There are a couple rules I learned in a screenwriting book I read way back in college. One is to never never write a scene that doesn't advance the plot. The other is to never write dialog that isn't true to it's character. This series breaks both of those rules consistently. In fact I would say that none of the dialog spoken by the actors in this series rings true to the characters they are playing. Every character is self-aggrandizing. Every character wants to change the world it seems and there are long speeches by them but nothing ever gets done. Nothing really happens.
Richard Gere's character actually has a line in one episode where he summarizes the problem. He says here's tired of talk, tired of words, that what matters is what people do. Gere is the only reason I hung in for all episodes. He is great at playing men of power, and he creates a character that is complex, flawed, but as always, like-able. Considering that he plays a villain it's quite impressive.
The writers seem to be screaming for something important to say. At times it seems like a commentary on American politics and culture. There is a Trumpian woman running for prime minister. There is an over zealous media trying to affect election results. It's seems at times to be an essay on the evils of the patriarchy. But in the end is just a mess of ideas that takes a really long time to go nowhere.
Review of MotherFatherSon
