Blockbuster'. Netflix

2022 - 11 - 3

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The A.V. Club"

Actually, maybe you don't want to make it a Blockbuster night (The A.V. Club)

Netflix's workplace comedy has plenty of talent, thanks to a cast led by Randall Park and Melissa Fumero, but not nearly enough laughs.

[Midsommar](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/midsommar-2019) and [La La Land](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/la-la-land-2016) to calling [James Corden a bully and a menace](https://www.avclub.com/james-corden-balthazar-apology-late-late-show-1849699576)—but none of it elicits as much as a chuckle. And [American Vandal](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/american-vandal)’s Tyler Alvarez and [To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/to-all-the-boys-i-ve-loved-before-2018)’s Madeleine Arthur are MVPs as the other fun duo, young coworkers and BFFs Carlos and Hannah. [Fresh Off The Boat](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/fresh-off-the-boat) and B99, respectively, aid the ensemble. The jokes often feel as dated as the Blockbuster gimmick it’s trying to pull off. It’s specifically reminiscent of workplace comedies like [Superstore](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/superstore), [Brooklyn Nine-Nine](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/brooklyn-nine-nine), [Parks And Recreation](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/parks-and-recreation), or the sadly short-lived [Great News](https://www.avclub.com/great-news-brings-a-bit-of-30-rock-s-spirit-back-to-nbc-1798191211) in terms of tonality, its diverse ensemble, and how it tries to tap into the zeitgeist. The humor is either cringe-worthy or forced, as are the situations that lead to it, including a prank gone wrong and a ridiculous solar storm that briefly turns off the internet. [Blockbuster](https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/blockbuster-2022) is meant to evoke nostalgia. In typical Leslie Knope or Michael Scott fashion, his employees are pretty much like his family (a trope that rarely exists in the real world). Here, she’s saddled with a mostly one-note character as a disheveled wife fighting to find her “me time.” Fumero is quite entertaining, but the script doesn’t do her justice. In fact, the very first joke in the premiere is about how audiences have quickly pivoted to streaming over renting DVDs. Timmy Yoon (Randall Park) is the lovable manager of the last operating Blockbuster. the list goes on and on) that have tried to recapture old-school sitcom magic.

Netflix's Blockbuster is a Cute, Forgettable Sitcom | TV/Streaming ... (Roger Ebert)

Netflix got one of its biggest ha-has (read in Nelson Muntz voice) when it started hosting last year a little-seen documentary called “The Last Blockbuster ...

But there was a moment in which I was watching it that I forgot it was on and just went to do some dishes, only to remember that it was still playing. And then every now and then it’ll batch references in a manner that can best be called impressive, like when a single sentence mentions both “Escape Room 2” and “ But here, the employees are a pseudo dysfunctional family who talk about movies a lot (more on that later), and don’t have to worry too much about their store's relevancy.

Stream It Or Skip It: 'Blockbuster' On Netflix, A Workplace Comedy ... (Decider)

Randall Park, Melissa Fumero and JB Smoove lead the ensemble cast in a show that takes place in a fictional version of the last Blockbuster on the planet.

We like the cast of Blockbuster, especially Park, Fumero and Smoove. The first episode leans too heavily on gags about Blockbuster being an anachronism in this digital age, but then the second episode leans away from that so much that it feels like an episode that could have taken place in just about any setting. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere. Another issue is that it may take Ramos and her writing staff time to find that sweet spot where Blockbuster is a workplace comedy with a sense of its setting. A B-story about Carlos getting unusually upset at the death of the local TV film critic is an example of this. Sex and Skin: None in the first two episode. Then he gets a call from Blockbuster corporate: The remaining Blockbuster stores are closing, leaving his store as the last Blockbuster on the planet. Eliza, already touchy about things, taps out of the planning, but comes back to help out Tommy when the party gets out of control. It was shocking to us, given the talent in front of and behind the camera. Our Take: The first episode of Blockbuster is, to be frank, pretty bad. However, a decidedly 2020s twist during the party will help the last Blockbuster stay open for a little while longer. The Gist: Timmy Yoon (Randall Park) manages the store, in a strip mall in Michigan.

'Blockbuster' Tries, and Fails, to Escape the Irony of Airing on Netflix ... (Variety)

Netflix's 'Blockbuster' can't escape the irony of its situation, despite Randall Park and Melissa Fumero's best efforts.

It could’ve ditched the 2022 setting and taken place in the past, even if a more recent one (the late aughts would do!). After this point, though, the show quietly drops this thread — or even any real suggestion that the last Blockbuster might follow in its doomed parent company’s footsteps — for so much of the 10-episode season that you’d be forgiven for wondering if it was suddenly taking place in an alternate universe. It’s not the fault of the show itself — a workplace comedy set in the last Blockbuster video store — that the biggest streaming service on the planet bought it, but without being set in the past, it has a hell of a hard time getting out from underneath that shadow all the same. For as hard as its upbeat music and capable actors try to sell it, “Blockbuster” struggles to land on a comedic tempo all its own. Even though the pilot episode throws out jokes that could’ve used a couple more passes, it at least promises some kind of mission statement for the show to come. Rounding out the Blockbuster staff are Madeline Arthur and Kamai Fairburn, who bring some welcome wild card energy to otherwise predictable scenes.

Blockbuster Premiere: Randall Park and Melissa Fumero Weigh in ... (TVLine)