Copyright Men's Journal
All’s Fair director Anthony Hemingway responded to the show’s humiliating reviews in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Critics Have Panned All’s Fair Ryan Murphy’s legal series (streaming on Hulu and Disney+) stars Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, and Niecy Nash-Betts as a team of divorce attorneys who represent only female clients, helping them claw back their own against their greedy exes. The show has been universally blasted, earning a rare zero percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have condemned everything from Kardashian’s wide-eyed performance to the hastily written dialogue and the show’s obsession with wealth. But Hemingway, who directed four episodes in the first season, is defending Murphy’s vision. Show’s Director Responded “You’re not going to please everybody. You may have certain criticisms, while there are a million others who love it. I think the show holds a mirror up to each person who watches it,” Hemingway claimed. “It’s entertainment, it’s a comedy, and it’s a matter of finding ways to tap into real conversations and real human dynamics in a different way. Every time you meet any sort of difference, it takes a minute to either develop a taste for it or not.” Hemingway continued: “I also think sometimes things may take time. I did The Wire. No one liked the show when it was out. They hated it. They didn’t watch it. Two people watched it every week. But it got to a point where it found a moment. I’m not comparing the show to The Wire—let’s get that straight—but it’s an example of how people can react to something in one moment and it becomes something totally different in another time.” ‘People Want an Escape’ When the outlet asked Hemingway to defend the show’s “hollow” and “tacky” depiction of female “girlboss[es],” he laid the problem at the feet of audiences. “Unfortunately, there are expectations for the show that are being defied or not met, because it’s not what they expected it to be. When you put the word ‘legal’ and use the word ‘drama’ lightly in certain things, that strikes a certain expectation, and [that expectation] is not fully what the show was meant to be. There’s a lot of wish fulfillment in this show that was by design, and it’s coming at a time where people want an escape and to fantasize. There are elements of this show that effectively do that, where it’s not taking itself so serious [sic]. It wouldn’t be a comedy if it was trying to be that.” Hemingway ended the line of questioning with a direct plea to viewers. “Don’t come at it with such a critical or literal frame of mind. It strikes a different tone, and it will evolve over time; it will get more human. Something that was important to Ryan was fulfilling fantasies. [He was] wanting people to see what they may not be able to obtain, but can escape into and live out through an entertainment space. [He wanted to] give some wish fulfillment and light to this world.” All’s Fair is streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
