- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 1
- 17
-
Sparkle (0)
When I watched the pilot of "Wilfred" I thought it was hysterical.
Weird, yes. One of the main characters is a guy dressed in a dog suit who is supposed to be a real dog. Dark, yup. The entire series began with Elijah Wood's character, Ryan, writing several drafts of a suicide letter. Quirky, silly and surreal? Indeed.
"Wilfred" is an adaptation of an Australian comedy. The gist of the show is that Ryan (Wood) is a former lawyer who is depressed and out of work. Wilfred is his hot neighbor's dog. Wilfred looks like a regular dog to everyone except Ryan, who sees him as a guy in a dog suit. They become very good friends.
I really liked the pilot.
Then I watched the second episode.
That dog - and his neighbor - sure do a lot of bong hits.
At some point I think the watcher needs to decide if the dog is a dog or Ryan's subconscious mind, and either way it is pretty messed up.
Courtesy of FX
I understand trying to be edgy. I even appreciate absurdist humor, but I don't really think beastiality or jokes about snuffing hospice patients are funny. Okay, fine. Some are, but the ones on "Wilfred" aren't.
The pilot was witty, and the next few episodes delve more into the deeply disturbing.
I enjoy a dark comedy as much as the next person. I don't even really think that "Wilfred" is a bad show, but it is one of those shows that puts the characters in extremely uncomfortable situations, and frankly, I can't take it. This is the same reason I had to stop watching "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I just can't take the awkwardness.
I am pretty impressed with the things that FX gets away with on "Wilfred". They say bad words, they smoke weed like crazy, they talk about porn and sex with people's moms and anal rape. They talk about killing old people and doggie day care molesters and taking craps in people's shoes.
I think if you like "Extras" a lot or the movie "Flirting With Disaster" you might really enjoy it. I did some research on the internet and I also get the impression that my guy friends seem to enjoy it more than my girl friends. I'm not saying that I am going to cancel my season pass, but I'm not 100 percent sold.
As a viewer I assumed that figuring out what Wilfred actually is was the whole point of the show, but then I read an interview where Elijah Wood said that you shouldn't question if Wilfred is real or not. Maybe that is the key.
Do you think he is real?
You might also want to read this interview of a Furry on the subject of "Wilfred". Just because.
BlogHer Contributing Editor, Sarah can also be found at Sarah and the Goon Squad and Draft Day Suit.
