Saw it tonight after work in Indianapolis and really enjoyed it. I drove 25 miles, bought a big box of popcorn, a large soda (neither of which I ever get) and settled in. There were a grand total of three other people in the theatre.
Without spoiling anything, I will say that the tone of the movie is weird, surreal and kind of dark honestly. As others have said, go in expecting that some major liberties were taken with the story to create villians. In a couple of cases, it seemed extreme to me. That didn’t really distract from my enjoyment though.
Nostalgia is OFF THE CHARTS. For those of us who grew up with this show, it was a real treat to see that era recreated so beautifully. The opening and closing credits music was wonderful.
Paul Walter Hauser’s portrayal was unbelievably accurate. His voice even sounds like Michael’s. Mannerisms were spot on too. Great casting there.
My only very minor nitpick is what I felt was an unnecessarily unflattering portrayal of Peter. I mean, who knows what the guy was really like but it’s as if they just said, “oh, he’s a gameshow host, let’s make him smarmy and creepy.”
Some things I found interesting:
* As someone else mentioned, no sign of a Fremantle credit anywhere. I watched the entire credit roll and if it was there, I missed it. There was a whole list of names of people involved in obtaining clearances though so maybe the credit was not part of whatever deal they made. Buzzr did post the episodes attached to the trailer with whammy “popup video” style commentary today though, so they are definitely on board.
*Not sure if this was mentioned, but Byl Carruthers Jr is credited as a “consultant”. Didn’t recognize any other names.
*The way they portrayed the taping wasn’t at all what I expected, but was a creative way to show it without showing it all. God, that set recreation was amazing and there are lots of beauty shots.
Can’t wait to read other’s thoughts!
