'A Man on the Inside' review—Endearing, emotional, and deeply cathartic
Comedy genius Michael Schur's new Netflix sitcom A Man on the Inside reunites him with The Good Place actor Ted Danson. Also featuring Schur's other collaborators such as Stephanie Beatriz and Marc Evan Jackson (and a surprise cameo in the last episode), it's a delightful, emotional, and enormously cathartic show. A snuggly hug in cinematic form, A Man on the Inside is unmissable.
A professor turns into an investigator
Based on the documentary The Mole Agent, the eight-episode-long series focuses on a retired professor Charles (Danson), hired by private detective Julie to locate a stolen necklace at a retirement care facility. There, Charles comfortably blends into the crowd with other old people, makes friends, partakes in several activities, and combats his own crushing loneliness, all while trying to nab the thief.
What are lonely people looking for?
Through Charles, AMOTI paints the portrait of a lonely man—half of his bed is painfully empty, he kills time by playing puzzles, and spends hours looking at others in the park, picking up the pieces of his lost self. Charles's wife, Victoria, is dead, and so, these activities are a bridge that connect him with himself. But, can they replace actual, genuine human connection?
Keeps you consistently smiling
Unlike, Schur's Brooklyn 99 or The Office, AMOTI doesn't have outright laugh-out-loud moments, but, it's hilarious nonetheless, and mines its comic elements from its eccentric characters. For instance, a character bullies everyone by telling them he has cancer (so they perform his tasks), and another woman tells her priest, "I've impure thoughts about Pedro Pascal." The key, thus, is in the dialogue delivery.
Balances humor with deep emotions
While AMOTI has been marketed as an unlikely detective's espionage adventures, the crime-theft angle ultimately turns out to be only a small aspect. As the episodes progressed, AMOTI spoke to me as a haunting reminder of mortality, as a way to make peace with death, and how relationships and friendships are the bedrock of one's life. It chokes you with fervid emotions.
More on the above point
The show has a tangible beating heart and makes excellent points about love, loss, and longing, and how one's happiness shouldn't be limited because one has crossed a certain age. After a character's death, AMOTI seems to say: You can't stop a person from passing, but can make your moments with them count, and once they're gone, their life should be celebrated, not mourned.
Its themes will leave you ruminating
The sweet, mellow, warm quality that is the trademark of every Schur show is abundantly present here and is discernible in the set designs, the characterizations, and the dialogues. It starts as a crime comedy, but before you realize it, turns into a profound meditation on mortality, morality, parental love, and most importantly—about what we owe to each other.
What could have been better?
The few issues that impede AMOTI at times arise from the sub-plot of Charles's daughter and her family—not well-developed, these segments stretch needlessly and bog the series down. Other than that, often, characters make a certain decision and then take a 180-degree turn within minutes, so it becomes tough to believe anyone at several points. Hopefully, the second potential season will address these problems.
Don't miss it! 3.5/5 stars
Unsurprisingly, AMOTI shares several similarities with The Good Place, especially how it connects you to the characters, warms the cockles of your heart, makes you laugh, and also leaves you teary-eyed. It's headlined excellently by Danson and has the potential to turn into the kind of global success Schitt's Creek became. If you watch one show this week, make it this one. 3.5/5 stars.
