Following its UK premiere and new trailer this week, the first reviews are in for Netflix’s The Perfect Couple ahead of its Thursday premiere.
Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber lead the high-profile cast of this upcoming miniseries, which follows the story of a wealthy Nantucket family whose lives are turned upside down.
The first three reviews have been published. One calls the film ‘ridiculously good’, while the others are not so positive. One calls the film ‘idiotic’ and ‘distracted’.
The only positive review so far is from The guardLucy Mangan, who compared the series to HBO’s The White Lotus and Big Little Lies.
She praised the “correct plot” and the “carousel of suspects that turned at perfectly timed intervals, revealing that something had happened.”
Following its UK premiere and a new trailer released this week, the first reviews are in for Netflix’s The Perfect Couple ahead of its premiere on Thursday.
The first three reviews have been published, one of which calls it ‘ridiculously good’, while the others are not so positive, one of which calls it ‘idiotic’ and ‘derivative’
“It may or may not have anything to do with the rich and the poor, the power of money to corrupt and class consciousness, but it has no interest at all in these kinds of issues, like The White Lotus, for example,” she added.
It was adapted by Jenna Lamia from the book of the same name by Elin Hilderbrand, who is known as the queen of beach books. Lamia has preserved exactly what makes such books great and given us a gloriously ridiculous treat. Nothing to do but sit back and enjoy.
The critic emphasizes: ‘It’s almost impossible to resist the temptation to watch this stylish detective series, set around a posh Nantucket wedding, in its entirety.’
“It’s a glorious, perfectly timed delight,” she says, though other critics have a very different take.
The series could have been a piece of ‘biting satire’, but according to The IndependentNick Hilton, the show is ‘as crazy as it is derivative.’
According to Hilton, the irony of the series with this particular title is that “there’s no perfection to be found, despite all the beachside locations, designer dresses and wedding cakes that could feed a small army.”
He adds: ‘The star quality of the cast and their creative qualities should be taken with a grain of salt: this is a fine recording of unadulterated trash.’
The series is an adaptation of the 2018 novel of the same name by Elin Hilderbrand, which has been called the ‘queen of beach reading’.
“It may or may not have something to say about the rich and the poor, the power of money to corrupt, and class consciousness, but it doesn’t have the interest in such questions that, say, The White Lotus did,” she added.
The critic stresses that “it’s nearly impossible to resist the temptation to binge-watch the entire film of this stylish detective drama, set around a posh wedding on Nantucket.”
He adds: ‘The star power of the cast and their creative bona fides should be taken with a grain of salt: this is a neat recording of unadulterated bungling.’
Hilton adds that while the book “was written to be consumed by a pool in Cabo with piña coladas in the background, the TV adaptation will be consumed by hungover commuters on crowded trains.”
Hilton adds that while the book “was written to be consumed by a pool in Cabo over piña coladas, the TV adaptation will be consumed by hungover commuters on crowded trains.”
He also calls it a “transparently cynical rip-off” of similar series like The White Lotus, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers.
The third review of the Irish examinerPat Fitzpatrick claimed that if fans liked The White Lotus, they won’t like The Perfect Couple.
“They’re both from the same movie, but The White Lotus is much better. It’s a run-of-the-mill TV show at this point,” Fitzpatrick said.
The critic added: “There’s not enough in the characters to keep you watching for more than 30 minutes. And no amount of plot can save that.”
“If you want some Muzak TV that will throw in some pretty pictures while you scroll through your phone in the evening, then this might be it. But if you’re looking for a solid show that will take the edge off the approaching evenings, then you’ll need to look elsewhere,” Fitzpatrick concludes the review.