Funny? (Maybe in Sweden)

RJBose

I am married to a Finnish woman, and travel to Scandinavia every summer, and so am very familiar with Scandinavian lifestyles and practices and the challenges of being an American abroad visiting family, not speaking the language (though I can speak some Norwegian). I am also familiar with clever, original, funny television shows, and this is not one of them; (yes, we get it Greg- your sister is Amy Poehler).

The Swedish countryside and lifestyle depicted are very accurate, as are some of the stereotypical characters and situations presented. I have no doubt that this show was a hit in Sweden, and perhaps even across the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland where the same punch lines could be successfully delivered. For an American audience, however, this is just another lame knock-off of an overly familiar theme (doesn't even "Little Steven" have some show about being in a witness protection program just across the border in Lillehammer, Norway?)

What I found most tedious, however, beyond the lack of originality or real humor in the very predictable set-ups and contrived circumstances, is that the lead character (executive producer Amy's brother) seems to be doing a second rate impersonation of just about every sad sack Ben Stiller character we have ever seen, becoming increasingly visibly flustered in uncomfortable and subsequently often humiliating, circumstances, e.g.throwing up over the side of a small motorboat because he gets seasick on the 20-minute boat ride- (hilarious!). It gets tiresome with Mr. Stiller, who is sometimes quite funny nonetheless. This convention, and dragged out by Mr. Poehler, however, seems to be the one long, unfunny one trick pony in this lame storyline.

Welcome to Sweden, indeed; I suspect it will be a mercifully short visit.

score 2/10

RJBose 10 July 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3048043/