Kevin Can F**k Himself is a weird show full of hopes and dreams. Let’s start there first. It’s not a bad show. It’s got Annie Murphy. Nothing with her can be bad, right? But the shows two-hour premiere “Living the Dream” and “New Tricks” was weird and took me a little bit to get used to the swing of things, especially this shift between the comedy world and the real world. But weird worked for this show and I think AMC+ has a gem in their midst when it comes to Kevin Can F**k Himself.
Before we dive into the weirdness, I need to talk about Annie Murphy. I have missed her on my screen ever since Schitt’s Creek ended and it’s such a delight to see her flexing her acting muscles as Allison. Her character has this idealistic vision of her world. She doesn’t see the reality of her life because she’s giving Kevin, her husband, the support he needs at every turn without putting herself first at the same time.
What that results in is a woman who is slowly becoming more and more frustrated in “Living the Dream” & “New Tricks.” Her frustration leads her to see what’s really going on around her and how her husband is screwing her over left and right. And she comes to a point where her comedy reality and real world reality are clashing together in an epic manner that leads her to come to the conclusion that changes her forever.
Kevin Can F**k Himself because Allison isn’t taking this anymore. She isn’t taking his side-lining of her dreams, her hopes, and the future she sees clear as day. And if that means she has to kill him, so be it. Now, this isn’t me advocating for the death of Kevin. I hate him and how he reminds me of all the average comedy shows that have an average looking man with the woman of his dreams on his arm.
Backing Allison is me saying, “Fuck this guy and the crappy house he lives in.” Because Allison, she deserves better. She deserves to be the star. She deserves to have the home of her dreams. And she deserves to be put first instead of second because Kevin has to have his adventures. Look, Kevin. Allison is not your mommy or your girlfriend, she is your wife. And if you don’t shape up, everything that’s coming your way is your fault.
Also, now that I think about it, and trust me, I’ve been thinking about this hard, the more that I learn about Kevin, the more he reminds me of the shit show storylines comedies push. It’s always the average Joe who bags the hot babe because of his stunning personality. But the more you watch, you realize he has the personality of a sack of potatoes and this is just a writers way of living the dream they never were able to.
Kevin Can F**k Himself flips that on it’s head and says “fuck you” to the writers who came before that relegated the female lead to being second best. Allison is the focus, she is the driving force, and Kevin isn’t going to know what hit him this season! Seriously, she’s going to go after him because her dreams are within her grasp and she’s realized that she doesn’t need dead weight holding her down.
Also, I realized that I never got back to the weird part of this review. The shift between the comedy world and the real world is startling. So much so, that when it happens, it takes me a second to process that this isn’t like any show I’ve watched before. It’s not a bad thing. But at the core of it, it’s what makes this show weird. It also makes the show unique and like nothing I’ve watched before.
This weirdness works for Annie, Kevin, and the rest of the gang. And I’m looking forward to how this picture perfect comedy world around Allison starts collapsing as she frees herself from its grasp. Hopefully, in its place we’ll see a new world emerge that finally gives Annie what she so desperately needs: freedom, the ability to go after her dreams, and companionship that lifts her up instead of weighing her down.
Kevin Can F**k Himself 2-hour premiere is available on AMC+ with the show premiering on June 20th on AMC.
