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- SHOWTIME
- Jan 8, 2012
- SHOWTIME
- Jan 8, 2012
- SHOWTIME
- Jan 8, 2012
- SHOWTIME
- Jan 8, 2012
Where to Watch
Season Episodes
View All Seasons
5 Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
63
60% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
24% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
16% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
63
60% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
24% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
16% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
The series is so pervasively cynical--and, by the way, brilliantly funny--it has the potential of making any viewer feel his or her life isn't so bad after all.
As a pitiless, biting satire of the debauched state of American big business, it's no lie to call this one of the smartest, funniest shows of the new year.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 119 User Ratings
5.6
50% Positive
60 Ratings
60 Ratings
17% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
33% Negative
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 119 User Ratings
5.6
50% Positive
60 Ratings
60 Ratings
17% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
33% Negative
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
To give it the benefit of the doubt I'm guessing the show plans to humanize Marty little by little as it progresses. I hope so, I found the relentless manic cynicism in the first two episodes insufferable and depressing. Is this really the 'Modern World'? Then please shoot me now.
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SEASON 1
House of Lies' excesses tend to be counter-balanced by its overall look and feel. The production values are first-rate and the storytelling is crisp.
The program is moderately entertaining and very much in keeping with the tone of "Californication."
House of Lies lacks the heart of "Shameless" and Kaan lacks the likability of Duchovny's Hank Moody, which means we care very little about the characters after two episodes.
Because from its embellished execution to its uninspired writing and very conception, the smarmy House of Lies is like so many speculative financial bubbles that characters like Marty have had their hands in: There's just nothing there.
This season of House of Lies starts off very slow, and it hit-and-miss the entire season. It is a dramedy starring the talented Don Cheadle (he won a Golden Globe for "Best Comedy Actor" this season) and the lovely Kristen Bell. The season overall turned out to be moderately entertaining with the exception of a few bad episodes, including the Pilot episode. The cast is quite funny, and I especially enjoyed the interactions between the characters Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson) throughout the entire season. Overall, I think you should give this series a chance (watch more than the first episode), because I have also seen Season 2, and it is a major improvement.
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SEASON 1
"House of Lies" has cleaver writing and good acting. On-camera asides are among its funnest moments. It suffers from characters who are wholly unsympathetic if not downright distasteful as human beings. There's an obvious attempt to humanize their unethical business practices and self-absorbed sexual antics with humor and a touch of pathos that tells us that these characters are caught up in impersonal structures of power far beyond their control or full understanding. And Marty Kaan is presented as the most devoted father, who affirmation of his teen-aged son's "gender fluidity" supersedes all other concerns in his life, personal or professional. None of which changes the fact that this son is an utterly self-indulgent brat and he a sociopath willing to lie to, betray and cheat anyone for money. I suppose the show is interesting, though, in what it says about the broader culture that produces it rather than on its own merits.
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SEASON 1
Like many, I expected this Showtime "comedy" to be a drama. It wasn't a drama, but it also wasn't a comedy. In this day and age where marketing and economics is such a rich topic to explore, this show comes and decimates it. One of the worst pilots. Giving it a 3 for Don and Kristen and Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Rec.
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SEASON 1
The TV and Movies have just about a 100% hit rate in their failure to provide even the slightest taste of realism in any show that is centered around what writers believe is the "business world". 99% of investment bankers are not handsome, slick philanderers. They work 65 hours a week and are surprisingly conservative, amateur party animals at best. Attorneys at top law firms are a similar breed, but add an extra 10 to 20 hours of work per week. Management Consultants may very well be at the top of the "stuffed shirt' scale, and their profession may very well be the least interesting of the three, especially to watch. This being said, Don Cheadle and his team of frat boy wannabes totally miss the mark. This show fails at being satire because there isn't one grain of truth in their portrayal of the consulting business, or consultants. It fails at being a straight up comedy, because it's not even the slightest bit funny. It succeeds only in being a cheap rip off of Showtime's other show about decadent lifestyles, Californication. In a nutshell, this show needs to be destroyed as soon as possible.
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SEASON 1
