Fri 19 Jun 2020
A TV Pilot Review: OZARK “Sugarwood†(2017).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV Drama[3] Comments
OZARK “Sugarwood,†Netflix, 21 July 2017. Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Esai Morales. Director: Jason Bateman.
As a pilot for this series that’s now in its third season on Netflix, it does its job exceedingly well. Due to some serious lapses on the part of his fellow members in a plan to skim off a potion of the profits in a money-laundering scheme they are working on for a Mexican drug cartel, Marty Byrde, his wife and two children must pack up their bags overnight and leave Chicago behind so he can start anew in the area around the Lake of the Ozarks.
I did not know that the shoreline of the lake is longer than hat of the entire state of California, did you? With tourists and other visitors from all over the world, it seems as though the area wold be a great spot to start business up again, or so Byrde manages to convince Camino “Del” Del Rio (Esai Morales) in a desperate attempt to save his life.
It takes the full hour to set up the premise. It is assumed that things are Not Going to Go Well. Other than that, though, there is, however, no indication of where the story line will go from here. In fact I should not even pretend that I am reviewing the series at all, based on this first episode, which is well enough done that watching the second one is a must before passing judgment, so I won’t.
I will say this, however. I found nothing interesting to say so far about the newly exiled father, who as a crook and not a very good one at that, is very nearly a cipher, even at episode’s end; nor his wife, who has been cheating on him; nor his daughter, a whiny teen-aged girl; nor his nebbish younger son.
No, the standout at this point is Esai Morales, a loyal lieutenant in the drug cartel and a man who knows his job and does it well. He also knows the answer to the question he poses to Byrde and his associates when he first finds them out: If a loyal female clerk in a family business for many years is found taking the cash from the till, should she be fired, or should she be forgiven?
I knew the answer, the crime boss knows, and by the end of this first episode, Marty Byrde has figured it out as well.
June 20th, 2020 at 8:06 am
Steve,
Glad to see you finally got around to this show. Stick with it, it’s almost like watching one of those old serials with cliffhanger endings. And yes, Marty doesn’t show much emotion in any of the episodes, less than a handful for sure over thirty shows worth. Fabulous storyline, acting, etc. all around. And wait til you meet Ruth!
Enjoy, and give us more reports every few shows if possible.
June 20th, 2020 at 8:59 am
Quite right, Paul. It will take more than this first episode to see where the story is going. If I don’t report back on the blog, we will certainly have something to talk about whenever you stop over here again.
June 20th, 2020 at 8:59 pm
I’m holding this one back since I watched the first episode for a time when I may want to spend more attention on it that I really feel like investing right now.
Some shows are like that. You have to be in the mood to get involved.