a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z #
Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021)
Reviewed on 2024 September 2
I saw this on AppleTV, and the title made me think it was a typical sitcom and something that wouldn’t interest me. Boy was I wrong. Someone who I know owe a solid mentioned on a web page that this was not just an excellent show, but a great study of a narcissistic character and the trauma they cause. Boy were they right.
The series starts with Allison McRoberts (Annie Murphy destroying it) as the put upon wife in a ridiculous sitcom style of a show, with toddling Seinfeldish music, wandering into a beer pong game in her living room, complete with a canned laugh track. We meet the titular character: Kevin (Eric Petersen). Kevin is a human cyclone who surrounds himself with a loopy best friend Neil (Alex Bonifer), his deadpan sister Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden), and an equally useless old man, Pete (Brian Howe). They’re in Worcester, Massachusetts. Kevin and his tribe love it. Allison wants to chew off her own leg to get out of there. The trouble is that — without giving away anything to you — she keeps getting Kevined. The more she wants to escape the harder it gets. Very few people in their town seem to see this — they just see funny, goofy, party animal Kevin. Good luck getting his drinking buddies and court jesters to see it.
What makes it insidious is that Kevin doesn’t seem to mean to cause havoc, but he doesn’t care. He just wants what he wants, and anything that’s fallout from his actions (or inactions) doesn’t matter. The acting from everyone is incredibly good, and it highlights some things very well. A lot of narcissists seem to be able to slap on charm the way people can put on makeup, and this show highlights it in a way few other shows or movies have.
Three morsels and (of course) a beer.
— Shukti
