This past month I caught up on a lot of my shows and found myself with some downtime in between series and decided to squeeze in Hulu's new mini series The Act.
I first heard about this series at throwing practice when one of my teammates asked me if I was going to watch it. Not knowing what it was I just filed it in the back of my mind. A few weeks later I was scrolling through Hulu and I saw the chilling TV poster:
This immediately caught my attention and I asked my Papa (my TV watching buddy) if he wanted to watch this series with me. He wanted to see the trailer first to verify that this wasn't another teen drama (he's overheard hours of Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl) and after seeing that this was completely different, he agreed to watch it.
We finished the series in about three days and after watching I felt extremely bothered and uneasy for a few days. I had read Gypsy Rose Blanchard's story before but watching Joey King, Patricia Arquette, and Calum Worthy bring Gypsy, Dee Dee, and Nick to life made the story 10X more real for me. Watching Gypsy transform on screen and seeing Nick's mental health battle I was so creeped out and impressed by the acting and directing.
The show did a good job of drawing the audience in and making me feel like I was a neighbor in Gypsy's neighborhood. For the first three episodes I sympathized with Gypsy and hoped she would get out. Instead of the directors presenting her as a killer they started her out innocent so that the audience could feel just as blindsided by her actions just as the world did in 2015 when the saga first unfolded.
Also, mad props to the costuming and casting. I mean just look at these side by side images:
The main problems I had with the show was with the BDSM/Facetime scenes. Those were just super uncomfortable to watch and I felt like there were too many. I got the point after the first one or two sexual scenes.
I also felt as if they made Wolverine too old. That part seemed very unrealistic considering that the guy looked like he was 30 years old. I also wish they gave more followup at the end of the series about Gypsy and Nick. I mean Gypsy is engaged right now while in prison!! That definitely should have made the ending credits. Lastly, I would have liked to see a reaction scene with the doctor who knew the Blanchards were faking.
After doing more research, it's clear that Gypsy's dad, Rod, was involved in her life more than the show let on. It would be cool if during the flashback episode, when Gypsy was a kid, they showed Rod. He was only in one scene whereas in real life he had a bigger impact.
The acting was A+ in this series. It's so hard to believe that just a few years ago Calum Worthy played Ross Lynch's silly friend on Disneys Austin and Ally and now he's playing a bipolar schizophrenic murderer. The range and talent is real!
Overall, I enjoyed the series but it left me annoyed because I believe Nick Godejohn should be in a mental hospital, not jail. He also should not have been sentenced to life when Gypsy, the mastermind, only got 10 years. I hope this series raises awareness not only for Nick but for mental health individuals as well.
Let me know what you thought of The Act and your opinion of the verdict for the real Gypsy and Nick and be sure to share this article with friends!
