It's Hard To Describe "Hap and Leonard"

Hap and Leonard (2016)

TV-MA

Starring James Purefoy, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jimmi Simpson, Bill Sage, Christina Hendricks, Pollyana McIntosh,

Created by Nick Damici & Jim Mickle

The Story:

Hap (Purefoy) and Leonard (Williams) are best buddies with a long history together. When Hap's ex (Hendricks) brings them in to find some missing money from a bank heist years earlier, they're going to cross paths with some crazies in the hopes of finding a lost fortune.

This was a puzzler for me.

Based on a series of books, this show is on the Sundance Channel.

Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix, and it popped up in my recommended list feed.

It's starring James Purefoy? Sure, why not? I'm a fan.

So I watched the first episode...

And it was very slow... deliberate maybe?

A black comedy/crime noir-ish escapade is a tough sell.

It starts off good enough with a great car chase that establishes the main story that will drive the next five episodes.

Then it cuts to the future, or in our case, the past as this takes place in the late 80s.

However the rest of the episode wanders all over the place, so this is a tough one to gauge.

With only 6 episodes, I figured it couldn't be that bad, and it wasn't.

It actually got a little better as each episode got a little more footing and backstory under their belt.

The show was wise in choosing Simpson as a whacked out criminal as the brains behind the scheme.

However without the chemistry between Purefoy and Williams, then this show would have been dead on arrival.

I won't be chomping at the bit to stream season 2, but if I've got the time, I'll be back.

Final Grade: C+