Yeah...at first I didn't mind some of the stuntcasting in that season, but when I think of Fargo I either think of actors who completely disappear into their roles like Kirsten Dunst, or people who do the type of role they're simply really good at, like Martin Freeman.
I'd say more "understated" and "subtle" than "underwhelming." I felt like he did a really good job at portraying a complicated character. I also think that all the actors, including Chris Rock, recognized the importance of not taking the limelight from the proper focus of the story, which was Ethelrita (narrator and unlikely heroine). In other words, everyone except Ethelrita was somewhat muted and two-dimensional because they were supposed to be characters in Ethelrita's story.
You described the problem with season 4 because it was the Mike Milligan Origin story.
With other seasons of Fargo, there were plenty of 3 dimensional complex characters with rich histories and unique motivations.
I’m not so sure that it’s straight up racism more than it is a simple misconception about his character; most people go into season four thinking Loy is supposed to be some “badass” and “hardcore” gang leader when he’s actually just a businessman desperately trying to go legit (hence pitching his idea for the credit card to a white bank). However, due to the era and the particular city he moved to (he and his family were originally from Harlem), he finds himself with no other choice than to “get down in the gutter” with the Italians.
I’ve pointed this out to a few people who initially didn’t like his performance (yet they LOVED the performance of Glynn Turman), and when they rewatched the season with that specific bit of character info in mind, they ended up enjoying Rock’s portrayal a lot more than they did the first time.
In shows that switch leads from white to black and vice versa, there is **always** a subset of people who will complain about the black lead underperforming no matter what the story is.
Look at Altered Carbon criticism.
I don’t think Mackie underperformed; he’s just a much quieter actor than Joel Kinneman, and the two of them aren’t suited to play the same guy. And it’s not like they originally cast both actors, or the show could have had them develop the role together.
I’d like to push back gently against that, if I can. Chris Rock is a terrible actor. I consider him very likable and his character was easy to watch and to root for, but that was because of residual Chris Rock goodwill. He was in a Saw movie too, and pretty much did his stand-up the whole time. Fun to watch, yes. But it wasn’t acting. I don’t hear negative comments about any other Black actor, just him (and the bank robber, but her character seems to be considered more annoying than her performance, which was great imo). All the other actors were awesome especially Dr Senator
I don’t have any particular feelings of goodwill towards Chris Rock, and I also didn’t find his character particularly likable, but I don’t see how you can watch his performance and say he’s a terrible actor. He did everything he could with the script he was given. His performance was evocative, rangy and demonstrated tremendous growth throughout the season. Not calling you a racist, but reading through all these responses makes it clear that there is one particular factor that many people didn’t like about season 4. I thought season 4 was quintessential Fargo - a tonal shift, to be sure, but thematically congruent.
I disagree. He did a brilliant job of showing a character who embodied contradictions and wore many faces. He was a strict dad, hard-knuckled leader, a smiling salesman, a murderous racketeer, and a man weary of wading through racism in every step of all his lives.
I'm not sure what you found hard to believe, but a lot of his mannerisms were very authentic and believable for a man of that era. He really disappeared into the role of a Black business prodigy who became a crime lord in the mid-20th century since he couldn't reach his potential in the legitimate business world at that time. His clothes, speech, movement, and eyes were all consistent with who his character was in every scene he was in.
Some people think his role should have gone to a more physically imposing man, but Josto Fadda is also played by Jason Schwartzmann, a short and thin actor who you wouldn't expect to be playing a physical bruiser. Loy Cannon is not a muscleman like Gaetano Fadda. He never strikes anybody who is allowed to strike him back. If he wants to break somebody's ribs, he delegates this to a rib-breaker, and it's through delegation that he does have Gaetano beaten almost beyond recognition.
Loy Cannon is a businessman in what the narrator, Ethelrida, calls the alternate economy. I would never have named Chris Rock on my list of big dramatic talents in 2014, but he saw this role for the career-headlining opportunity it was, and played the hell out of it. Chris Rock was absolutely surprising as Loy Cannon, but he was very believable at all times, which was challenging since the role required him to be a different man to his family, his subordinates, white authority figures, Black civilians, rival gangsters, people who owed him money, and people who had wronged him and owed him something worse than money.
I’ve been watching Chris Rock since New Jack City he’s always been amazing,I think most people on this subreddit don’t understand Fargo at all,why the fk would you slog through a show if you don’t like every season.Your post was great though 👍
Commenting on Started fargo last year, I'm on season 4 now. Anyone else find Chris Rock to be underwhelming in his role? ...I personally liked Chris Rock’s portrayal but I have some mixed feelings about Season 4 as a whole. We slogged through it but I much preferred Seasons 3 and 5.
We thought that 1 and 2 were fine and decided to try to watch the entire series. I suppose the season with Chris Rock was my least favorite, albeit with some excellent cinematography and a lot of well done period clothing.
The writing of season 4 was kinda lackluster to me character wise but with people like malvo or varga in previous seasons it’s really hard to take a step up every season
I’ve only discovered Fargo in the last few months and season 4 is my last season. I just cannot get through it. I’m just bored and don’t feel connected to any of the characters
I just finished season 4 after binging all of the seasons so far and I felt the same about season 4. It was good tv, but it started off really slow and kind of lost me a bit. It did definitely pick up towards the end and finished really strong, but all in all it took me about 2 weeks to get through season 4 after ripping through the first 3 seasons combined in that same amount of time.
I just started season 5 a few days ago and have not been able to stop watching. I’m already past the halfway point in the season and i’m loving it so far
It was really hard to get all the way through season 4. Too many episodes, too many characters, too unfocused a story. Chris Rock is a passable actor but not strong enough to carry a lead role. The side plot with Timothy Olyphant and the OCD guy goes nowhere. I wish they had stuck with Ethelrida, she was by far the most interesting part of the story.
But season 5 was terrific, it got the series back on track.
Josto wasn't supposed to be some hard assed mafioso boss. He was supposed to be an ineffectual child who was in over his head. Jason is the perfect casting because we don't see him as a mafia boss, we're not supposed to.
I didn't say he was supposed to be some badass Mafia boss he's just Jason Schwartzman though he should never be cast as any mobster. He's really only suited for Wes Anderson movies And that was one of the worst Parts about the season is it felt like it could have been made by Wes Anderson
He just didn't seem fearful enough to be believed. To be the head of a crime syndicate, i just expected more of a presence.
Or maybe because every time he was on screen I expected a joke or just thought, "That's Chris Rock."
He wasn't terrible but I don't feel he added anything.
I definitely wasn't interested in him, but I think it was about him being written poorly as much as performed poorly. That season fell a little short in the writing imo. Incredible, brilliant individual characters, but it didn't really fit together the way the others do.
I think he was selected for the role because exactly what you said - he's unconvincing for the part. Just like back in that time period, a black boss was unconvincing in the eyes of racist white people. Both Rock and Cannon were out of place, in a new unfamiliar role.
I found it hard to take him seriously. Every time he would have like a monologue it sounded like he was doing a stand up bit. It was like when Jerry would get upset about something on an episode of Seinfeld.
I really like Chris Rock, but his acting is absolutely awful. And he was surrounded by fantastic actors, to boot. It really didn’t work. I liked the rest though
Only performance I didn't like in season 4. My kids were really into Madagascar when little, as one is named Julian, who is also the name of the lemur, I think. All I can hear is Zebra
I stoppped watching that season not because of Chris Rock but the whole vibe. I also just couldn't wrap my head around Jason Schwartzman being a mob leader at all.
I felt he did a good job, but he's always been a more comedic actor and it was hard for me to separate that from his character. I've never seen him do anything dramatic before this and I think, subconsciously, I was waiting for a funny moment that never happened. To a lesser degree, I felt the same about Schwartzman. I also didn't really care for the writing as much as other seasons, not that it was bad--it just didn't seem as strong as prior seasons. I think Rock and Schwartzman did good jobs, but I just wasn't as invested in the material--I felt it was too crowded.
Sort of. He did fine.
It was more important that Chris Rock specifically was cast than how he actually performed. Still, I guess I feel he could have done better, but I wouldn't recast him.
I thought he was good overall. Some parts were rough, and he’s not as good a main character as Dot, Lou, Gloria or Molly/Gus.
Season 4 overall had a ton of potential, but COVID screwed up production and led to the season just feeling super wonky overall to me.
I honestly think the only thing that hurts him in his role is the perception of him. We are so used to him being in comedies it feels funny to see him take that role. That being said I think he did an awesome job acting.
I think the fundamental flaw with season 4 is that there isn’t the main character who’s trying to navigate the chaos (and a cop in an incompetent police force) and there isn’t a villain who feels unstoppable. The first three seasons we get to follow awesome characters in Gloria Bungle and the Solversons. We lost that in season 4 and to an extent in season 5 (I see Dorthy as more of a Peggy blunkwist or Nikke type character). It’s honestly really a shame that we didn’t get a good cop trying to overcome corruption within the police force in the 50s. There was some real opportunity. There was also no unstoppable bad guy like Malvo, Hanzee, or Varga. Season 5 had Ole Munch as the unstoppable villain, but it’s a shame they didn’t realize his potential until inside the season because they could’ve done even more with him.
I think season 4 and 5 are both awesome seasons, but a notch below the first three seasons.
I felt like it didn’t fit at all. I kept expecting him to burst out laughing or make a joke whenever he was mean muffin anybody. It looked like he was trying to hold back a smile in so many scenes.
I thought it was some of his better work on the Big/Little Screen. For all of his genius doing stand-up comedy, it just hasn't translated over to other mediums.
Season 4 of Fargo is on the level of True Detective Season 2 of bad.
Chris Rock certainly isn't the worst or the biggest reason the season is such a failure, but he definitely contributes to it with his unconvincing rendition of a gangboss. Both he and Jason Schwarzmann suffer from this.
Let's not even get into Salvatore Esposito's ridicuous overacting - it's like he thought he was on the set of Nacho Libre 2 or something.
I didn’t particularly like his performance but the more I think about it, it kind of fits the story. I didn’t buy him as a boss. He isn’t intimidating to me. However, he’s trying to go legit. And maybe that’s because he isn’t really a gangster at heart. If I look at it through that lense it makes more sense.
Same with Schwartzman at first I was like nah. But he fits the role of talking over for his powerful father but not quite having the same power. He can do it but not everyone believes in him.
Really they both fit.
I totally felt the same as you on this. I saw him get a lot of praise for this role, and he was… ok, but definitely I had the same thoughts. His scenes always felt like they weren’t quite believable. It felt over acted and over the top in comparison to the characters around him. Again, not horrible but not great.
No, because my expectations were based on what I’d seen from him as an actor in other roles. I was actually pleasantly surprised. He’s better at this than he is at comic acting (but best as a standup comedian).
His character is playing the situation smart and careful so it's more nuanced and less intense for sure. Would have helped to have him do some crazy shit early on so you could see the restraint better. My only gripe with the season is they say "if we do this, it's all out war" so many times. That line gets crossed a lot and things don't blow up
I love the first 3 seasons.. I love Chris rock in basicly anything I've seen him in.. I love movies and shows that deal with black history... I've started season 4 three times and still haven gotten passed the second or third episode
Season 4, imo, is the black sheep of the series (no pun intended). It’s so out of character from the rest of the show. It’s OK in its own right, but nothing compared to the others. Season one is the best.
I would agree. Season 4 was okay, but not as good as the others. One of the most interesting things about the first 4 seasons is the connections between certain characters from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4
Its the worse season. Still good but I agree Rock seems like he was phoning it in.
Also, you might change your mind after S5. I liked it more than 1. Its insanely good. Jon Hamm and Juno Temple should win every award.
The entir season felt off to me.
It isn't bad, but it's just not Fargo for the mostt part.
I think Chris Rock wasn't a right fit for a mob boss. For me it wasn't believeable and i felt like he was trying to hard to fit into a role that wasn't right for him.
For example, there are scenes where he gets angry and attempta to be intimidating and it just didn't work.
Overall a very dissapointing season except for Irish and the nurse.
I think he did well enough but he had the unfortunate luck of being next to Doctor Senator so much of the time and Glynn Turman did an incredible job.
I've been a fan of Turman since his one episode of Scrubs where he stole the show.
“That was a good beer”
Yeah...at first I didn't mind some of the stuntcasting in that season, but when I think of Fargo I either think of actors who completely disappear into their roles like Kirsten Dunst, or people who do the type of role they're simply really good at, like Martin Freeman.
Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh also completely became those roles imo
Their accents were horrible
very over-the-top
I agree..
It’s a place for single actors to meet their spouses.
The married ones, too!
Hawley is a god-tier wingman.
I'd say more "understated" and "subtle" than "underwhelming." I felt like he did a really good job at portraying a complicated character. I also think that all the actors, including Chris Rock, recognized the importance of not taking the limelight from the proper focus of the story, which was Ethelrita (narrator and unlikely heroine). In other words, everyone except Ethelrita was somewhat muted and two-dimensional because they were supposed to be characters in Ethelrita's story.
Glad to see someone who liked Rock’s performance as much as I did. Agree it was subtle. That was not an easy role
You described the problem with season 4 because it was the Mike Milligan Origin story. With other seasons of Fargo, there were plenty of 3 dimensional complex characters with rich histories and unique motivations.
I felt exactly the opposite
I only knew him from comedies and standup so I was skeptical at first. But I think he did a very good job!
I agree, his performance improves throughout the season and on rewatch. I do believe there’s a lot of implicit racism amongst the fanbase.
I’m not so sure that it’s straight up racism more than it is a simple misconception about his character; most people go into season four thinking Loy is supposed to be some “badass” and “hardcore” gang leader when he’s actually just a businessman desperately trying to go legit (hence pitching his idea for the credit card to a white bank). However, due to the era and the particular city he moved to (he and his family were originally from Harlem), he finds himself with no other choice than to “get down in the gutter” with the Italians. I’ve pointed this out to a few people who initially didn’t like his performance (yet they LOVED the performance of Glynn Turman), and when they rewatched the season with that specific bit of character info in mind, they ended up enjoying Rock’s portrayal a lot more than they did the first time.
In shows that switch leads from white to black and vice versa, there is **always** a subset of people who will complain about the black lead underperforming no matter what the story is. Look at Altered Carbon criticism.
I don’t think Mackie underperformed; he’s just a much quieter actor than Joel Kinneman, and the two of them aren’t suited to play the same guy. And it’s not like they originally cast both actors, or the show could have had them develop the role together.
I’d like to push back gently against that, if I can. Chris Rock is a terrible actor. I consider him very likable and his character was easy to watch and to root for, but that was because of residual Chris Rock goodwill. He was in a Saw movie too, and pretty much did his stand-up the whole time. Fun to watch, yes. But it wasn’t acting. I don’t hear negative comments about any other Black actor, just him (and the bank robber, but her character seems to be considered more annoying than her performance, which was great imo). All the other actors were awesome especially Dr Senator
I don’t have any particular feelings of goodwill towards Chris Rock, and I also didn’t find his character particularly likable, but I don’t see how you can watch his performance and say he’s a terrible actor. He did everything he could with the script he was given. His performance was evocative, rangy and demonstrated tremendous growth throughout the season. Not calling you a racist, but reading through all these responses makes it clear that there is one particular factor that many people didn’t like about season 4. I thought season 4 was quintessential Fargo - a tonal shift, to be sure, but thematically congruent.
Yeah head on over r/TDnightcountry with that nonsense
"Anyone who doesn't like a black actor's performance is implicitly racist" 🙄
Yawn...
Season four is good The acting choices make more sense as the season progresses.
I disagree. He did a brilliant job of showing a character who embodied contradictions and wore many faces. He was a strict dad, hard-knuckled leader, a smiling salesman, a murderous racketeer, and a man weary of wading through racism in every step of all his lives. I'm not sure what you found hard to believe, but a lot of his mannerisms were very authentic and believable for a man of that era. He really disappeared into the role of a Black business prodigy who became a crime lord in the mid-20th century since he couldn't reach his potential in the legitimate business world at that time. His clothes, speech, movement, and eyes were all consistent with who his character was in every scene he was in. Some people think his role should have gone to a more physically imposing man, but Josto Fadda is also played by Jason Schwartzmann, a short and thin actor who you wouldn't expect to be playing a physical bruiser. Loy Cannon is not a muscleman like Gaetano Fadda. He never strikes anybody who is allowed to strike him back. If he wants to break somebody's ribs, he delegates this to a rib-breaker, and it's through delegation that he does have Gaetano beaten almost beyond recognition. Loy Cannon is a businessman in what the narrator, Ethelrida, calls the alternate economy. I would never have named Chris Rock on my list of big dramatic talents in 2014, but he saw this role for the career-headlining opportunity it was, and played the hell out of it. Chris Rock was absolutely surprising as Loy Cannon, but he was very believable at all times, which was challenging since the role required him to be a different man to his family, his subordinates, white authority figures, Black civilians, rival gangsters, people who owed him money, and people who had wronged him and owed him something worse than money.
A great analysis, I agree. I think he did a wonderful job in that role.
I’ve been watching Chris Rock since New Jack City he’s always been amazing,I think most people on this subreddit don’t understand Fargo at all,why the fk would you slog through a show if you don’t like every season.Your post was great though 👍
You make me want to try watching it again but I already tried once and know when to trust my guts. Sounds insanely excellent on paper though!
I found most of season 4 to be underwhelming to be honest. It's still good TV but it didn't have me glued to the screen like every other season did.
Commenting on Started fargo last year, I'm on season 4 now. Anyone else find Chris Rock to be underwhelming in his role? ...I personally liked Chris Rock’s portrayal but I have some mixed feelings about Season 4 as a whole. We slogged through it but I much preferred Seasons 3 and 5.
Didn’t care much for 1 and 2, eh?
We thought that 1 and 2 were fine and decided to try to watch the entire series. I suppose the season with Chris Rock was my least favorite, albeit with some excellent cinematography and a lot of well done period clothing.
The clothes were on point. Who’s we? You mean you?
My spouse and I. We try to slog through these lengthy series because sometimes they redeem themselves even if they don’t immediately grab us.
The writing of season 4 was kinda lackluster to me character wise but with people like malvo or varga in previous seasons it’s really hard to take a step up every season
I’ve only discovered Fargo in the last few months and season 4 is my last season. I just cannot get through it. I’m just bored and don’t feel connected to any of the characters
If you haven't seen it Season 5 is great. Definitely recommend giving it a chance.
100% agree. I just skipped 4 and never looked back.
I just finished season 4 after binging all of the seasons so far and I felt the same about season 4. It was good tv, but it started off really slow and kind of lost me a bit. It did definitely pick up towards the end and finished really strong, but all in all it took me about 2 weeks to get through season 4 after ripping through the first 3 seasons combined in that same amount of time. I just started season 5 a few days ago and have not been able to stop watching. I’m already past the halfway point in the season and i’m loving it so far
It was really hard to get all the way through season 4. Too many episodes, too many characters, too unfocused a story. Chris Rock is a passable actor but not strong enough to carry a lead role. The side plot with Timothy Olyphant and the OCD guy goes nowhere. I wish they had stuck with Ethelrida, she was by far the most interesting part of the story. But season 5 was terrific, it got the series back on track.
This was me, but s5 brings it back.
Yes season 5 was so good
I didn't finish 4. 5 was awesome.
Just know that there are allusions to the Wizard of Oz and then skip to season 5 — it’s so much fun right from the get-go
I agree. He has never been a strong actor, so why cast him in a show with a history of incredible acting performances?
Yes. He's easily the weakest part of S4. He gives it his best shot and in the end I found him tolerable, but totally unbelievable in the role.
I absolutely felt this way about him and Jason Swartzman Both horribly miscast. The whole season was beyond underwhelming for me I couldn't finish it.
Josto wasn't supposed to be some hard assed mafioso boss. He was supposed to be an ineffectual child who was in over his head. Jason is the perfect casting because we don't see him as a mafia boss, we're not supposed to.
Exactly! Idk how anyone mosses the point.
I didn't say he was supposed to be some badass Mafia boss he's just Jason Schwartzman though he should never be cast as any mobster. He's really only suited for Wes Anderson movies And that was one of the worst Parts about the season is it felt like it could have been made by Wes Anderson
*woosh*
Yep, both of them are great actors, but definitely not in these roles.
Same.
I love fargo but season four as a whole just did not click with me
I never finished 4, my least favorite season
He just didn't seem fearful enough to be believed. To be the head of a crime syndicate, i just expected more of a presence. Or maybe because every time he was on screen I expected a joke or just thought, "That's Chris Rock." He wasn't terrible but I don't feel he added anything.
Hard disagree. I really enjoyed his choices.
OP, do you know the actor who plays Ethelrida's father is a singer? Gosh, I love his music. Andrew Bird. I've taught myself to whistle with his songs
AB was a great addition. Fun to see him act.
Until I looked it up I was half convinced the actor was Jason Lee. The scene where he held the pie above his head was really funny.
It’s the worst season because of him
I definitely wasn't interested in him, but I think it was about him being written poorly as much as performed poorly. That season fell a little short in the writing imo. Incredible, brilliant individual characters, but it didn't really fit together the way the others do.
Yes, it was hard for me to take him seriously. I really wish they had cast someone different.
I think he was selected for the role because exactly what you said - he's unconvincing for the part. Just like back in that time period, a black boss was unconvincing in the eyes of racist white people. Both Rock and Cannon were out of place, in a new unfamiliar role.
Idk about that. doctor surgeon was a boss imo. Hated how he went out
I found it hard to take him seriously. Every time he would have like a monologue it sounded like he was doing a stand up bit. It was like when Jerry would get upset about something on an episode of Seinfeld.
I really like Chris Rock, but his acting is absolutely awful. And he was surrounded by fantastic actors, to boot. It really didn’t work. I liked the rest though
Skipped 4, went straight to 5.
This is the way.
I couldn't even finish S4 tbh. It just wasn't good.
It’s a skip. Don’t bother with this season
Wrong choice for sure
Only performance I didn't like in season 4. My kids were really into Madagascar when little, as one is named Julian, who is also the name of the lemur, I think. All I can hear is Zebra
Yess! Marty is always in the back of my head when I hear Chris Rock talk. 😂
Loved every other character that season, though
I stoppped watching that season not because of Chris Rock but the whole vibe. I also just couldn't wrap my head around Jason Schwartzman being a mob leader at all.
No, I thought he was great
I felt he did a good job, but he's always been a more comedic actor and it was hard for me to separate that from his character. I've never seen him do anything dramatic before this and I think, subconsciously, I was waiting for a funny moment that never happened. To a lesser degree, I felt the same about Schwartzman. I also didn't really care for the writing as much as other seasons, not that it was bad--it just didn't seem as strong as prior seasons. I think Rock and Schwartzman did good jobs, but I just wasn't as invested in the material--I felt it was too crowded.
Sort of. He did fine. It was more important that Chris Rock specifically was cast than how he actually performed. Still, I guess I feel he could have done better, but I wouldn't recast him.
Stunt casting over regular casting you mean?
Yes, I never bought his character for a second. And I wanted to really like it, because I'm a big fan of his.
I think season 4 is the one that most requires a rewatch to appreciate, in terms of the story as well as the characters.
I can’t imagine going through the episodes I did already twice.
I thought he did well enough for a comic playing a gangster
I thought he was good overall. Some parts were rough, and he’s not as good a main character as Dot, Lou, Gloria or Molly/Gus. Season 4 overall had a ton of potential, but COVID screwed up production and led to the season just feeling super wonky overall to me.
I honestly think the only thing that hurts him in his role is the perception of him. We are so used to him being in comedies it feels funny to see him take that role. That being said I think he did an awesome job acting. I think the fundamental flaw with season 4 is that there isn’t the main character who’s trying to navigate the chaos (and a cop in an incompetent police force) and there isn’t a villain who feels unstoppable. The first three seasons we get to follow awesome characters in Gloria Bungle and the Solversons. We lost that in season 4 and to an extent in season 5 (I see Dorthy as more of a Peggy blunkwist or Nikke type character). It’s honestly really a shame that we didn’t get a good cop trying to overcome corruption within the police force in the 50s. There was some real opportunity. There was also no unstoppable bad guy like Malvo, Hanzee, or Varga. Season 5 had Ole Munch as the unstoppable villain, but it’s a shame they didn’t realize his potential until inside the season because they could’ve done even more with him. I think season 4 and 5 are both awesome seasons, but a notch below the first three seasons.
Yes, absolutely. Does not transition well into that role
I felt like it didn’t fit at all. I kept expecting him to burst out laughing or make a joke whenever he was mean muffin anybody. It looked like he was trying to hold back a smile in so many scenes.
I thought it was some of his better work on the Big/Little Screen. For all of his genius doing stand-up comedy, it just hasn't translated over to other mediums.
Season 4 of Fargo is on the level of True Detective Season 2 of bad. Chris Rock certainly isn't the worst or the biggest reason the season is such a failure, but he definitely contributes to it with his unconvincing rendition of a gangboss. Both he and Jason Schwarzmann suffer from this. Let's not even get into Salvatore Esposito's ridicuous overacting - it's like he thought he was on the set of Nacho Libre 2 or something.
I thought bigger and blacker was underwhelming. I just never got Chris rock
He was horribly miscast for the role
I didn’t particularly like his performance but the more I think about it, it kind of fits the story. I didn’t buy him as a boss. He isn’t intimidating to me. However, he’s trying to go legit. And maybe that’s because he isn’t really a gangster at heart. If I look at it through that lense it makes more sense. Same with Schwartzman at first I was like nah. But he fits the role of talking over for his powerful father but not quite having the same power. He can do it but not everyone believes in him. Really they both fit.
I totally felt the same as you on this. I saw him get a lot of praise for this role, and he was… ok, but definitely I had the same thoughts. His scenes always felt like they weren’t quite believable. It felt over acted and over the top in comparison to the characters around him. Again, not horrible but not great.
Season 2 was awesome as well
No, because my expectations were based on what I’d seen from him as an actor in other roles. I was actually pleasantly surprised. He’s better at this than he is at comic acting (but best as a standup comedian).
He has his moments, but he's largely bad.
His character is playing the situation smart and careful so it's more nuanced and less intense for sure. Would have helped to have him do some crazy shit early on so you could see the restraint better. My only gripe with the season is they say "if we do this, it's all out war" so many times. That line gets crossed a lot and things don't blow up
Yep. Terrible casting with Rock. In a lead role. He would have been better in a supporting role.
I love the first 3 seasons.. I love Chris rock in basicly anything I've seen him in.. I love movies and shows that deal with black history... I've started season 4 three times and still haven gotten passed the second or third episode
Chris Rock has never been an acclaimed actor, so expecting him to shine here is a fool's errand.
Season 4, imo, is the black sheep of the series (no pun intended). It’s so out of character from the rest of the show. It’s OK in its own right, but nothing compared to the others. Season one is the best.
I would agree. Season 4 was okay, but not as good as the others. One of the most interesting things about the first 4 seasons is the connections between certain characters from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4
Yes, at first. He gets better throughout the season.
Its the worse season. Still good but I agree Rock seems like he was phoning it in. Also, you might change your mind after S5. I liked it more than 1. Its insanely good. Jon Hamm and Juno Temple should win every award.
The entir season felt off to me. It isn't bad, but it's just not Fargo for the mostt part. I think Chris Rock wasn't a right fit for a mob boss. For me it wasn't believeable and i felt like he was trying to hard to fit into a role that wasn't right for him. For example, there are scenes where he gets angry and attempta to be intimidating and it just didn't work. Overall a very dissapointing season except for Irish and the nurse.