
They are just all horrible people.
Except, when we meet Jason Allan Ross, the hunky failed actor, he might elicit sympathetic emotions in the viewer, because he gets mistreated by all the aforementioned garbage people. Then he get's manipulated and sinks himself with and into his method acting, neglecting everybody around him (like he was by them).
The guy playing him is actually the best actor of the bunch, and he has the most emotional arc/changes/developement of the series.
Without laughs it is not a comedy. Without a protagonist to root for its not a drama.
It is not a bad series, it just is filled only with rotten characters.
It never feels like a parodic, hightened version of himself, more like the viewer should feel pity if not sympathy for the poor guy.
She, his ex, is a hollywood housewife clichee. Life coach, pyjama designer, treats her man(-toy) of 8 years like s*hit. Like an disgruntled ex-husband would write an ex-wife...
Their son is a one-track-mind spoiled wanna-be model brat.
They are just all horrible people.
Except, when we meet Jason Allan Ross, the hunky failed actor, he might elicit sympathetic emotions in the viewer, because he gets mistreated by all the aforementioned garbage people. Then he get's manipulated and sinks himself with and into his method acting, neglecting everybody around him (like he was by them).
The guy playing him is actually the best actor of the bunch, and he has the most emotional arc/changes/developement of the series.
Without laughs it is not a comedy. Without a protagonist to root for its not a drama.
It is not a bad series, it just is filled only with rotten characters.
Underrated, possibly misunderstood
shanebpeterson13 January 2020
I don't write a lot of reviews here. There's just no need for more of the same echos in the fray. strangely, (to me), this show is sitting at a 6.8 and that is sorely underrated, so I felt obligated. Euro humour is often lost on us North Americans. This show provides a well written blend of the two styles. There is a depth to the characters and a sharp intelligence to scripts that I think is lost on a lot of people. (Like D'elia's sick jokes).
Give it a try but try to see it with an open perspective. I hope you like it as much as I.
Give it a try but try to see it with an open perspective. I hope you like it as much as I.
Check it out!
jaycop14 April 2019
Embarassing
Thethinkingturtle2 May 2019
I'm constantly looking for new French series to watch with my partner to help him improve his french. I was really happy to find a series with Gad as he's indeed "huge" in France and I grew up there. What can I say ? I couldn't finish the first episode. The whole cast's acting is so bad it's offensive. I didn't laugh for a single second. Every line was so poorly delivered, so bland. Gad is good for stand up comedy, but most of his movies are just over the top obnoxious, typical predictable boring French comedy that we've been having for the last 20 years.
If it was not for series like Call my agent or Marseille I would definitely say that French cinema is dead, gone, buried. Very sad.
Really funny , great parody
cordenw15 June 2021
I've often wondered about situations similar to this one. Where people who are absolutely idolized in a particular country or idolized in a particular sport that's popular in Europe. They visit another country and nobody's ever heard of them.
Take the Canadian winner of the World Squash Championship for example, a fellow named Jonathon Power, he could walk down the main street in Vancouver and not a soul would recognize him. Nobody would recognize ANY of the superstar pro cyclists in Europe if they came to North America because North American people are just not interested in alien cultures.
More than 90% of the English Premier League soccer players could wander around unmolested in any of our major cities whereas they'd be mobbed at home.
It happens the other way around too. Neil Sedaka tells the story of the time he went to China and while he was on a bus tour they played his music on the speakers. He went up to the Chinese driver to let him know that he was the singer and of course the driver didn't believe him and had never even heard of Neil Sedaka.
And so in this series we have a comedian who's a major star in France, he can sell out theaters , he can name his price , he has made a fortune. But when he gets to America to try and make peace with his estranged son, his fame in France counts for absolutely nothing. Nobody's ever heard of him.
It all rings so true and the cast milk the cultural chasm with brilliant acting. It's the first successful parody I've seen of the lifestyle of Hollywood/LA plastic shallow lake. Pity they couldn't have fitted the Kardashians into it some way to show it's even worse🙄 Great performances by all of the cast, especially Gad, who quickly realizes that his fame in France counts for zilch. There's even a cameo of Jerry Seinfeld which gives a lot of authenticity to the quality of the program... if he agrees to appear , it must be good.
I highly recommend it.
Take the Canadian winner of the World Squash Championship for example, a fellow named Jonathon Power, he could walk down the main street in Vancouver and not a soul would recognize him. Nobody would recognize ANY of the superstar pro cyclists in Europe if they came to North America because North American people are just not interested in alien cultures.
More than 90% of the English Premier League soccer players could wander around unmolested in any of our major cities whereas they'd be mobbed at home.
It happens the other way around too. Neil Sedaka tells the story of the time he went to China and while he was on a bus tour they played his music on the speakers. He went up to the Chinese driver to let him know that he was the singer and of course the driver didn't believe him and had never even heard of Neil Sedaka.
And so in this series we have a comedian who's a major star in France, he can sell out theaters , he can name his price , he has made a fortune. But when he gets to America to try and make peace with his estranged son, his fame in France counts for absolutely nothing. Nobody's ever heard of him.
It all rings so true and the cast milk the cultural chasm with brilliant acting. It's the first successful parody I've seen of the lifestyle of Hollywood/LA plastic shallow lake. Pity they couldn't have fitted the Kardashians into it some way to show it's even worse🙄 Great performances by all of the cast, especially Gad, who quickly realizes that his fame in France counts for zilch. There's even a cameo of Jerry Seinfeld which gives a lot of authenticity to the quality of the program... if he agrees to appear , it must be good.
I highly recommend it.
Not as bad as others claim..
fuljah13 April 2019
This show reminded me of Episodes. It was too based on cliches Europeans have on American show business..
However, Episodes was a better job with better acting.
Yet, I binged watched this show on a Saturday night, it is soft, it does not elevate your emotions or startle you..
Gad is not narcissistic as others claim. He is just a man who has lost his stripes in a foreign country - that is it. His French ways do not get him what he wants in the US - nobody knows who he is.
You wont lose anything if you dont watch this show. However, if you are in for something soft and without drama, this may be a good pest time.
However, Episodes was a better job with better acting.
Yet, I binged watched this show on a Saturday night, it is soft, it does not elevate your emotions or startle you..
Gad is not narcissistic as others claim. He is just a man who has lost his stripes in a foreign country - that is it. His French ways do not get him what he wants in the US - nobody knows who he is.
You wont lose anything if you dont watch this show. However, if you are in for something soft and without drama, this may be a good pest time.
Ego is Huge in LA
itgirlx15 May 2019
Middle of the road, uninspired but passable eye candy sitcom
mertonfuton21 April 2019
See, the problem with celebrity "based on my life" sitcoms, is their inauthenticity. Bojack Horseman, a cartoon, is far closer to the real needy dysfunction roller-coaster of competitive vanity, haute vivre and self-aware lunacy that's modern fame.
No doubt Gad Elmaleh has an interesting backstory - but we're not seeing any of it here. His own current "real-life" family dynamic is mirrored in the TV show - but it's only offcuts making their way into the C-minus script.
To make a show about wealth and fame that's both funny and relatable demands either brilliant writing or relying on an inventory of comedy cliches. Huge In France mostly goes for the latter, e.g. it presents the Hollywood fame industry as mostly incompetent and parochial, so the audience gets cheap self-congratulatory laughs, when in truth, Los Angeles is one of the most knowing, cynical and cosmopolitan places on the planet. Dodging having to take on subjects like this - and face handling uncomfortable implications - leaves very little substance for the sitcom to stretch out across eight episodes. Stretch it does, however, and with resolute professionalism start to finish.
If you've 4 hours to kill, and you're an unabashed Gad Elmaleh fan (is anyone?) or an uncritical Francophile or you're a patient fan of this show's particular eye-candy, watch Huge in France and good luck to you! If not, there's a thousand better shows in the Netflix repertoire.
No doubt Gad Elmaleh has an interesting backstory - but we're not seeing any of it here. His own current "real-life" family dynamic is mirrored in the TV show - but it's only offcuts making their way into the C-minus script.
To make a show about wealth and fame that's both funny and relatable demands either brilliant writing or relying on an inventory of comedy cliches. Huge In France mostly goes for the latter, e.g. it presents the Hollywood fame industry as mostly incompetent and parochial, so the audience gets cheap self-congratulatory laughs, when in truth, Los Angeles is one of the most knowing, cynical and cosmopolitan places on the planet. Dodging having to take on subjects like this - and face handling uncomfortable implications - leaves very little substance for the sitcom to stretch out across eight episodes. Stretch it does, however, and with resolute professionalism start to finish.
If you've 4 hours to kill, and you're an unabashed Gad Elmaleh fan (is anyone?) or an uncritical Francophile or you're a patient fan of this show's particular eye-candy, watch Huge in France and good luck to you! If not, there's a thousand better shows in the Netflix repertoire.
Very good show
grapsta29 May 2019
Really enjoyed the first season... It's funny and an interesting premise. There is one big problem - the whole show is an estranged father trying to bond with his son, but the son is a very unlikeable character. This doesn't work. I do like all the jokes aimed at shallow male models though. The step father model guy is the best part of the show. Worth a watch... The best new comedy on Netflix that I've seen.... Although it's not laugh out loud funny much.... But doesn't matter as the drama and story is also good.
Can't be taken too seriously
filip-hansson-se15 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
There are some really great moments in this show if you're into subtle and ironic humor.
Unfortunately, as good as some of the moments are, equally bad are others. There's typically at least one scene per episode where you can sense the writers stretching for a comedic idea but failing to really pull it off.
Ultimately, it feels like a show that was a bit rushed and didn't quite get the necessary polish to weed out the hits from the misses and smooth over the scenes that didn't quite come off the way they were envisioned.
Also, a major flaw is that none of the characters are likable. They're all a**holes - and that includes the main protagonist Gad (faking a dream audition for the main antagonist - a flawed and meek struggling actor - made it impossible to sympathize with Gad).
Unfortunately, as good as some of the moments are, equally bad are others. There's typically at least one scene per episode where you can sense the writers stretching for a comedic idea but failing to really pull it off.
Ultimately, it feels like a show that was a bit rushed and didn't quite get the necessary polish to weed out the hits from the misses and smooth over the scenes that didn't quite come off the way they were envisioned.
Also, a major flaw is that none of the characters are likable. They're all a**holes - and that includes the main protagonist Gad (faking a dream audition for the main antagonist - a flawed and meek struggling actor - made it impossible to sympathize with Gad).
Amusingly misunderstood
markmcardle-588-88581514 April 2019
This is actually quite a clever series. I think the subtlety is lost on the people who are leaving poor reviews. There is satirical intensity in a few scenes which some might mistake for being serious. I don't think Americans will understand the humour as much as the British, especially with how it pokes fun at the LA culture.
Gets more interesting as it progresses
bobetjo2 July 2021
I have graded this an eight overall because although there were a couple of middle series episodes that were less interesting, around six or seven the stories became quite riveting. I did think this was going to be comedic, fish out of water, all the way through. But actually the rather tragic Alan had me rooting for him to get a break. Gad's son Luke I had pegged as a spoiled brat. But he turned out to be the most focused. I was sorry when this finished. Hope there is a follow up.
The fun rests in a good script
patsario15 May 2019
Very dynamic, with good actors that are naturally funny, because the script is good and they don't try too had to make you laugh through physicality. A bit of nonsense, a plot that is not obvious, with sprinkles here and there of special guests making uncredited appearances, all of which make this sitcom charming and current.
Awful, unfunny, boring...
michaelmouse124 April 2019
The thing with comedy is it's supposed to be funny. This boring series centres around a bunch of truly revolting characters (and yeah...I know...that's the point) but with no emotional connection to any of them, there's nothing to see here. American narcissism may well be a thing but why bother pinning that to a whole series?
This is an excruciating watch. Unfunny, dull, littered with truly unlikable characters...I couldn't wait to end the pain of sitting through the whole thing.
One star was generous.
Why the negative reviews?
exoticcat14 April 2019
Modern story, great comparison, poor scenario
aminensao20 April 2019
GAD was stuck in his french fake origines, maybe if he mentionned somewhere his Arab/Moroccan origines, the senario would be more rich and realistic.
Maybe he's not proud, but it's weird, no one the world "Morocco" was said on the show.. come on dude !!!
Anyway, loved how the show laughed after french people.. they are narcissic to arabs.. they are treated the same in America, Good to know.
Painful to watch
benoboston16 April 2019
I never write reviews but I actually had to sign up to imdb for the first time and write this one. I am a huge fan of Gad but this show is embarrassing! Sorry Gad but you can do MUCH better than this. The potential is there though but you clearly need to review the script.
It's not "funny" but it's also not bad
LeAvantGuardian17 January 2022
I watched this hoping it would contain bits of his standup like marvelous Mrs Maisel, or that it would be more comedy than drama.
Don't get me wrong, it IS a comedy, but it's not the laugh out loud kind, its hard to describe. If you like Gad, you'll appreciate it. Through the show he is poking fun at himself and at life and it's worth the watch. It's fun.
Don't get me wrong, it IS a comedy, but it's not the laugh out loud kind, its hard to describe. If you like Gad, you'll appreciate it. Through the show he is poking fun at himself and at life and it's worth the watch. It's fun.
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