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God's Favorite Idiot is the latest collaborative work by Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone. The two have produced and acted in the comedy series that was released on Netflix on June 15, 2022. In the series, McCarthy was also reunited with her Gilmore Girls co-star Yanic Truesdale for the first time since the 2000s show ended.
The ensemble-like cast of the show includes Ben Falcone as Clark, Melissa McCarthy as Amily, Leslie Bibb as your garden-variety Satan, Chris Sandiford as Tom, Usman Ally as Mohsin, Ana Scotney as Wendy, and Yanic Truesdale as Chamuel, among others.
The show features colorful characters involved in apocalyptic workplace hijinks. While it takes a satirical approach to religious themes, it fails to offer anything unique. Moreover, the eight-episode long series at times appears disjointed with some elements randomly strewn about.
The plot of God's Favorite Idiot stays afloat with religious references but lacks any depth
Clark Thompson's (Ben Falcone) life is turned around when one day he is suddenly struck by lightning and manages to survive, only to realize that he can now not only glow like a glow-worm, but also play Harry Styles' Sign of the Times and other desired soundtracks at random.
These appear to be his only superpowers until he is told by Archangel Chamuel (Yanic Truesdale) that he has been chosen by God to be her messenger. Apparently, with the declining support of God in all realms, she chose a mid-level and ingenuous tech-worker like Clark to be her campaign frontrunner on Earth. In her own words, God explains that she chose Clark because he is "simple and sweet like pecan pie".
The humour in the series mainly rests on the fact that Clark is the least appropriate candidate for the job. Supporting Clark is his co-worker turned girlfriend Amily (Melissa McCarthy), a pill-popping loud mouth who balances out Clark's shyness.
The duo deals side-by-side with the consequences of Clark's new found purpose, an antagonistic reverend, and the entry of various Biblical entities on Earth. All the while, they are supported by their three office co-workers, Tom (Chris Sandiford), Mohsin (Usman Ally), and Wendy (Ana Scotney), and Clark's father Gene (Kevin Dunn).
Be it Leslie Bibb's uninspiring Satan sent to kill Clark, or the four equally uninspiring "horsepeople" - Death, Pestilence, War, and Famine - the situational comedy attempts to play with chaos and eccentricities.
God's Favorite Idiot spotlights McCarthy and Falcone but leaves the others weakly represented
Despite having an ensemble-like cast, the satirical comedy does not make use of all its characters. McCarthy and Falcone's on-screen chemistry and collaborative humor is refreshing, but that leaves the other cast members in the background. They are not given enough time to shine through, and remain largely unexplored.
Being an apocalyptic workplace sitcom, the series has a supporting cast of co-workers whose contributions could have been better highlighted. Much of the humour in the show was brought in by Sandiford's Tom and Steve Mallory's Frisbee, through their interactions with Amily.
Truesdale and Bibb's characters remain superficial as well, and God is just depicted as a grandmotherly old woman with a lowercase 'g' on her cardigan. As amusing as these characters appear, they could have done better with more screen-time.
God's Favorite Idiot: Watch it or skip it?
If you're a Melissa McCarthy fan or simply looking to watch something to take the edge off the day, God's Favorite Idiot would work well. It does not require a lot of emotional or attentional investment and promises to get some laughs out of you.
The situational comedy is amusing at times, and does not fail to milk religious themes and references for comic relief. It has a fair mix of jokes that are juvenile and ones that are casual, relatable, on-the-nose punches. From Clark hilariously acknowledging his own shortcomings to Tom overindulging in bathroom stalls and bowel movements, the series definitely has its fair share of rib-tickling moments.
Depending on what kind of comedy you prefer, you might find the show entertaining or humdrum. But it's probably not going to make it to anyone's top ten.
God's Favorite Idiot was released on June 15, 2022 and is now available to watch on Netflix.
