Review: Mr Corman – s01e01-03

One of the advantages of there now being a lot of streaming platforms that attract big stars, is that there is space for the slightly unusual.  Mr Corman on Apple TV feels like one of those, as it is created by, written by, stars, and is produced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

The likelihood is that it has been a bit of a passion project of his for a while, and he has now had the opportunity to explore it.  While the list of credits may be reminiscent of the old Little Britain joke about Dennis Waterman wanting to “write the theme tune, sing the theme tune”, all the roles here are handled well and probably helps to give it more cohesion.

Essentially what we get is to follow the mundane life of Josh Corman (Gordon-Levitt), who now teaches fifth grade in the San Fernando Valley, but had aspirations to be a famous musician.  As the series starts Josh is dissatisfied with life, and desperate to feel something in his mundane existence.  He is slowly coming to terms with the reality that the world is not a meritocracy and trying to find some meaning in life, while living in the heart of artifice.

He is not alone though, and his roommate Victor (Arturo Castro) is similarly lost, despite also having a career, as are all their friends.  The series is laced with despair and ennui, and very much has that painful feeling that Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm does.  For many, this will resonate to a great degree and be extremely uncomfortable.

For Josh, his actions are now almost a desperate ‘Hail-Mary’ to reconnect with life, and he struggles to gain the satisfaction he craves.  From hunting for approval from an annoying student, going out to clubs, and meeting women, he comes up against his own and others insecurities.  None of the people he meets are particularly satisfied and are all hiding behind some social construct or other, whether that be an old music friend who proclaims that he’s ‘verified’ as a badge of success, or the woman he fails to sleep with lashing out at him when he fails to perform.

The slow burn of Mr Corman may not suit some viewers, but it is worth sticking with, as despite the unease you may well feel, there is much invention in its execution over these first few episodes.  Primarily this comes from the visual and soundtrack elements which pepper the episodes, taking Josh out of his life and into an alternate world.  This could be an asteroid hurtling towards the earth as the soundtrack increases our anxiety, or it could be a full-on song and dance number that describes the unspoken feelings of mother and son.

Gordon-Levitt is great in the central role and really portrays that lost soul well, making Josh a person wracked with doubt and pain.  He is very much the antithesis of an American hero, and has much more of a British sensibility, as he is that failure that you sympathise with, or relate to.  He is not exactly a character that you root for, but this isn’t that kind of American comedy.  You don’t expect him to overcome these problems and somehow become the hero, or even an anti-hero, but I’m fine with that.  There’s a lot to gain from just watching someone fail and highlight his humanity as he does.

Mr Corman airs on Apple TV on Fridays