I expected Horace & Pete to be like Louis CK Part II – short, crisp, mostly hilarious episodes about some middle-aged guys. So, in the beginning I was slightly disappointed to see that the first episodes of H&P turned out to be like full feature movies, however, without, almost any action, fast-forwards or exciting flashbacks, unexpected twists etc. The episodes sometimes seemed to be long, protracted and in some moments – honestly, a bit boring, and even more often so – painfully embarrassing, even sad. Yet, somehow, I kept watching... Because, as I understand now, it made me truly believe that these people are real, like me or most of the people I know, and I actually felt for them. Take Steve Buscemi, for example, – you know, it's Steve Buscemi, the guy from Fargo, Tarantino movies, you name it. But in H&P you believe – that is Pete, and you kind of root for him. The same goes for Louis CK - although you can still see it's Louis CK, and he is very much the same guy he was in the Louis series (well, without the excessive masturbatory habits anyway...), you can't help but empathize with him. I guess there lies the brilliance of H&P – what it depicts is the closest thing to a normal, regular, average life, with all the lowly daily drudgery, failures, and the brief glimpses of tenderness that come when you least expect them and tear your battered, cold heart open. Like today, I was watching S01E09 in the background while putting on my makeup, and, out of the blue, Tom, the old guy with the beret, said this random thing, a few lines about love and I completely lost it – it turned me into a sobbing mess in the middle of the day, just like that. I guess that's the beauty of H&P – you can actually believe that the characters are like you, like real, average people, who have been through the same embarrassing, tender, painful and for some fleeting moments - happy experiences that life throws at you. So, to wind it up - this is definitely a show for grown-ups, preferably - slightly weathered ones. So, take your time and take it slowly.
