Kaley Cuoco shines in silly thriller
After 12 years on a beloved community sitcom, it is common for a TV star to discover a very totally different half to usher in a brand new part of their profession. And Kaley Cuoco has definitely discovered the position to make viewers forget all about “The Big Bang Theory.”
Penny no extra, Cuoco reveals off her comedic and dramatic chops in HBO Max’s“The Flight Attendant” (the primary three episodes can be found Thanksgiving Day; subsequent episodes stream Thursdays, ★★★ out of 4), a juicy melodrama that mixes black comedy, homicide thriller and an emotional story about dependancy. It does not all the time efficiently pull off its ridiculous storylines, massive tonal swings and overly stylized modifying, however, with the assistance of Cuoco’s sharp efficiency, the restricted collection makes all of it coalesce simply sufficient to be pulpy, compelling enjoyable.
Cuoco has completed loads of work exterior of “Big Bang,” however that is her highest-profile challenge because the long-running collection ended, and maybe the most important departure for followers of the prudish community TV antics of Penny and associates. The actress performs Cassie, a largely functioning alcoholic who enjoys her jet-setting life as a firstclass flight attendant, partying on and off the aircraft. On a visit to Bangkok, she meets Alex (Michiel Huisman of “Game of Thrones”) a dashing hedge fund supervisor who invitations her on a decadent evening out in the Thai capital. Cassie drinks, lots, and wakes up the following morning with nearly no reminiscence of what transpired. That would usually be OK, besides that Alex is useless subsequent to her in the mattress.
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Hungover, panicked and scared of being jailed in a overseas nation, Cassie cleans up the crime scene and flees. She spends the remainder of the collection making an attempt to determine what occurred and clear her identify (and infrequently happening a stress-induced bender). But with each transfer she digs herself deeper into bother, finally placing the FBI on her path and worsening the prison components surrounding Alex’s homicide.
Watching Cassie’s collection of unlucky life selections is like watching a prepare wreck, or in this occasion, a aircraft crash. You could need to look away, however you simply cannot. With an actor much less succesful than Cuoco, it could be straightforward to show off the TV when it will get too awkward. But it’s exactly Cuoco’s deft deal with of darkish comedy and drama that makes “Attendant” fly, as she switches from emotional outburst to drunken escapade to terror and again once more with ease.
Cuoco is supported by an amiable forged together with Huisman (who seems in flashbacks and hallucinations as Cassie’s useless lover), Rosie Perez as Cassie’s maternal co-worker, Zosia Mamet as her lawyer/greatest buddy and Merle Dandridge as a skeptical FBI agent. But it is actually Cuoco’s present, and even as magnetic and interesting as a lead as she was on “Big Bang,” the actress makes Cassie really feel like an actual particular person in spite of the absurdity of the story surrounding her.
“Attendant” is the miniseries equal of a trashy guide you’d learn on a aircraft: gripping and entertaining in the second, a bit silly in its plotting and forgettable once you’re completed. But not each TV collection must be transcendent or award-winning. We want a lot which are simply thrilling and enjoyable.
