I must admit I am writing this review just for the headline. “The Review” is more than just its name however. Throughout the mockumentary’s three seasons on Comedy Central, the overeager Forrest McNeil, played by comedian Andy Daly, “reviews” whatever activities viewers send him. These requests range from “eating fifteen pancakes” to “stealing things” to “being Irish”. In his efforts to review these experiences as authentically as possible, the hapless Forrest soon finds himself in over his head. When someone asks him to review the process of divorce, for example, he throws himself into the task at hand, asking his wife to dissolve their marriage with little to no thought of the actual consequences outside of his review. 

Though some might find this show depressing rather than comedic as Forrest’s life slowly deteriorates while he goes to bigger and bigger extremes to complete his reviews, the show’s regular formula keeps the energy and humor consistently high. In each episode, Forrest completes three reviews. Sometimes the results of his experiments are life altering in ways that continue to impact the rest of the show, like his deteriorating relationship with his wife. Other times the seemingly extreme reviews, like “getting shot, ” are forgotten by the next episode. As someone who enjoys both episodic and serial storylines, this show is perfect for me.

While there is quality acting done throughout, especially by Daly development, the ideas are really what makes this show shine. The show’s format allows for all sorts of topics to be examined and reviewed by Forrest and rarely are they not taken to the extreme. It is a very simple comedy show in that regard. The humor is often visual or slapstick and Daly does very well with physical humor but if comedic nuance is what you are looking for this might not satisfy you. The major criticism I have with the show is its over reliance on sexual humor. As could be expected for a show which features fake internet submissions for what should be reviewed, as the series goes on, the reviews get more sexual and crass in nature, and less creativity is alloted to the more entertaining PG ones. 

Comedy Central nevertheless managed to put together a very solid show which, in my opinion, has been regrettably overlooked. It remains one of the best solely comedic shows out there and regularly had me holding back laughter as I was rewatching it late into the night, after my roommate had gone to sleep. It manages to find immense amounts of humor in the most wildly depressing of situations and that is what has kept me coming back countless times since I discovered it. Review: Five Stars. 

“The Review” is available on Paramount Plus and on the Comedy Central website, though the best clips are also available on Youtube.