March 6, 2014(2014-03-06)– March 30, 2017(2017-03-30)
Review is an American mockumentarycomedy television series starring Andy Daly as professional critic Forrest MacNeil, who provides reviews of real-life experiences. The series was developed by Daly, Jeffrey Blitz and Charlie Siskel, and is an adaptation of the Australian television series Review with Myles Barlow.[1] It premiered in the United States on March 6, 2014, on Comedy Central, and ended on March 30, 2017, with a total of 22 episodes over the course of three seasons.
The series uses "mockumentary" techniques to depict the fictional, reality television-style adventures of enthusiastic professional critic Forrest MacNeil, who hosts a TV show called Review in which he engages in any life experience his viewers ask him to (to judge if the experience "is any good"). Afterward, Forrest formally rates each life experience in-studio, on a five-star scale. However, Forrest's compulsive curiosity and uncompromising commitment to the show unexpectedly backfire in ways that increasingly impact his own formerly ideal real life.[2]
Cast
Starring
Forrest MacNeil (Andy Daly) – star of the show (-within-a-show) Review; a naïve, repressed Southern California suburbanite, who wears exactly the same clothes in every episode; a good-natured and mild-mannered intellectual, Forrest sees the show as a way to help people understand their world (by indulging their natural curiosity); as a result, he carries out each life experience/viewer request no matter what the cost(s) – ignoring his instincts, compromising personal well-being and relationships, and violating social norms and laws, along the way.[3]
Recurring
A.J. Gibbs (Megan Stevenson) – Forrest's cheerful and expressive co-host, whose wardrobe changes each episode (and sometimes, within the same episode); she activates the review selection system, presents the chosen review to the audience, banters with Forrest, and serves as the show's (often ignored) voice of reason.
Suzanne MacNeil (Jessica St. Clair) – Forrest's happy wife of 14 years turned hostile ex-wife. Without warning or explanation, Forrest starts divorce proceedings against Suzanne (in season one's third episode), merely because a viewer wondered what a divorce would be like. The divorce leaves Forrest and Suzanne emotionally devastated, but Suzanne soon follows through with it—to Forrest's shock and dismay. She becomes close with her younger, male divorce attorney, and Forrest jealously assumes the two are in a sexual relationship. Having lost his best/only friend, his house, half of his money, and full custody of their son, Forrest obsessively launches a series of short-sighted schemes that are designed to win Suzanne back, but are derailed by his prioritizing the show over anything (and anyone) else.[3]
Lucille (Tara Karsian) – Forrest's dour, disapproving-but-grudgingly-loyal executive assistant; her general apathy, and lack of respect for her boss (due to Forrest's lack of common sense and self-awareness), is on near-constant display; Forrest generally ignores her attempts to save him from himself.[3]
Josh (Michael Croner) – The show's unpaid college intern; fun-loving and immature, Forrest frequently exploits him.[3]
Grant Grunderschmidt (James Urbaniak) – Forrest's (usually) blank-faced and taciturn producer; pushes Forrest to finish assignments he otherwise would not.[3]
Jack T. Walthall (Fred Willard) – Forrest's accidentally ironic, sweet-yet-tactless, 75-year-old ex-father-in-law. He is killed during the "Space" review when he forgets to fasten his seatbelt while going to space with Forrest. (Seasons 1–2)[3]
Daisy (Julie Brister) – Forrest's inept attorney.
Roger MacNeil (Max Gail) – Forrest's father, whom Forrest moves back in with after the events of season one. He loves and supports his son, though shows dismay when Forrest's dedication to the reviews seems to be dangerous to himself or others. (Season 2)
Tina (Hayley Huntley) – Josh's girlfriend. Quick-witted and dryly humorous. (Seasons 2–3)
Mrs. Greenfield (Lennon Parham) – A teacher that Forrest meets on the review of "Sleeping With Your Teacher", whom he seduces, sleeps with and later becomes her boyfriend. After being spurned by Forrest during the "Leading a Cult" review, she usurps the cult, and leaves him. She is killed by the FBI during the "Having the Perfect Body" review. (Season 2)
Season three guest stars include original Australian series creator Phil Lloyd.
Production
The network initially ordered eight episodes for the first season run, but so much extra content was left over that a ninth episode was made.[4] Every episode of the series was directed by Jeffrey Blitz.[3][4]
Forrest MacNeil welcomes the viewers to the show and receives his first review. He starts with "Stealing" and after lifting some malted milk balls from his local grocer, he rapidly escalates to an attempted bank heist that goes wrong, resulting in intern Josh getting shot in the butt. He rates it 2 stars. In his second review, "Addiction", he finds that his threshold for addiction is high except when it comes to cocaine as he is reluctant at first to using drugs, he initially rates the review one million stars while high, later lowering it .5 stars after rehab. During his third and final review, "Going to Prom", he takes Meg, his son's babysitter, to prom. Before the review is completed, he and other students at the prom get high on cocaine, and he rates the review .5 stars after being taken to the hospital.
Stealing
Drug Addiction (initially a million stars)
Going to Prom
2
2
"Sex Tape; Racist; Hunting"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
During the first review, "Making a Sex Tape", Forrest asks for the assistance of his faithful wife Suzanne, who refuses, finding it a bit weird. He then settled for a sex doll and films the video but accidentally falls asleep and wakes up to Suzanne walking in on him. The experience brings the couple closer and he rates it 4 stars. During his second review, "Being a Racist", he learns racist slurs and tries to offend his black neighbor Gene who thinks he’s joking around until Forrest uses the worst slur of them all shocking a small party at Forrest's house. Forrest rates the experience .5 stars. In "Hunting", Forrest gets the help of his wife’s father Jack, and they accidentally end up in a tiger reserve, where Forrest narrowly survives being attacked. He rates give hunting 3.5 stars.
Making a Sex Tape
Being a Racist
Hunting
3
3
"Pancakes; Divorce; Pancakes"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
A video comes in from someone noting that the instructions on his box of pancakes only has a recipe for 15 and he wonders what it's like to have that many pancakes. Forrest eats them and it's disgusting: he scores it .5 stars. The second request is to get divorced, which ruins his life, particularly once his wife Suzanne announces that she is happier without him. Forrest is so bereft, he gives no review. A tweet asks what it's like to eat 30 pancakes. His internal numbness leads him to down all of the food. He scores it 5 stars.
Eating 15 Pancakes
Getting Divorced (No Rating)
Eating 30 Pancakes
4
4
"Celebrity; Batman"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
A viewer who routinely masturbates to celebrities wonders what it would be like to actually have sex with one. Forrest sets out to find one by attending an anti-bullying charity event hosted by Ashley Tisdale and he bids $70,000 to have dinner with her. She ditches him and he mistakes a barfly for one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and has sex with her instead. He goes to a book reading by a former local broadcaster who has a book about her recently deceased husband. When they have sex, it ends with her sobbing and begging for her husband's ashes. Sleeping with a celebrity is one star. A child asks what it's like being Batman and Forrest dresses the part, but doesn't engage in any crime fighting, only returning shopping carts used by the homeless and agitating a man urinating in public. He is called to his divorce proceedings while in costume and it negatively impacts his negotiations. This reinvigorates him to feel like Batman and he violently assaults a convenience store attendant, rattles a snack free from a vending machine, and kicks intern Josh out of his office, where he has been sleeping. Being Batman is 4 out of 5 stars.
Sleeping with a Celebrity
Being Batman
5
5
"Best Friend; Space"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
A viewer asks what it's like having a best friend and as Forrest's only friend is his ex-wife Suzanne, he tries to strike up a relationship with his old neighbor Gene. This angers Gene's actual best friend Carlos, who escalates the conflict to dating Suzanne. Having a best friend is 2.5 stars. A tweet asks what it's like to go to outer space and he invites his former father-in-law, who has always dreamed of being an astronaut. A miscommunication leads him to not being strapped in and he violently dies slamming against the ship. Forrest gives the experience 5 out of 5 stars for the majesty of spaceflight, in spite of the tragedy of Suzanne's father dying.
Having a Best Friend
Going into Space
6
6
"Road Rage; Orgy"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
An email comes in from a motorist who is always angry but has never taken it out on another driver. Forrest agrees to get road rage and when he tries to have a confrontation, he gets carjacked. He drives intern Josh to a medical marijuana dispensary and sees Suzanne on a date with her divorce attorney which sends Forrest into a fury. His next confrontation ends with the other driver falling off a cliff and evidently dying. Road rage is 1.5 stars. Gary from Santa Monica asks what being in an orgy is like. An associate from rehab has a connection to the group sex scene. Entering the house for the orgy, Forrest is initially awkward, but is encouraged by the host and vigorously has sex with several women and becomes obsessed. Forrest's friend Tom falls off the wagon back into sex addiction and they meet at a subsequent orgy. Arcane rules of the orgy force them into a contest where Forrest ends up becoming the king and Tom is ejected. He suggests ending the anonymity of the group sex and Forrest is also ejected. Orgies are 2 stars, in part for getting gonorrhea.
Road Rage
Being at a Sex Party/a Swinger
7
7
"Revenge; Getting Rich; Aching"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
A student athlete asks what it's like to get revenge, as he considers mob violence to attack an opposing team. Forrest digs up an old dispute from middle school with Randy Romer and finds out that his former nemesis is a literature professor and Forrest interrupts a class lecture with a prank that drives him mad. As Forrest gives a five-star review, Randy flings poop onto hostess A.J. Gibbs and leaves a turd on Forrest's desk. Forrest tries to sincerely make amends, but A.J. hijacks his present with an exploding turd. He changes his review to one star and A.J. gives it five. An email comes in from a viewer who was born rich wants to know what it's like to get rich quickly. Forrest attends a seminar from financial guru Thad Valentine, where he steals another attendee's business idea and severely burns himself while walking on hot coals. He gets a $70,000 settlement and puts it all into the other person's business idea. Getting rich quick is 4 stars. A mangled tweet asks Forrest to review "there all is aching". He struggles to understand what this means and ends up talking like a maniac, getting him electroconvulsive shock therapy. He gives his involuntary confinement at a mental hospital 3 stars. A follow-up tweet clarifies that the initial request was intended to be for "bubblebaths" and this got swapped with her user name "the real Lisa Ching" run together as "thereallisaching". Forrest declares this a shame, as he really likes bubble baths.
Getting Revenge (initially 5 stars)
Getting Rich Quick
'There All Is Aching'
8
8
"Marry; Run; Party"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
Olivia has been with her boyfriend for seven years, but they have yet to marry and she wonders if she could be just as happy marrying a stranger. Forrest has his assistant Lucille set up a date for him and when Eliza meets him at a Mexican restaurant, the two have an instant connection. They get married and he joins her communal living situation. Overjoyed, he invites her onto his set and the two give marrying a stranger 5 stars. A family man dentist wants to know what it's like to run from the law and Forrest plans on throwing a brick at a parked cop car and Eliza instead takes a police officer hostage. The trio (along with a cameraman) drive to a remote motel where she and the hostage fall in love and she marries police officer Igor. Forrest gives this 1.5 stars. A wallflower wants to know what it's like to be the life of the party and Forrest hosts at his commune and gets locked in the bathroom for hours. Meanwhile, Eliza becomes enamored of Roderick for living in a submarine and leaves Forrest and Igor. He later attends his son Eric's birthday party, where he is a hit with the kids. Being the life of the party is 3.5 stars.
Marrying a Stranger
Running from the Law
Being 'The Life of the Party'
9
9
"Quitting; Last Day; Irish"
Jeffrey Blitz
Leo Allen, Andy Blitz, Jeffrey Blitz, Andy Daly, Kevin Dorff, Carol Kolb, and Gavin Steckler
Clark wants to know what it's like to quit a job, so Forrest briefly gets a job at a customer service center and tells off his boss. This is insufficient, as he never even understood his job responsibilities. He takes a job in the lobby of a building at a coffee shop run by elderly man Willy who has an obsessive autistic employee Wendell. Forrest revises the coffee cart into a gourmet coffee station and it is a hit. Fully immersed in his new role, producer Grant comes by to remind Forrest to tell him to quit and he tells off the kindly coffee shop owner, Willy, also leading Wendell to freak out and quit. Forrest considers it a 2 star experience. Gloria knows that if she were dying tomorrow, she'd do something with a foot-long hot dog, but doesn't know what else. Forrest sets out to live his last day and gets part of a tattoo and overeats Mexican food. Lucille is inspired to have sex with a stranger and Forrest and Josh go to shoot guns, drink champagne, and have a cocaine-fueled orgy broken up by the police. He has a heartfelt goodbye with Suzanne, convincing her that he's dying and this explains his erratic and self-destructive behavior, so she takes him back. Forrest rates it 5 stars. An email comes in from a Turkish viewer who wants to know what it's like being Irish and Forrest becomes an ethnic stereotype and Suzanne excuses his bizarre actions due to possibly having a brain tumor. At an Irish pub, Suzanne confronts him with the fact that his doctor told her that he isn't dying. All of his horrible decisions have been for the show and she insists that if they will be a family, that has to come before the show. Forrest obviously won't and Suzanne leaves in tears. Forrest quits his job and punches Grant in the face, exiting the bar to chase after Suzanne. A.J. gives the experience 5 stars in his stead.
After ruining his life with indiscriminate reviews in season one, Forrest returns with a new veto booth that allows him to refuse particularly dangerous experiences. A viewer wants to know what it's like to get into a fight and Forrest goes home to where he lives with his father to determine how he could get into a brawl. When someone cuts him in line at an ATM, Forrest clocks the other man, who immediately pulls out a gun and shoots Forrest multiple times. After emergency surgery, a coma, and a lengthy recovery period, Forrest bonds with his nurse Marisa who becomes his girlfriend. This causes him to give it a 2.5. The next request is to blackmail someone and he chooses Marisa, who has been stealing excess pills from her dead patients. This destroys their relationship and her career; she attempts to kill him. Forrest rates this 1.5 stars. A teen challenges Forrest to use gloryholes and he has trouble finding one. Josh's girlfriend Tina suggests a gay bar and Forrest finds one in a park restroom and mistakenly thinks that a woman is on the other end administering him oral sex night after night. He rates it 4.5 stars.
A couple with a gay son wants to know how to cure homosexuality and A.J. encourages Forrest to use one of his two vetoes, but he declines. He first performs fact-finding at a sex shop and he feels like it is an impossible mission to make someone no longer be a homosexual. Grant convinces him that it is actually homophobic to not think that he could cure homosexuality and he confronts hundreds of gay men who reject him, until he comes across Tim, who is depressed and alienated by being gay. Forrest finds a quack therapist who suggests gay conversion therapy techniques, but they are all ineffective, as is Forrest's idea to take him to a strip club filled with semi-nude women. Forrest, on the other hand gets a date with dancer Shampoo. Meanwhile, dancer Trinity took Tim to a gay bar, where he met a man that he liked and decided to stop trying to cure himself of homosexuality, but Forrest misunderstands, thinking that he and the female stripper became a couple. He rates curing homosexuality 2 stars. The next request is to join the mile high club, so Forrest and Shampoo get a flight to ostensibly meet Forrest's son, but when she discovers his true motives, she is offended and refuses. Forrest switches seats with someone and meets Beth, who is willing to have sex with him in the bathroom, but the plane is descending, so she suggests having sex on the ground and Forrest declines. Forrest and Shampoo pick up Eric from Suzanne's house and Forrest picks up a prostitute who ends up having sex with a bevvy of men who will pay her more on the flight. As this plane descends, he quickly gives him a hand job under a blanket while his son and Shampoo sit several rows back and he gives the experience 3 stars.
Curing Homosexuality
Mile High Club
12
3
"Falsely Accused; Sleep With Your Teacher; Little Person"
A young man is concerned that he will be fingered for eating a cake that his sister ate, and Forrest investigates what it is like to be falsely accused. He conspires to have Josh and Tina insist that he was man who stole an avocado seen in a local crime report. The two conspire to frame him for burning down a sorority house, as the avocado seemed like too small a crime. Facing eight years of imprisonment, Forrest is saved at the last minute by the confession from Tina's psychotic roommate who actually was the arsonist. Forrest considers this a 1 star experience. A high schooler with a crush on his algebra teacher wants to know what it's like to have sex with your teacher. Forrest flies out to ingratiate himself to the teacher, Mrs.Greenfield and seduces her, convincing her to leave her husband. The two begin dating and actually run into her student in public, leading to a brief fight. Forrest still rates the experience 5 stars. Giant William Nilly wonders what it would be like to be a little person and he initially simulates this by surrounding himself with oversized items in his office and home, such as a toothbrush as long as his body. While watching Dorf on Golf, he decides to start walking on his knees. While cooking, he accidentally starts a Class B fire and committed to staying short, he cannot reach the fire extinguisher, so he burns down his father's house. It is a 3.5-star experience for giving him a sense of the struggles of the small.
A video comes in from Theo who wants to know what it is like to be a cult leader. While having sex with Mrs.Greenfield outdoors, he views Cassiopeia and becomes convinced that its five stars spell out an "M", signifying "MacNeil". He attracts a handful of followers to his father's timeshare cottage, where they set up a communal living space in an adjacent yard. Mrs.Greenfield gets jealous when Forrest starts having sex with the female members and she turns it into a violent, criminal gang, drawing the attention of the authorities. He gives the experience 2 out of 5 stars. His next challenge is to have the perfect body and sets out to get a variety of surgeries to augment his form, alongside steroids that drive him to rage. He confronts his old cult at the same time that the police arrive and a firefight ensues, killing all cult members, injuring Forrest's father, and incinerating the cottage. Forrest gives it .5 stars.
Merle has had no luck at online dating and wants to know what catfishing is like. Forrest learns about how to do it in his office, where he, his father, Josh, and Tina live. This team works with Lucille to make an ideal dating profile that bears no resemblance to the real Forrest. Forrest names him "Ace Shrift"—an anagram of "catfisher"—and he matches with many women, including his ex-wife Suzanne. Forrest becomes obsessed with manipulating her and ends up hiring the man who is in his profile picture to video conference with her: baseball player Joe Dale, Jr. He tells her that she seems like a great woman, but they should not contact one another anymore, because he lied to her about his identity. Forrest gives this 3 stars. A letter comes in to Review from someone who has died while the letter was in the mail and wants him to investigate what it is like to stay in a haunted house. Forrest and his father go to a house purportedly haunted by a series of ghosts and spend the night in the basement. Forrest awakens in a panic and realizes that the house where he used to live with Suzanne is "haunted" to him. The new owners are on vacation, so he breaks a window and he gets drunk and sleeps in the master bedroom. A woman who lives in the house and did not join her family stabs Forrest. He gives the experience 1 star.
An athlete from rural Missouri wonders what it would be like to have a real challenge and asks Forrest to see what it would be like to "do a William Tell". He practices shooting an apple off of a doll's head, but never gets close enough to risk his son's life. He briefly investigates adoption and realizes that he can be the son and his father can try to shoot off the apple. This ends with Forrest shot by an arrow in the chest twice and Lucille once. He rates it a 2. Next, he is asked to grant a wish and when he attempts to brighten his son Eric's life, he goes to visit him and his mother Suzanne at their SanFrancisco home, where he finds that Forrest's ex-wife is now dating Joe Dale, Jr. Forrest's son wishes that Joe and Suzanne should move in together, so Forrest encourages both of them to get more serious and his former family moves in with Joe. Suzanne also invites Forrest's father to live in one of the guesthouses. Forrest considers this .5 stars. A final request comes from a viewer who has several children and just wants to know the peacefulness of being alone on a rowboat. Forrest mounts a camera onto a boat and starts rowing into the Pacific. His pain pills from the arrow injuries cause him to pass out for six hours and he awakens with his oars having fallen off the boat, adrift in the ocean, with no food, water, or means of communicating with the outside world. His recording loses battery power and it starts up again over 90days later as Forrest has ended up at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and has been able to eat off of scraps and birds he has killed until some Japanese whalers save him. He rates this .5 stars.
William Tell
Granting a Wish
Rowboat
16
7
"Buried Alive; 6 Star Review; Public Speaking"
Jeffrey Blitz
Story by: Jessie Cantrell Teleplay by: Gavin Steckler
Palmita is a woman with little affect and is worried that she may be mistaken for dead some day, so she asks Forrest what it's like to be buried alive. Josh and Tin dig him a grave and are tasked with getting him out of the earth later. While in his casket, Suzanne calls to tell him that she's getting married. After 24hours buried alive, Josh calls and cannot remember where Forrest is buried. A desperate Forrest punches through the soil and he is assaulted by a grave-digger who mistakes him for a zombie. Forrest gives it .5 stars. When another viewer asks Forrest to give something a rating of a 6 stars, he briefly has a crisis and considers vetoing this, but he decides to make a new show named Assess, where he assesses life experiences on a scale of 2 to 6 stars. On this new program, Natasha wonders what it's like to have the best ice cream in town. Forrest thoroughly enjoys it, but smudges some ice cream on his shirt, so he can only give it 5.5 stars. Since this fails the task of actually giving something 6 stars, he creates another program named Evaluate, where all life experiences are given 6 stars. A woman asks what it is like to be kicked in the balls and A.J. immediately obliges by kicking him twice: once for each testicle. The agonizing pain is 6 stars by default. The process of giving something 6 stars is only 1 star. Joaquin has to give an apology in church and wonders what it is like to speak in public. Forrest decides to give a speech at Suzanne's wedding. He settles on a memorable piece of character assassination against her philandering fiance Joe. Forrest watches video from when he and Suzanne got married and he loses heart at anything that would make her unhappy, particularly a cheating husband. Suzanne intercepts Forrest when he arrives at the rehearsal dinner and tells him to leave, as he was not invited, but insists that if he stays, to not cause any problems. A drunk Forrest puts away his planned comments and instead rambles, going from some initially awkward but kind sentiments and he ends up reminiscing and proposes to her. Forrest and Joe fight and Forrest comes clean about the catfishing that introduced her to Joe, ruining their relationship. Forrest calls this a 4.5 out of 5.
Gina wants to know what it is like to kill a person. Forrest finally vetoes this experience. This is followed by a request from a "pretty high" viewer to make all decisions using a Magic 8 Ball. Forrest defers to the toy for every question or decision that he encounters by shaking a Magic 8 Ball hidden in a fanny pack; the jostling at his crotch strongly resembles near-constant masturbation. A call from Suzanne results in Forrest infuriating her and telling him to not contact her again. The 8 Ball leads him to watch a man savagely beat another man in an alley and a string of non-answers leads him to stand there watching for hours. Forrest rates this decision to live life based on a Magic 8 Ball 1 star. Phil has a good work ethic and wants to know what procrastination is like. When Forrest tries this task, he realizes it is impossible: as soon as he starts procrastinating, he is doing the task, which by definition is not procrastinating. Due to the logical paradox, he issues his second and final veto of the season, to A.J.'s delight. This is followed by Gina making a second request to see what it is like to kill a person. Forrest wanders off distraught. Grant and the show's legal counsel explicitly tell Forrest not to kill anyone, but Grant also implies that he should, as it would be ground-breaking television. Forrest seeks advice from his father, who enlisted to fight in the Vietnam War. He reveals that he had a confounding case of diarrhea that lasted for more than two years and kept him from ever seeing combat. Forrest goes to the bedside of the man whom he saw beaten to near death, who is now in a coma, with very remote chances of coming out, and Forrest cannot bring himself to murder him. Forrest thinks that Ray—the tough who actually committed the assault—deserved to die and he sets out to find him. Forrest confronts Ray and he is happy for not turning him in to the police and he has taken this as a second chance at life: he is getting sober and finishing his schooling to be a better father. Ray gives him an embrace and confuses Forrest's microphone for a police wire. Ray starts savagely beating Forrest and he shoots him in self-defense. Forrest is haunted by nightmares and gives killing a person .5 stars.
A rattled Forrest is always struck by the memory of killing a man and a young woman with a new prescription for Lexapro wonders what it is like to be happy all the time. Forrest responds to everything positively, including when Suzanne comes to visit him and request that he leaves her and their son Eric alone. He gleefully agrees to waive all visitation rights and have no contact with them for two months. While they are talking, he gets arrested for homicide, which causes him to laugh with joy. Grant visits Forrest in the county jail and informs him that they plan to keep the show going and that they have gotten permission to film him while incarcerated. While A.J. visits him, he calls the absurd state of being perpetually happy 3 stars and issues his next challenge: to review what it is like to have a pillow fight. Forrest proposes to the prison psychologist that pillow fights may defuse the violent tendencies of the prisoners. When the jail-wide event is scheduled, it turns to carnage, as many convicts insert weights into their pillowcases and savagely beat the police. Forrest rates pillow fights 1 star. A tweet from a woman with a child who has an imaginary friend wonders what that is like and Forrest wanders around talking to his new fantasy Clovers. The other inmates do not play along and this results in conflict, until bullying inmate Cassius insists that he and Clovers are actually friends and sexual partners. Forrest's father comes to visit and explains that he has paid bail, but also has to cut ties with his son. Cassius and a group of inmates stab Clovers to death, leaving Forrest completely alone. He rates the friendship 3 stars.
Nicole's neighbor is obsessed with conspiracy theories and asks Forrest what that's like. He attends a lecture by a conspiracist and feels that if all his misfortunes due to hosting Review were actually part of a plot to harm him rather than random chance, it may provide him some comfort. He becomes convinced that Grant has arranged these hyper-dangerous scenarios and has also coordinated the other staff members to make mundane reviews perilous. He explains this theory to Suzanne and continues to believe that he has tracked down Grant's true identity. He goes to Grant's house to confront him and lays out his evidence in his kitchen. His explanations seem to defuse all of Forrest's allegations: the show gets dangerous reviews because viewers already understand what mundane events are like and Grant needs Forrest on the show and has no incentive to kill him. Forrest is convinced, recommits to Review as a public service, and rates believing in conspiracy theories .5 stars. The final review of this episode comes from a man in Sandwich, Massachusetts, which is Grant's tiny hometown: he wonders what it is like to be hunted. Now that a Navy SEAL is hunting Forrest, he goes on the run, quitting the show, and going to protect Suzanne and Eric. Grant intercepts him on a bridge and the SEAL shows up to "hunt" Forrest with a paintball gun. Forrest dives over the bridge and takes Grant with him, evidently killing them both. A.J. announces that Forrest and Grant are missing and rates being hunted 6 stars.
Forrest is alive in spite of the tumble into a river and Grant has also survived but is now in a wheelchair. Season three has a new veto system with unlimited vetoes and Forrest commits to never vetoing any request. First up is a marketing stunt for him to eat the Locorito from fast food chain Neato Taquito. Unfortunately, this review came from months ago, when Forrest was lost in the wilderness and in the interim, the restaurant went out of business six months ago. Josh and Tina find a hoarder on Craigslist who has a grotesque, moldy burrito refrigerated in his filthy home. Forrest gets violently ill and has to attend his murder trial where he collapses in a pile of diarrhea and vomit. He rates the Locorito 1 star. When he's tasked with putting down a pet, he tries to get his old family dog from Suzanne, who refuses. Instead, he goes to an animal hospital to participate in euthanasia that is already in process for a bearded dragon. First, he forms a bond with the lizard by taking him to his office and caring for him which revealed that the pet was not dying, but just needed some affection. Forrest grows attached to him and loathes having to kill his pet, so he buys a second bearded dragon for the express purpose of killing him. Unfortunately, the new lizard ate the old one, causing Forrest anguish and he is determined to kill his new pet. He rates it 3 stars. A tweet asks what it is like to make one's dream come true. Forrest interprets this as having a nocturnal dream and recreating it during his waking life. Suzanne features in all his dreams and she refuses to participate, but Forrest finally has a dream where Suzanne just tells him to go away. Making a dream come true is 4 stars.
Juanita wants to know what it is like to be a co-host, so Forrest immediately swaps places with A.J. and issues a review to her to slap a stranger on the buttocks. She heads out to investigate, leaving Forrest confused and upset. Forrest meanders about backstage and learns about her life: he was completely ignorant about her job responsibilities and personal relationships. A.J. returns, having realized that slapping a stranger is disrespectful and refuses to do it and also skips reviewing it. Forrest is outraged and they swap back roles, where he gives being a co-host .5 stars. A mother wants to teach her son about real adversity, so she asks Forrest to emulate deaf-blind activist Helen Keller. Forrest mistakenly believes she was also mute, so he wanders around with his eyes and ears covered, not speaking to anyone. Josh and Tina also drape him in a 19th-century woman's dress and a wig. At his murder trial, he flails around and manipulates any objects in his grasp, which is ineffectual as he is called up to the stand to testify. In spite of this, he is acquitted and rates the Helen Keller experience 5 stars. The final request comes from a tweet asking what forgiveness is. He visits Suzanne who is cautiously willing to engage with him. Forrest forgives her, which causes her shock and outrage, leading her to outline all of the miserable experiences that he has imposed on his former family and slam the door in his face. He begs forgiveness from Grant for paralyzing him and Grant explains that he already did. Forrest gives forgiveness 4 stars.
Being a Co-Host
Slapping a Stranger's Ass (review unaccomplished; rating issued by A.J.)
Wally wants a review of cryogenics. Forrest confuses a cryogenics laboratory with a skin care facility that uses low temperatures to rejuvenate the skin. He passes out in a fearful daze and when he awakens, is convinced that he is in the distant future. He bumps into Josh, who tells him that it has only been 45minutes. Forrest admits to Suzanne that the idea of being frozen and missing out on the rest of Eric and Suzanne's life would have been a waste. He gives cryogenics 2 stars. Darnell wants to learn about being struck by lightning and in spite of his revelations about the futility of the cryogenics review, he decides to go ahead with this. Forrest, Josh, and Tina travel to a thunderstorm in Arizona and Forrest gets hit by a lightning bolt, which he calls "terrible", but he found it inspiring enough to be 2.5 stars. A video comes in from Suzanne who requests what it is like not reviewing anything for the rest of his life. She states that if he refuses, he will never see her or Eric again. He is moved by the gesture, but ultimately vetoes it after speaking to Grant. A.J. refuses to participate and Forrest reveals that his final review is to be pranked. This is not only the final review of this episode, but for all of Review, as the series is canceled. Forrest refuses to believe it and thinks the cruelty of being canceled immediately after he abandoned his family must be the prank. When he checks in at Suzanne's house, she and Eric have moved. The office is emptied and A.J. moves on to her own show, taking Josh and Tina. On an almost empty set, Forrest gives being pranked 5 stars.
Cryogenics
Being Struck by Lightning
Not Reviewing Anything Ever Again (Vetoed)
Being Pranked
Reception
For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 87% approval rating with an average rating of 8.7/10, based on 15 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The subversive Review lures viewers with a seemingly innocuous hook and gradually reveals a disturbing commitment to its high concept, making for one of the darkest – and uproarious – of comedies."[27]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 71 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[28]
For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reports a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.2/10, based on 17 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Review's sophomore season marks a series at its most confident and sardonic, with star Andy Daly committing a masterclass of self-destruction as the increasingly unhinged Forrest MacNeil."[29] Metacritic assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[30]
For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reports a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 9.3/10, based on 19 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Review's final season continues the brutal, mercilessly bleak, and awkwardly hilarious misadventures of its host, with enough creative momentum to suggest staying power – if it only had a chance to continue."[31] Metacritic assigned a score of 88 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[32]
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