“White House Plumbers” TV Series Review

General Information:

Created by — Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck

Starring — Woody Harrelson (E. Howard Hunt), Justin Theroux (G. Gordon Liddy), Lena Heady (Dorothy Hunt), and Domhnall Gleeson (John Dean)

Synopsis — Based on the novel “Integrity” by Egil and Matthew Krogh and the real life events that took place, we follow the masterminds of the Watergate break-in during the Nixon presidency, doing whatever they could to secure the president’s upcoming reelection.

Where to Watch — Miniseries on Max

Review:

One day, I saw my boyfriend watching the first episode of “White House Plumbers” and I asked him about it.  He said it was about the people behind the famous Watergate scandal.  Now, I was not a huge history buff in high school but I knew that this scandal was the reason Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.  That was as in depth that we really seemed to go into (or at least that is what I gathered from school), so I was down to see what happened.  Turns out, this was a lot more complex than I had originally thought nearly 10 years ago in the classroom.

This miniseries adds nothing too original to the biopic-style of show, but the reason why I found this so entertaining was because of the acting.  Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux star as the main idealists behind the break-in and their chemistry on screen is amazing.  Theroux is a riot as Liddy to the point where I could not stand his character.  Harrelson and Theroux are great when they have their individual scenes throughout the show, but it is when they are together that makes the show thrive.  Lena Heady as Harrelson’s wife is also another scene stealer; I did not even recognize that I was watching Cersei Lannister at first because she was so deep into this role.  Her and Harrelson also work well together — you believe them as a struggling couple but they need to keep it together for the sake of their family.  Their children — Saint John (Liam James), Lisa (Zoe Levine), David (Tre Ryder) and Kevan (Kiernan Shipka) — also each have the opportunity to stand out and give us more of a background of how the Hunt family operates.  And everyone’s favorite best girlfriend, Judy Greer, is here as Theroux’s wife Fran and she is bringing all of the Judy Greer-ness that you can expect from her.  Everyone works so well together it makes the show worth watching.  If anything, I wish we were able to go into more depth with the characters that helped with the break-in alongside Hunt and Liddy.  Each of them were fun to watch, but if they were given more screen time, I feel as though they could have only elevated the show as they all had great chemistry with their counterparts as well.

The main format of the show is that you are not really sure if what they are doing is what actually happened.  There is a lot of secrecy between the characters that it adds to the mysterious element of the show.  Even though we are taught a lot of our history and how the government works, we will never have the full story of what really goes on behind the scenes.  This aspect also made me realize how much I either 1. did not pay attention to this lesson in class or 2. we were not taught much about the details of Watergate.  I genuinely was confused about the history behind this scandal because the show kept me questioning.  At certain points, I think it was because the dialogue can get lost with some of the scenes, but I also think it was done intentionally to give it a mysterious undertone.  While I can see some viewers may not feel this way about the format and writing, I think it worked in order to elevate the show from basic biopic to an intriguing story.

If you are a history buff or want to learn more about a mysterious part of America’s history, then you should check out “White House Plumbers.”  Even if the writing is not up to par, stick around for the chemistry between all of the characters. 

 

3.5/5

“XO, Kitty” TV Show Review

General Information:

Created by – Jenny Han

Starring – Anna Cathcart (Kitty), Choi Min-young (Dae), Anthony Keyvan (Q), Gia Kim (Yuri), and Sang Heon Lee (Min Ho)

Premise – After being the matchmaker for her older sister, Kitty is ready to take a chance on love for herself as she travels to her mother’s former school in Korea to meet her long-distance online boyfriend and learn more about her mother’s past, but everything is deeper than it appears on the surface.

Review:

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” was one of my favorite trilogies of movies and books as it was always so wholesome and cutesy, playing with the stereotypical rom-com tropes but in a new and refreshing way for the late 2010s. Due to its success, Netflix decided to give the popular little sister character, Kitty, her own spin-off TV series.  When this was first announced, I thought it was just another way for a major streaming service to bank off of one IP’s success and milk it for all that it is worth.  But “XO, Kitty” is something that can exist on its own without having to rely on the stars of the movies that made it possible, another refreshing change of pace from what has been becoming popular in recent media.

The charm of Cathcart is what drives the show to be as cute as it is.  It has that same “To All the Boys” feel without having to constantly mention that it is a spin-off.  We start the show with Kitty convincing her dad and step-mom to let her attend her mother’s former international high school, the Korean International School of Seoul (KISS), making them the only recurring characters to physically show up in the show and only for a brief period of time.  Her sisters, Margot and Lara Jean, are also only mentioned by name sporadically throughout the series but never make an appearance.  If you knew nothing about the “To All the Boys” universe, you could easily get into this show and not be lost.  It’s fun to know more of the background information and they do make fun hints to the original movies, but this show can stand on its own, making it even more enjoyable than it already is.

The characters we follow are in some ways a little one-dimensional that has one trait being the main focus over the rest of who they are as a person (the gay one, the rich spoiled one, etc.).  They do try to go more in depth with who they are as people throughout the season, but a lot of it is at the end where the storylines begin to feel rushed.  While I loved every single character for who they were trying to portray, I wish the series explored each of them more without having to give us the best information at the end.  Even though Kitty is the main character and this is her story, I wish there was just extra time in the episodes to dedicate to one person and have them be the driving force of the episode rather than the side character who gets their small B-plot.  I know that this show is not going to be the most groundbreaking when it comes to character development, but in my hopes a season two is coming, this is the first thing that I would make adjustments for now that we know who they are.

The story is simple and something that you can shut your brain off and enjoy.  Now, most people would take that as a bad thing, but I think that is what makes this show thrive.  It is simple and fun and that is exactly what this type of show needs.  If it took  itself too seriously, that would be a major departure from what we have come to love about Kitty.  I also think that it would have taken away from how anyone can get into the show without having to have prior knowledge on who Kitty is.  With its flowing and care-free approach, the story is sacrificed a bit but for a greater purpose. The episodes are short and feel short which is a nice change of pace with how long television has gotten in the rise of streaming services.  You can easily finish it in a day or two and get on with your life with a new cutesy show to talk about.

Overall, the show is fun and light and does something nice by not relying heavily on its previous work to justify its existence.  I am praying for season two so we can fix issues that the first season had, like the simple characters and not having enough time to flesh them out, while keeping the ease of the show that made it so much fun to watch.