Apple TV+ comedy Loot goes on two dates this week. Molly, the billionaire who’s discovering what it’s like to have a conscience, has a suitor. And Nicholas learns the meaning of friendship when he comes to Howard’s aid.
As usual, the show’s niceties undercut its comedy every step of the way. And that’s a problem when you’re writing a sitcom starring America’s funniest woman.
Loot recap: ‘French Connection’
Season 1, episode 7: In the episode, entitled “French Connection,” Molly Wells (played by Maya Rudolph) is at a charity event when her newest suitor Jean-Pierre (Olivier Martinez) shows up. He invites her on a kind of date — and to collaborate on a humanitarian project of some kind.
Maya’s whole crew is obsessed with figuring out if he’s in love with her. Sofia (MJ Rodriguez), Nicholas (Joel Kim Booster), Rhonda (Meagan Fay) and Ainsley (Stephanie Styles) think he’s into her. There’s a pretty good joke about Sofia coming and seeing everyone wasting time. But when they tell her they’re trying to divine whether someone is single or not, she takes a beat, and then joins in.
Arthur (Nat Faxon) and Howard (Ron Funches) are the only ones who are suspicious of Jean-Pierre; Howard because he’s seen too many movies, Arthur because he has a crush on Molly.
A man of the land
When Molly heads to Jean-Pierre’s vineyard, she’s shocked by how earthy it is. He loves horses and gets down and dirty working with his business. Molly realizes he might be interested in her when he mentions how he wants to carry on the family name. He’s been doing it by introducing his name into the world through charity, but he wouldn’t say no to kids.
When he starts hitting on her, she tosses her scarf off to the side. He stoops to get it and she shouts at him: “Leave it! I want it off!”
Just then, a blonde woman joins them at the table. She’s confused. Eventually, Jean-Pierre comes to his senses and confesses that he didn’t know if this was a date or a business meeting, just like Molly. They kiss.
… and an Instagram kerfuffle
Photo: Apple TV+
Meanwhile, Howard congratulates Nicholas on getting a part in a play and gives him acting books to prepare in exchange for a favor. Nicholas needs to meet Howard’s girlfriend, Tanya (Amber Chardae Robinson), and help him divine what’s wrong with their relationship.
Nicholas sees that they’re probably too volatile but he also doesn’t want them to make a scene. “The manager says we are on strike two!” he says. So he gets Howard to apologize for liking too many other girls’ Instagram posts and they make up.
Just when Nicholas and Tanya start talking and getting along, she tenses up when he mentions marriage. Tanya doesn’t want to get married. She is quite clearly using Howard and keeping him on a tight leash so she can do so. When Nicholas tries to tell Howard that this new and awful truth, he freaks out and tells Tanya, and they both yell at Nicholas.
You can’t use up creativity
I’ve finally figured out why I resist Loot as much as I do despite a couple of great jokes from a great writing staff and a game cast. The show gives us two or three howlingly funny moments per episode, which is not a bad average for a sitcom. But where the wheels fall off is the feeling the rest of the episode strives for.
This is another show in the Ted Lasso vein. Everybody’s nice. And if they have a problem, the lesson they must learn to solve it is to be more nice. Everybody is supportive to a fault. This week’s B story involves two friends who must clear a hurdle to become even better friends.
In fact, Loot is entirely too nice. Maya Rudolph could do this in her sleep, but the creative team dampens her comedic spirit by not allowing her to be as callow and grotesque as her performance screams to be.
Loot should let Maya Rudolph do what she does best
She’s playing a rich woman, a walking id — she needs to be able to say and do whatever she wants. I do not at all begrudge such a stupendous talent her desire to play a genuine human being who has everything and is making the world a better place, but the performance notes a character like that calls for are too basic to be worthy of Rudolph’s time and talent.
She can ad lib with the best of them, and carry a whole scene on vocal inflection alone. Rudolph was and remains one of the only reasons to watch the lion’s share of the movies and TV shows she stars in. Unfortunately, Loot is just not tailor-made for her strengths.
Every week, Molly gets purer of heart and everyone around her gets better, too — all toward a goal of being helpful if flawed people doing the lord’s work out in California’s needy neighborhoods.
That’s fine, but the show’s best jokes are about the lower extremes of the human experience, like getting scolded by management at Cheesecake Factory or demanding a philanthropist stare at your cleavage.
If Loot wasn’t so doggedly committed to being the next Ted Lasso, it could be about 75% more funny and a whole hell of a lot less cute.
★★★☆☆
Watch Loot on Apple TV+
New episodes of Loot arrive Fridays on Apple TV+.
Rated: TV-MA
Watch on: Apple TV+
Scout Tafoya is a film and TV critic, director and creator of the long-running video essay series The Unloved for RogerEbert.com. He has written for The Village Voice, Film Comment, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Nylon Magazine. He is the author of Cinemaphagy: On the Psychedelic Classical Form of Tobe Hooper, the director of 25 feature films, and the director and editor of more than 300 video essays, which can be found at Patreon.com/honorszombie.
