This is the part where I act like an authority on entertainment, and criticize the work of professionals who are, without exception, more successful than I in the industry in which we both work. Some people would say this is proof I have "balls", or "chutzpah" in Jewspeak. Others would say it's proof I'm a "douchebag". To catch up on any old reviews, you can find the link on the right hand side of the page, or just click here.
It seems most of my reviews here start very much the same way: I talk about how the previews/ads for the show I'm discussing left me lukewarm, and I watched the show with low expectations, only to be happily surprised at how good it is. This dovetails with my experience watching movies all my life -- the lower the expectations, the higher the odds I'll enjoy the experience. But it's not an automatic thing -- I had low expectations for 'My Own Worst Enemy', and I hated the shit out of that.* The same has happened with movies ('Pearl Harbor' and 'Rush Hour 2' are just two of the many movies I knew would suck, but still saw in the theater). Still, it's happened enough that I came up with a rough formula:
(Movie Quality + Ending) / Expectation = Enjoyment
Because I'm aware how much my expectations affect my overall enjoyment, I always try to give a show more time to grow on me, show me one way or the other if my original feeling was well-founded. So, when I first began to enjoy watching 'Sons of Anarchy', which didn't happen until three or four episodes in, I decided not to write a review until I seen a little more. After all, it was a show about a motorcycle gang. That isn't my thing. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen anything featuring a motorcycle gang that I liked in the least. Maybe one is slipping my mind, but I'm pretty sure.
But saying 'SOA' is about a motorcycle gang is like saying 'Mad Men' is about advertising. The headline needs to be the creators -- 'Mad Men' was created by Matthew Weiner, former writer on 'The Sopranos', and 'SOA' was created by Kurt Sutter, former writer on 'The Shield'. Those are pedigrees which demand you at least give the show a fair chance, which is why I stuck with it after I was underwhelmed by the two-hour opening block of the show. But it slowly grew on me, and the final three episodes completely blew me away. In that three and a half hours of TV, the show jumped from an impressive newcomer to one of the best shows on TV. Simultaneously, Sutter rose from a solid TV writer to a a soon-to-be very rich man.
Sutter, who has a background in theater and acting (he appeared as "Margos" the foot-chopper in 'The Shield'), knows how to tell a story. And when a story is well-told, and filled with multi-dimensional characters, it doesn't much matter what world it takes place in. The themes are familiar and relatable: family, friendship, brotherhood, loyalty, financial burdens, etc.
And it helps when the acting is top notch, as it is here. It starts with Charlie Hunnam, who seemed like an odd choice to play the lead, Jackson "Jax" Teller. A British pretty boy as a grizzled biker didn't seem to ring true, but as the show progressed I bought him more and more as the hard-as-nails Jax. Sutter's real-life wife, Katey Segal, play Jax's domineering mother, Gemma to the hilt, and nails it. She's married to Jax's step-dad/gang boss, Clay Morrow, played by the larger (and gruffer) than life, Ron Perlman. Their roles are crucial to the show's success.
Several lesser character's also stand out -- Kim Coates, one of those guys who's been in everything, as Clay's right hand, "Tig"; Ryan Hurst as "Opie", an ex-con trying to juggle a wife and kids with his re-introduction to gang life; and William Lucking, as Opie's dad, one the old-timers in the gang, are just a few in a great ensemble cast full of solid performances. The show has also featured some great guest arcs from the likes of 'The Shield's' Jay Karnes and the always great Ally Walker -- as federal officers with very different motives.
The show follows Jax as he grows from becoming a father, and having to handle extra responsibilities in the gang and in his personal life. All while gaining inspiration from a manuscript left by his deceased father, the former head of the gang. He has to decide between two women in his life who both want him -- an old flame who broke his heart and the mother of his child. He pushes and pulls with Gemma and Clay, who each has the same conflict of interest -- each other. Their involvement with the law -- chiefly, having local police chief Wayne Unser ('Deadwood's' great Dayton Callie) in their pocket -- provides a compelling, and constantly evolving, storyline. The gang politics can bog down a bit, with all of their rivals essentially interchangeable, but there are enough interesting subplots (like a junior member's fledgling romance) to keep you involved at all times.
For awhile I didn't write this review because I wondered if the show would find a groove. When it did, I delayed the review because I thought it might not be able to keep it up. When it did that, I didn't know if it would be able to pay it all off in a satisfying way. It did, and I'm done doubting this show. Now, I'm just impatiently waiting for next season.
Using the age-old Hollywood scale of judgment -- HIGHLY RECOMMEND/RECOMMEND/CONSIDER/PASS (circle one) -- I rate 'Sons of Anarchy':
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
* Though I'll probably still be watching the remaining episodes before it's off the air if my wife has anything to say about it. SPOILER: She will.
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