Smothered is full of the diversity that people have been begging for, but is it a worthwhile watch?
If you search for the show, Smothered, you’ll get results for the TLC show Smothered, which is a completely different show.
Smothered, is a show about two married gay guys that hate each other, but cannot afford to get a divorce. It is directed by Carlyle King, and stars Mitch Hara and Jason Stuart as the bickering gay couple.
The description sounds a bit interesting, right? I was especially interested as there are many couples that stay together due to financial reasons and I wanted to see how the show plays out this type of dynamic.
I watched both seasons of Smothered, the first season has 7 episodes and the second season has 8 episodes. The episodes are very short and range anywhere from 5 to 12 minutes. If you have a 2-3 hour block of time you can watch every single episode.
Smothered, is an obnoxious conglomeration of stereotypes and played-out tropes.
As mentioned before the show is about two gay guys that want to get a divorce, but cannot afford it. Mitch Hara plays Randy, and Jason Stuart plays Ralph, and together they are the bickering couple that the show is centered around.
Throughout the show, the couple visits several different therapists that they believe could assist them in mending their relationship. I will say that my favorite therapist was the child therapy session.
Eventually, they get fed up with still being together and decide to go rob a bank to get the funds for their divorce. Of course, they end up going to jail, but they are placed in a program where they share an apartment and report to their assigned jobs.
Is Smothered Supposed To Be Funny? Because I’m Not Laughing
Some of my initial reactions were:
- Is this show supposed to be funny? I haven’t laughed a single time, not even a slight chuckle.
- Sometimes I would doze off because it wasn’t keeping my interest. It was the same thing in almost every episode.
- Who is this show for? I’m not quite sure of what demographic the show is catering to, but I do hope they enjoy it.
I Didn’t Know If I Could Finish The Show, It Felt Old, Stale, and Full Of Unflattering Stereotypes
Randy played by Mitch Hara, is sexy, sassy, fun, and spontaneous, but harsh and crude towards his husband Ralph. Randy is so sexy and so irresistible that everyone wants to fuck him including Ralph’s mother. Honestly, it makes no sense, but it doesn’t have to.
Then there’s Ralph who is played by Jason Stuart he tries his best, he seems to be dependent on Randy and he really wants their marriage to work or do whatever to make Randy happy. Randy isn’t the only one that mocks Ralph, several other characters make him look like an idiot just because he comes off as caring.
They bicker all the time, but most of it is just Randy saying something or many things that are mean and Ralph being hurt or pleading for Randy to stop with the comments.
The other characters such as the therapists all have a schtick. There’s the angry black woman, the woman who can’t dress, the therapist that uses sock puppets, the super creepy and hyper-sexual jail therapist, and so on.
Although the cast is diverse, I’m not so sure this is the way to go about it. To be honest, Smothered, smothered me with confusion. What are the show’s intentions? What is it trying to do? Is the show supposed to be a mockery of everything? Are the characters supposed to be completely removed from reality?
I don’t know, but I do know that this caused me to stop watching. Not because anything was offensive to me, but because it became a pot of unfunny jokes that left the viewer stewing in shit wondering if this was it.
All hope was gone, but somehow Smothered, made a turn for the better at the end.
That’s What Ewan McGregor Said!
After an exhausting watch of repetitive gags, in episode 7 season 2 of Smothered, we finally get something.
Randy is in the public men’s restroom, looks in the mirror, is happy with what he sees, and decides this is the perfect time to take a dick pic. One of the characters catches him doing this, but they joke about it. Yet, Randy notices that they are loaded (on drugs).
They have a kind exchange that leads to a kiss, but Randy does something that is very unlike his character. He tells this person that they should be friends because sex is too easy.
All while that is happening, Ralph ends up going to the kitchen to meet someone while they are having fun hanging out it is apparent that the cook is interested in Ralph. Randy who is nearby enters the kitchen and tries to push himself onto the guy that is interested in Ralph because he cannot accept that someone would be interested in Ralph.
The guy completely shuts down Randy which causes him to leave and once he leaves he tries to kiss Ralph, but he just can’t do it which causes him to leave.
The very last episode of season 2 is when they give us more of what is needed throughout the show. Randy is upset because he is the one that everyone wants. He is funny, fun, sexy, sassy, everything that poor Ralph is not. He is upset not only because the guy that is interested in Ralph shut him down, but also because he feels Ralph shouldn’t be able to be with someone that is desirable.
In the end Randy says “I just can’t believe how much time I have wasted being with you” and Ralph replies “Me, either.” This part was the breakthrough because for once Ralph didn’t cry and he didn’t plead with Randy as he normally does and you can tell that Randy wasn’t ready for that response.
The scene ends with Randy watching Ralph roll out of their shared apartment with his rolling luggage and it splits the screen to display Randy in the apartment and Ralph strolling down a dark hallway with his luggage.
Smothered, Season 3?
After that ending, they can’t just leave it like that. The first season and half of the second season were rough, but since we went through all of that we need to see what happens to our main characters: Ralph and Randy.
I don’t think they will end up back together. It seems they have emotionally matured. Randy didn’t use sex as a crutch and is now taking friendship seriously, while Ralph finally got a backbone.
I never thought I would be interested in seeing more of Smothered, but bring it on.
Just don’t make me go through whatever season one was supposed to be.
Smothered, Seasons 1 & 2 are available for you to watch right now on YouTube.
If you have seen the show or getting ready to watch it and want to tell me your thoughts feel free to leave a comment below or tag me in a tweet on Twitter (@nerdsleaze).
