Mammals

Until I watched Mammals and read the references to James Corden, I'd never heard of him. I still don't know much so this review is based only on the show, nothing else.

The story is nothing special, boy-meets-girl, fall in love and then out of love (will they get back together?), but the low-key presentation and somewhat laconic humour make it mildly amusing. Corden's strength in Mammals is not humour though, but a searing, almost child-like, emotional honesty. This is more interesting than the somewhat 'modern' reliance on bathos (think The Office, or Fleabag). A lot of what passes for humour here is bathetic, but if comedy is the art of saying something serious in an amusing way, then there is enough here to entertain.

Where it falls down, and quite hard, is the meandering fantasy of one of the characters that doesn't seem to serve any purpose in the story arc.

No one comes out of this particularly well, and I was left a bit deflated and wondering why Mammals had been presented this way (the advertising photo is utterly meaningless). It's okay, but there is much better out there.

Sorry, the Tom Jones cameo set me off (he sings Stoke's song and I'm a Vale fan).

Ignore the reviews, honestly it's just people who don't like Corden with a passion, which I don't really get tbh.

I'm not a fan of him nowadays either, I loved Gavin & Stacey and remember he's acted in a load of things back in the day, people seem to forget he was an actor and writer first, so I can't see how they can say his acting is bad.

But he's basically become a plastic yank and a caricature of an English bloke at the same time which is why I'm not a fan. I also think a lot of people don't like his political views (I don't know what they are) since a reviewer on here called him Corbyn...

Anyway back to the review; Genuinely this is pretty good, there is a few laughs and there's some proper drama and I think anyone who's in a relationship really should watch, no spoilers but honestly it will make you think and be warned it gets a bit dark and affected me in a visceral way due to past relationships.

It's filmed well, there's a good supporting cast and I prefer Corden as an actor than a telly host 100% and I think he did an above average performance in this. But there is always the essence of Smithy in there, I have to admit.

If the first episode doesn't grip you then don't bother, but I can almost guarantee it will.

Ignore the troll hate and make your own mind up, but at least give it a go.

7/10.

James Corden will always be Smithy from Gavin and Stacey to me and I did like him in that role. Then he moved to the USA, got his own show and went all "Hollywood". When I saw that he was starring in this new series on Prime I was going to give it a miss until I saw Colin Morgan's name. I held my nose and pressed play so I could at least watch Colin. I have to say it was far better than I expected. JC was ok (a more serious Smithy) and Colin didn't disappoint (a very different and cute role for him). The first episode hooked me straight away due to the small twist at the end. The scenery, countryside and homes were beautiful. The Tom Jones cameo topped it off.

I echo the surprise at the poor reviews. I'm guessing they're driven by Mr Cordon's media personality? But! If you dislike someone don't watch their work.

Mr Cordon, I'm sure, at times, can be disagreeable; as can we all. I'm not American, therefore don't watch his chat show, so, I've come to this untainted and think the show is okay. It's decent.

Cordon does a good job in this retelling of a story old as time. The show has that English sense of mirth in misery; which gives it a realistic touch. No insincere Hollywood dramatisation here.

It's not a jolly old comedy romp and it's not supposed to be. In my opinion, it's a dark comedy that will make you feel uneasy and occasional smile.

Well I was decently gripped from start to end and I wanted to finish the whole series in one session. Nice and short at just 30 mins a piece so not a hard task. The acting was slightly over the top by Cordon but Hawkins was standout and the fantastical side plot drew me in.

The locations and cinematography were great, it shot the beautiful aspect of cities and countryside.

There seems to be a lot of negative reviews and I was almost put off watching this pretty decent series based on these however I am glad I flicked it on the box last night. Definitely worth a watch, even for a non James Cordon fan.