The key to enjoyingBarry and it is very enjoyable, in a variety of ways is to go in with zero expectations.
Though the half-hour series stars formerSaturday Night LivefavoriteBill Hader as a depressed hitman who decides to become an actor, the show delivers suprisingly more dark than comedy, and overall it elicits more heartbreak than hilarity.
Hader is phenomenal as Barry, a former Marine who channels his post-service misery into a job as a low-level contract killer offing small-town hoods.
Credit: John P. Johnson/HBO
After an assignment leads him to an acting class in Los Angeles, Barry winds up on stage and for the first time in a long time, he feels seen.
Never mind that the class is taught by a barely-working actor (a perfectly pretentious Henry Winkler) and populated by wannabes who likely never will; all Barry sees is a close-knit group of friends united by a singular passion and purpose two things he desperately yearns for.
What follows is a knotty thriller that spoofs everything from LAs everyones an actor culture to cop dramas to the office politics of the Chechen Mafia.
The 8-episode first season (premiering Sunday at 10:30 p.m.) is rife with sly visual gags and delightful performances, including Stephen Root as Barrys manipulative mentor, andGothams Anthony Carrigan as a well-mannered mobster named NoHo Hank.
The real revelation, though, is Hader, whose Barry is a tangle of sadness, anger, naivete and yearning.
In one of the shows many acts of subversion, the monologue that earns Barry entry into the acting class ticks every for your Emmy consideration box but it should also establish Hader as a legitimate awards contender.
Its fine to come toBarryfor the laughs (there are plenty) but dont be surprised if you wind up coming back for the unexpected, and unexpectedly moving, character study.
Its Barrys sad search for direction and his often-thwarted mission to reinvent himself that elevates this story to something more than a typical TV caper.B+
