The new Ryan Murphy series All's Fair has been savaged by critics, with one review calling it 'fascinatingly, incomprehensibly, existentially terrible'. The show, which stars Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts and Niecy Nash as the founders of an all-female law firm handling high-profile divorces in California, has been described as so bad that the reviewer questioned how such a programme could be made in the modern era.
The review, published by a major outlet, singled out the script for particular criticism. 'My flight was turbulent and so is my mood,' says Watts's character Liberty, while a client describes her husband as 'wolf-like in his possessiveness'. The reviewer noted that despite the involvement of acclaimed actors such as Glenn Close, the show fails to rise above its dismal plots and clueless characters.
Kim Kardashian's performance as Allura, a lawyer married to a football star, was described as 'expressionless' and 'inoffensively useless', while Watts was said to 'preen and pout and pose in search of a character'. The review also criticised the writing for Black female characters, calling Nash's role 'Loud! And Sassy!' and comparing the show unfavourably to the final season of And Just Like That....
Among the most criticised elements were the kissing scenes, called 'the worst ever seen on screen', and a focus on conspicuous consumption with constant name-dropping of luxury brands. The plotlines, including a hasty $210m settlement and a client who falls for a threesome partner, were dismissed as rushed and absurd. The review concluded that despite a star-studded production team, All's Fair is a disaster that even Glenn Close cannot save.
