On December 12th, the comedic drama «No Good Deed» dropped on Netflix, featuring 8 episodes and boasting a charming cast. It includes stars like Ray Romano, Linda Cardellini, Luke Wilson, and Lisa Kudrow from the legendary sitcom «Friends». In the review below, we’ll explore how well this lovely bunch interacts on screen and whether this story can entertain us with thrilling twists.
Pluses:
a good cast; the presence of interesting moments in the plot; a great soundtrack; comfortable episode timing;
Minuses:
unnecessary storylines supported by uninteresting characters; uncertainty between comedy and drama, which ultimately did not allow the authors to realize themselves properly in either genre;
«No Good Deed»
Genre comedy, drama
Showrunner Liz Feldman
Starring Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow, Linda Cardellini, Luke Wilson, Teyonah Parris, Abbi Jacobson, Poppy Liu, Denis Leary
Premiere Netflix
Release Year 2024
Website IMDb
Paul and Lydia Morgan are selling their luxurious house located in sunny Los Feliz, adjacent to Hollywood. It seems they are going through tough times, and Lydia hasn’t recovered from a tragic event that made her quit playing the piano. Nevertheless, there’s no shortage of people eager to snatch up the posh property. There’s a young couple expecting their first child, a pair of in-love lesbians, one of whom has a knack for investigation, and even the neighbors across the street—a popular actor, his daughter, and his glamorous wife.
Alongside the competition to buy the house, there’s the human factor: each of the aforementioned characters has their own worries and problems. Someone’s been unhappy in their marriage for a while, someone else, despite being an adult, can’t escape their mother’s clutches, someone’s career has clearly taken a wrong turn, and another is boldly lying to their partner. And it seems the Morgans themselves might have something to hide. Amid all these events, truly Hollywood-style passions will unfold in Los Feliz.
Genre-wise, «No Good Deed» wobbles uncertainly between a frivolous comedy about a bunch of idiots (no wonder with Mr. Will Ferrell listed as one of the executive producers) and a drama with hints of detective. The problem is that it’s not funny enough for a comedy and not deep enough for a full-fledged drama. Moreover, the comedic and dramatic elements in Liz Feldman’s new show coexist rather poorly.
The showrunner’s previous project was the crime drama/black comedy «Dead to Me». Along with Will Ferrell behind the scenes and a certain criminal element, Lisa Cardellini has migrated here too, albeit in a somewhat caricatured, yet vivid role. While it’s still interesting to watch her, as well as the nominal main characters played by Romano and Kudrow, the same can’t be said about everyone else.
One of the lesbians is very inquisitive and seems to take on the investigation of an incident that occurred in the dream house. But this plotline is so poorly developed and superficially shown that the detective element simply gets lost among the peaceful struggles of all involved. Nor is the story of Paul’s ominous brother properly fleshed out. For example, the arc with the Black couple, where the husband is a total mama’s boy, offers neither quality dramatic development nor comedy. Watching their truly Santa Barbara-style passions is quite a pleasure.
While watching, one gets the distinct impression that all these plotlines exist solely to drag out time and meet those same Netflix «quota for narratives» that you often write about in the comments.
But just having LGBT characters on screen isn’t enough to consider the story successful. Their characters need to be well-written, their interactions meaningful, adding some weight to the story, rather than just putting them in front of the camera and awarding them a few pages of tedious dialogue. Even the distinctly comic and clearly secondary gay realtor can’t add the appropriate humor.
The arcs featuring the amorphous actor played by Luke Wilson and his opportunistic wife Margo (mostly due to Cardellini’s energetic performance), as well as the Morgans themselves, are notably more interesting. The latter captivate not so much with drama, which peaks in the final episode, but with the mysterious tragedy that occurred in the house they put up for sale and is gradually revealed through brief flashbacks.
The uneven tone and engagement of the story are sweetened by past rock hits, appearing here and there to accompany the visuals.
The creators don’t shy away from using Bon Jovi with their ballad «Wanted Dead or Alive» (which also featured in the musical «Rock of Ages» performed by Tom Cruise), or, for example, «Carry On Wayward Son» by Kansas, which you definitely heard if you’ve watched the cult «Supernatural».
Also surprising is the use by the creators of a visual effect from noughties blockbusters, where the camera literally «rushes» through tight spaces like a sinkhole or chimney. The presence of this outdated and rather forgotten technique is completely unjustified and adds no elegance to the shot.
In the end, you can, of course, watch it, especially if you practice «background» viewing on streaming. Occasionally, there are genuinely interesting moments. But behind the facade of the story lies something indistinct and empty, lacking both engaging comedy that can amuse and deep drama that makes you truly empathize with characters who have suffered loss.
It was definitely better when Phoebe Buffay was jamming on her guitar than when she tentatively took on the more somber piano.
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