TV Review: HBO's 'Hung'
Hung, starring Thomas Jane as Ray Decker, is a new HBO comedy about a well-endowed high school coach who becomes a gigolo in order to make ends meet. It debuted Sunday night. (Watch a preview clip below.)
“Hung’s awkward tone (partly intentional, since the pilot was directed by Alexander Payne, writer- director of that gem of awkward comedy Sideways) becomes frustrating. The series needs to commit: Either evolve into a funny, sexy stud-romp or hang it up.”
-Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly
“Amidst all the sniggering humor…is some smart comedy about the state of 21st century America in general, as well as a superb lead performance from Thomas Jane.”
-Alan Sepinwall, The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.)
“Hung is worth watching. There are worse ways to spend your nights than with Ray Drecker: male prostitute.”
-Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times
“Despite some less-than-stellar story lines…Ray comes across as a genuine Everyman. Who just happens to have a certain God-given talent that will allow him to survive.”
-Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
“It’s worth a look, but it is not a series to build your viewing night around.”
-David Zurawik, Baltimore Sun
“Thomas Jane…exudes a convincing odor of despair as Ray. So does Jane Adams as one of his former one-night-stands who abandons her abysmally failed career as a poet to become his pimpette. If anything, they’re too convincing; the humor in Hung tends to get blotted out by the melancholia.”
-Glenn Garvin, The Miami Herald
“Hung has potential, but a show about an amateur male gigolo trying to make ends meet should be funnier, or at least more dramatic.”
-Michael Shrage, The Huffington Post
“It’s hard to imagine this premise yielding years of rich development. But, if you can get past the title, Hung does offer a warm portrait of underdogs, as well as another piquant moral quandary for viewers.”
-Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe
“Nothing in the extended pilot makes you think there’s enough to fill a series, and nothing in the three episodes that follow does anything to alter that impression.”
-Robert Bianco, USA Today
“HBO bills Hung as a comedy, but it uses comedy the way it uses sex - to set up darker, more interesting and complex points. It’s amazing how many of those are out there.”
-David Hinckley, New York Daily News
Watch a preview clip below:
Kalea commented:
Super excited to see more of this kind of stuff olnnie.
sunshine mama commented:
i really enjoy a dark, almost funny show about things that every real person has dreamed of doing!!! HBO make it epic plz
Erik Donald France commented:
Fantastic show -- has the Detroit Zeitgeist down perfectly. I mean perfectly.
JRW commented:
I LOVE this show and I've built my Sunday around it :)
Ted commented:
The show does suck but somehow it has been picked up for a second season.
Peter commented:
I've watched all the episodes so far. I've been extremely disappointed so far. Very little comedy. None of the characters are well developed...and the plot lines are extremely boring. I think I'll have to give up on this show.
Darlene commented:
My Husband and I watch the everyweek, we like the show, think it pretty funny and different, but did you hold ugly auditions to cast the children? You have a pretty mom and a good looking dad and kids that look like they belong outside with the dog.
soze512 commented:
I gave this show a shot up until 8/30. I'm done. It's going NOWHERE! Please, something happen! Something dramatic, something actually funny. I understand it is a look at middleclass melancholia, but I feel like it is pretty shallow. Even the love-making scenes feel more perverse than insightful. I can't stand the woman who antagonizes T-Brain. She is, to me, one dimensional and quite frankly, I'm not feeling Thomas Jane either. He's kind of flat. Even when he's upset, I don't feel sorry for him. I gave it a shot. I really did. I wanted to like it.
Ronnie commented:
This show sucks. I want my time back. When will it be canceled so we can see something good?
monique commented:
Love this show. Love the situations, love the resolutions. Seen all the episodes so far and love them all. Love the akward first time pimp. Love how "Ray" handles women who might not attract him by looking deeper. I think there is much said here about our times and decisions made necessary to our survival. Many folks prostitute themselves, figuratively, in other jobs.
Stringer McNulty commented:
It's a pretty solid show. Soapoperasformen.com is doing a decent job covering it, funny stuff.
Larry David commented:
Looking forward to episode 2! Funny and dark at the same time. Not as good as the Sopranos or the Wire but nothing on t.v. is.
Vernon commented:
I only watched 20 minutes of this putrid garbage and couldn't take no more. Comedy? Where is it? I didn't laugh! This shows is over 50 minutes too long! HBO do yourself a favor and add a funny show to your lineup. This is getting ridiculous!!!!!!!!!