Just so...so bad

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

I started binge watching the show earlier in the year. I was instantly hooked by season one, and how the polygamist leader lead his family. That in the sense I thought was realistic, however throughout the show everything outside of the house especially the LDS church, seemed unrealistically portrayed. I'm not going to get any further, for fear of giving away any spoilers about the church, but it is shown in an unrealistic light. However the relationship with the three wives is portrayed pretty realistically, as how a man would handle that situation.As I said in the title, the show starts off pretty great in season one as you get to see a family that you have never seen before live in multiple houses, in an upper middle-class neighborhood, and then living in secret nonetheless.In my opinion the middle of the series gets somewhat slow as the writers try to come up with different conflicts to tie together all these different conflicts they have going on. But as the series starts to settle down, the fifth season smacks you in the face with a very well- written and well acted 10 episodes. Don't get me wrong, overall the show has had excellent writing throughout, and it's worth a watch if you're into any type of family dramas.

While this show treads much of the familiar ground of the cable soaps, its originality makes it my current favorite. Just as the Sopranos challenges the viewer to sympathize with a homicidal, womanizing and frequently loutish mob boss, who loves his family every bit as much as we love ours, so too with Bill Henrickson, a workaholic polygamist home supply chain entrepreneur. Both shows, at least in part, deal with the baggage these men carry as a result of their connections to much older forms of patriarchy (literally) on the one hand, while sharing modern suburban American aspirations on the other.I am barely into season two right now, so hints of why Bill and Barb chose to live according to the "principle" are still sketchy. But again like the Sopranos, there is the strong sense that while "the life" isn't for everybody, the main characters would be less than "real men" if they lived any other way, or so they think - or can't escape thinking. Whether either are heroic or anti-heroic is less the point than the simple fact they have an extraordinarily large amount of work to do to make it from day to day. The straight-laced tea-totaling Mormon milieu makes for a very different experience of menace regarding this series' bad guys. Instead of the usual profanity-laden explicit violence of other shows, the "I'll pray for you brother (to accept the offer you can't refuse)" exchanges are literally "foreboding," especially when spoken by the number one bad guy often referred to as "the Prophet," who is equally adept at quoting chapter and verse from the religious texts, Shakespeare, and country music.One of the funniest moments I've seen anywhere is when Bill's father explains his habit of peeing in the sink. While his thorough contemptibility would seem to be the reason, it isn't. The real reason is so obvious in retrospect that you can't help loving this show forever after.

"Big Love" begins as a gripping exploration of a family that attempts to walk the tightrope between polygamy and normalcy. Bill Paxton stars as Bill Henrickson, a straitlaced family man with three wives: Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Marge (Ginnifer Goodwin), and Nicolette (Chloe Sevigny).Season 1 allows the audience to step inside the Henrickson homes (there are three, right next to one another). We see Bill struggle to please all three wives as he faces problems at work. We see Barb struggle to rise to her duty as "First Wife." We see Marge struggle to find her place in the family. We see Nikki struggle to cling to her conservative roots. At the same time, the show hints at doubts and serious questions concerning Sara and Ben, Barb's children. Season 1 works as a compelling dysfunctional family drama: 10/10 Season 2 doesn't flow quite as well. It picks up just as Season 1 ends, and it doesn't bring much new content to the table. Conflicts with Nikki's father, Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) escalate, which pushes the show out of the house and into Roman's compound. The compound scenes are repetitive and bland, as well as over-the-top. Season 2 gets a 6/10.Season 3 is a huge step up from Season 2. The show returns more to its roots at the Henrickson household, and it introduces new conflicts of exposure, family ties, and possible expansion. 8/10.On the whole, "Big Love" is a solid show with one very weak season. It would do best to abandon the compound scenes altogether. Still, each character and performer gets his/her due. Paxton is solid as the patriarch, Tripplehorn shines throughout as the questioning mother, Goodwin shines in Season 2 as she finally gains some responsibility, and Sevigny carries the show in its third season.

I've seen all episodes, awesome show, i always love HBO shows. Great Plots, lovable characters and loads of scandal. It seems to get better with episodes. I thought i wouldn't like it cause of the negative spin on polygamy in real life. But they make Big Love easy to love. The acting is fantastic i love Chloe her acting is on point for the character she is a commanding presence in the show, and Margene is so bubbly and light hearted brings a innocence to adult life....Bill Paxton really delivers, he makes a great family man with the edgy twist. And last but not least the first wife Barb is a great actress, and i love her role she really suits the first wife position. All of them together including children make the series a hit. With now being in the third season i could definitely see this series lasting for years to come. If anyone i looking for that hooked on that series this is definitely it.