Such a frustrating disappointment

hyped garbage

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Let me say at the outset that there have been a lot of disappointed reviewers, and most of them just don't get it - the comedy and the drama come from a series of contrasts.The rest of the cast are so delightfully screwed up that it helps us to be sympathetic to Jeffrey Tambor's character. This isn't a one-trick pony, as the continuing adventures of the entire cast sets up some beautiful compare and contrast moments.Not that this is for everybody. If your are looking for high discourse, the don't choose a comedy, and don't try to map an excellent slow comedy into a disappointing drama. It is simply a well-written light comedy about society and the opening up of transgender issues within that context.

Have sped through the episodes of this series as they were a joy to watch. Tambor is brilliant in the lead role and the soundtracks for each series have been great too. Bite sized chunks of great television that cover much more than transgender issues. The writing and direction are spot on.

The thing I like best about Transparent is that the characters aren't easy to like, let alone love. Jeffrey Tambor is at the top of his game, and the writing is sharp and fresh. The editors make effective use of the music, too. Very impactful. The themes are definitely mature and the exploration of sexuality is thorough. To call Transparent a comedy series is way off the mark. The humor is there, as it needs to be; but the bulk of the show isn't feel good. It's also not just about a transitioning parent. The characters are deeply flawed and we get to peek inside their imperfect lives. We also get to watch them grow, and learn, and love, and screw more things up in the process. And I think that's the point.

I love Jeffry Tambor. His work in Larry Sanders and Arrested Development is timeless. He is one of my favourite actors, but, even his talent cannot save this show. I hate it so much. I even watched two full seasons. The first to give it a real chance and the second to see if it resolved in any meaningful way. The problem is all of the characters are just such horrible people. I hate them all so much. They all keep making such terrible decisions. I wouldn't mind if their hearts were in the right place, but, they aren't. These people are bunch of self centred, over privileged coastal elites who are so screwed up that the old man in a dress is still the most balanced and level headed. It certainly is different, but, I really didn't like it.