“Locorito/Pet Euthanasia/Dream”
Review
Season 3, Episode 1
This work is all that I need in my life.
And so it has come to this, the final season of Comedy Central’s Review. Although the show probably hasn’t had the best ratings -- if any -- Andy Daly’s series about a woeful man who takes it upon himself to review experiences in life no matter how much they hurt him emotionally or physically is coming to an end. After an almost two year wait, the final few episodes of Forrest Macneil’s unfortunate show are shaping up to be some of the stranger, more canonical outings.
The first episode picks up months after Macneil and his producer Grant (James Urbaniak) seemingly survived the fall from the bridge. While Forrest made it out unscathed, Grant is now using a motorized wheelchair and requires help from a live in male nurse. Also continuing from last season is Macneil’s living situation. After burning down his father’s home, Macneil now rents a cot in Grant’s garage. On top of that, Suzanne is still adamant against never seeing Forrest again and the host is on trial for that murder he committed (because of viewers like you). But the network’s lawyers say that Review must have an unlimited amount of vetoes so that such mistakes would never happen again.
Sadly, Macneil is hell bent on completing each and every review that comes across submissions. The sublead to this review comes from the host himself, perfectly characterizing not just him but every situation the show has put him in. Grant’s no help because he suggests that these reviews will be “good for the show” -- even if they come back around and hurt him. Looking at the second review of the night in “Pet Euthanasia,” Macneil befriends a bearded dragon that was on the brink of death but his producer sees that the host isn’t following through with his job. That is until Forrest produces another lizard from under his desk with the intent to kill. It’s almost a bit of irony when the second one eats the first which leads Macneil to kill it as revenge.
That isn’t the only time Macneil feels pain. Twice in this week’s episode Macneil is hurt in some way. For the first review, he seeks out an outdated food chains’ famous burrito. He finds one on Craigslist thanks to a hoarder which leads to him getting a dreaded stomach bug because of the mold. It’s only in the “Dream” segment does Macneil find some sort of happiness (even if he does end up naked in the street).
Should you watch “Locorito/Pet Euthanasia/Dream?”
Forrest Macneil is every network’s dream. He’ll do anything, no matter the impact it’ll have on his life. But there’s a sadness there. With each one of these encounters with his own insecurities, Macneil is emptied not only of his dignity but of the love he once had for everything outside of reviewing life. I wouldn’t be surprised that, if by the end of the series, he was a hollow shell of the man we met four years ago.