A Disappointing Continuation

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It's heart warming, tear jerkin, gut wrenching and impulsively the most compassionate series ever created.

I know a lot of people like the show, it's probably good for families who wants a family show to watch together. But I personally can find almost nothing to like about it. I don't like or relate to any of the characters, I thinks it's sappy, saccharin, overwrought drivel. I have never met anyone who acts like the people on this show, probably because real people are not overly constructed TV-characters. Everyone is either idealized or a cliché, or both. It seems the most logical reason they didn't work on all that baggage from the past before is so that there could be a show about it later. I would certainly blame my parents a lot more than the characters seem to do if they had being so completely inept at conflict resolution while I was growing up.

This is a unique and interesting way to tell a story and I love that characters that are dead still have a life in the story with the past being featured throughout the show. It feels a lot like reading a book. Too bad the story itself doesn't lend to the enjoyment of the series. Summed up perfectly near the end of season 2 by Kate with a comment about possibly not crying for once. All the characters are insufferable, self-centered, and unlikeable. I find myself rooting against them. They also try to tell the story for the most dramatic impact and it just gets tedious and wears on the viewer. 20 episodes a season with nothing but drama gets really old. In sum it is a drama about a set of triplets and how they all individually had issues with their childhood which of course they use to blame their issues as adults. The characters are all really damaged and so self-involved in their own little worlds. This is definitely a 'you made me feel XYZ so I am a compulsive eater, a drug user, prone to panic attacks or whatever'. It is such a victim oriented show - I guess that is what is so off-putting. Take some responsibility - eating to be 400 lbs isn't because your Mom made you feel insecure, or your Dad died or people were mean to you. Popping pills isn't because your parents didn't pay enough attention to you. And a remaining parent constantly crying 'this is the best I could do, you were my entire life'. Whatever. My other pet peeve is they make the past look like the 70s or very early 80s. Well it would be the 90s because the kids are only in their mid 30s so they'd be teens in the early 90s. There are a lot of elements of the show that miss the mark like this. The doctor that delivered them for instance was at least in his late 60s and still in the show 17 years later so he'd be like 95 and he is basically almost in the same condition. There are a lot of liberties like this that most people probably don't catch.I watched this out of boredom on Hulu. I'm sure season 3 will be packed with more crying and drama as previewed at the end of 2. We'll have to live through a now depressed but still morbidly obese Toby and Kate, drama with the adopted defect teen Deja, etc. Frankly the best thing that happened so far is Kate/Toby not having their baby and Kevin unmarried. These people do not need to procreate and have another generation of unhappy people mired in nothing but self imposed drama.

Ok, I'll be honest - at first this show struck me as a corny little piece of melodrama with weak underlining elements of comedy... But It did have a very high score on IMDb so I thought it couldn't hurt to try. And I couldn't have been more wrong. This show is a beautiful family drama with a very lovable cast and consistently excellent stories told in quite an original fashion. No series has hit me quite as hard so often since 'Breaking Bad' and more recently: Steven Conrad's 'Patriot'.'This Is Us' is a lot like the American 'Shameless' (haven't seen the British one) except every episode so far has been a tear-jerker. I really hope I'm not jinxing the show right now by writing this review but I found myself respecting the masterful story-telling so much I couldn't not take the time to write this review. If you haven't checked out 'This Is Us' then let me just recommend that you sign up for Amazon Prime immediately and watch the pilot. And while you're there, check out 'Patriot' too. That show is another one that will have you always shifting your emotional gears. Sincerely, a guy who's watched a maybe a little too much movies and tv.