Ratched (Netflix series)

 

Is Mildred the worst lay of all time or maybe just the kinkiest? Sarah Paulson is indeed sexy with great costume designs to match, while playing up a character that doesn't address her fluid sexuality as Paulson has done in her real life. Ratched is a American psychological thriller based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The series is fitted with an all star cast including Sarah Paulson, Finn Wittrock, Cynthia Nixon, Jon Jon Briones, Charlie Carver, Judy Davis, and Sharon Stone. The series holds no punches on sex, blood, and murder. Paulson's talents are made for 2-3 hour academy award wining screenplays. The series was created by Evan Romansky who wrote the actual pilot episode as well. The 2 episodes written by Romansky are the best in the series. Developed by television producer Ryan Murphy, who does a good job at at directing Romansky's words, but takes the series in way too familiar direction as his other very popular series, American Horror Story. His American Horror Story directors had a go at it on different episodes in this series and the production is hurt by it. His made for tv score along with chills and thrills does not fit the magnitude that the prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest should exude. The series tries to humanize every character in the cast but fails to do so while hurting the overall tone of what is wanted to accomplish.

The nurse Ratched from the academy award winning movie starring Jack Nicholson shows a calculated, callous, and void of emotion version of the character. The comedy fits almost perfectly throughout the script, but the emotions are misguided. The story doesn't need to understand every monster through a backstory, but the writing and acting could be done in a more effective way, as done with the small part of Okonedo's Charlotte Wells story. The 1940's way of dealing with lesbians, lobotomy surgery, or racism is kinda of passively brushed over the same way issues are spoken about matter of a factly today. It's kind of embarrassing to know some of the brightest minds of the 20th century allowed these treatments and injustices that still occur today to continue while remaining silent. Sprinkle in a few minutes of black characters and you have the typical American Horror Story filler episodes. Every character is each others enemy and confidant. Mildred Ratched's 1st season does not play as a prequel on film, but as a separate and watered down whole other entity on its own. This is definitely not a horror show.

I rated this series: Entertaining with 4/5 TV remotes

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