Review for BRIDGERTON (on Netflix)...
As I was drunk-posting (on Facebook) last night about my BRIDGERTON binge (yes, I binged the whole thing last night, was up until 2 AM, and yes, I was drinking at the beginning, but unfortunately my buzz wore off about halfway through and I was stone cold sober for the end)...one word kept popping into my head...CRINGE.
Three main things about the show:
1. My overall impression was sort of a surreal over-the-top cartoon p*rno. Highly cringe-worthy.
2. This has about as much in common with Julia Quinn's books as RIVERDALE has with the original Archie comic series...which is to say, almost nothing. Sure, the characters have the same name, and it loosely has the same setting, but other than that, it was merely a jumping-off point for a surreal cartoon p*rno.
3. It's entertaining. (Although I was bored a lot).
Julia Quinn's series may not be a literary masterpiece (I once called her the Master of Marshmallow Fluff), but those books had a lot of heart and soul and sweetness. I would call them "wholesome" even with the sex scenes.
The film version is not wholesome. It also lost the heart and soul of the books (which isn't uncommon with book-to-film).
One of Quinn's strengths is characterization. Her plots are often weak, but the characters felt real. (I chose the name "Penny" based on Penelope Featherington for a reason). The characters in the film version lost that magic. The acting was not great, and the characters were flat and cartoonish.
The Ariana Grande song at the beginning was a false lead. I thought this show was going to be clever, edgy, quirky, ironic.
But the cringe-worthy stuff started right away. The sex scenes were redundant and boring. In all fairness, THE DUKE AND I is one of the weakest books in the series, with a sort of convoluted plot and problematic issues.
Were there highlights?
Oh, yes!
Gorgeous colorful costumes (although I would reckon anachronistic, not sure about that), gorgeous colorful sets. Flowers! Swoony! The color palette thing going on with the Bridgerton family (whites, pale blues and violets)...utterly stunning. Fun music, too.
The queen was fabulous. Lady Danbury was fabulous. The boxer was great. The actors-of-color stole the show.
Whoever did the casting for the white peeps--Bridgertons in particular--bleh. The Bridgerton guys were not sexy at all. In fact, they sort of creeped me out. Hee hee!
I will say that the final scene in the rain with Daphne and Simon was well-written and romantic.
Overall...a weird adaptation, although entertaining enough for me to binge-watch with a glass of Unicum.
For some thoughts about the Quinn Series, check out this link.
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