God's favourite Idiot

The authentic chemistry between the actor and her co-star husband elevates these apocalyptic hijinks to a higher plane … if not all the way to heaven.

But Falcone and McCarthy are great to watch, and the central relationship between their alter egos gives the whole thing enough charm, warmth and heart to get by. “Death is coming.” But she agrees to the date, and their relationship blossoms. “I like that you say shit that should embarrass you but it doesn’t,” she says, and Clark beams with happiness. Now she is back on the small screen (after last year’s dramatic role in Nine Perfect Strangers, where she was again one of the main reasons for watching) with God’s Favorite Idiot (Netflix), written by her husband and frequent collaborator Ben Falcone. He plays Clark, a mid-level tech worker, a sweet, slightly hapless, perfectly average man – until he is struck by lightning from what turns out to be a divine cloud and starts to gain powers and, intermittently, glow. Funny to her marrow, however variable the material may be ( Bridesmaids is terrible and this is a hill I intend to die on) she can be relied on to deliver the serotonin. If things are really, really bad I unleash the double dose of The Heat, co-starring Sandra Bullock. I am currently watching The Heat about 72 times a week.

The Melissa McCarthy Netflix comedy 'God's Favorite Idiot,' created by McCarthy's husband Ben Falcone, is a disaster — and sad for her fans.

What a waste of precious time in the career of a talented performer, one whose fans will follow her anywhere, and who rewards them with so little of what she can do. So he was: Clark, we learn, has been chosen by God to spread a message of peace and unity in the face of increasing demonic encroachment. Even after years worth of Falcone-led content, one still believes there are better ways McCarthy could be put to use onscreen, that she might find her way to collaborators who see her as an actor and not just a pratfall machine. After Amily kicks one of the Four Horsemen in the genitals, he remarks “I’m gonna need a minute, fellas!” to the other three. Surprising, that is, to those without familiarity with the breadth of McCarthy’s oeuvre. So it’s surprising that “God’s Favorite Idiot,” a new comedy series on Netflix, dropped without ever been having made available to critics in advance.

God's Favorite Idiot was filmed in Australia last year, the 8-part comedy was written and produced for Netflix by husband and wife duo, Ben Falcone and ...

Sweet Clark seems like the last person God would tap to fight evil. After getting struck by lightning from a very unusually angelic cloud, Clark (Ben Falcone) suddenly has the ability to glow. God’s Favorite Idiot was filmed in Australia last year, the 8-part comedy was written and produced for Netflix by husband and wife duo, Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy.

Ben Falcone as Clark Thompson and Melissa McCarthy as Amily Luck in episode 4 of God's Favorite Idiot.Vince Valitutti//Netflix.

It is a sign of the ineptitude of the series that these traits seem to disappear by Episode 2, and the character played by McCarthy becomes boring. Of course it does; the series is that vilely dedicated to the obvious. Just before that, there was ABC’s Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, about a misanthrope who touches a meteorite, is transformed into a “warrior for God” and can help others with a simple hug. Here, she’s wasted in what is a muddled, lazy heap of stinking clichés. The deal is that Clark, a shy, quiet IT guy, is chosen by God to help stop Satan from taking over. This new series could only exist on Netflix. One of the worst shows of the year, and it’s only June, it exists because it stars Falcone with his wife, Melissa McCarthy. Now, you know, McCarthy has become a major force in the past decade, and fair play to her, she’s been brilliant at times. This is no time to bring God into the situation.

The new Netflix series follows a regular guy and office worker who's chosen as God's messenger to prevent the apocalypse.

Subscribe to I'm So Obsessed on your favorite podcast app. One of Clark's many foils is Satan. After playing a superhero in Jupiter's Legacy, a reporter in Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and being married to Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, actor Leslie Bibb plays Satan in God's Favorite Idiot. But this isn't your typical red devil with a pitchfork and tail. The result is that Satan's charisma alternates between silliness and menace. It's a question that's nearly impossible to answer and one that many struggle to understand. It's not like a Marvel movie." Bibb's Satan is first seen in a leather catsuit riding a motorcycle and giving an onlooking child the bird.

In a nondescript house on a nondescript block in Burbank, California, a “pathologically honest” man named Clark (Ben Falcone) feeds his cats dinner.

If, as the final episode of the season implies, in the end, love is the answer to how the world can be saved from destruction by a great evil, I guess that’s why McCarthy keeps making these projects with her husband. Other aspects of the show borrow from Nora Ephron’s “Michael,” the 1996 road movie in which John Travolta stars as a man who claims to be the titular archangel, fallen from battle to Earth. Wherever Michael goes, he smells like everyone’s favorite scent. But this is also a meditation on the growing lack of faith in God around the world and the continuous fighting about what is the one true religion. Bibb, in particular, tries her best to liven things up, going full camp as a power-hungry Satan stuck doing all the work for Lucifer while her co-worker Beelzebub gets all the glory. McCarthy and Falcone, who are married, have had a long creative partnership, with McCarthy starring in all five of Falcone’s feature films, including most recently the Netflix superhero comedy “Thunder Force.” While Falcone certainly understands how to amplify McCarthy’s sharp comedic timing, these projects are, for the most part, under-baked and underwhelming outside of her dynamic screen presence. Little does he know that the cloud was sent directly from Heaven and that he has been chosen as a messenger for God. Thus begins Falcone’s new Netflix sitcom, “God’s Favorite Idiot.”

Meanwhile, Throp disputes this idea in the media that Clark is a higher power from God. Satan speaks to Throp afterward, and she is in an optimistic mood.

Unfortunately, not even the finale makes this series convincing enough to continue. Unfortunately, not even the finale makes this series convincing enough to continue. As we reach the end of season 1, Clark and Amily confess their love for each other as they drive away from the chaos. Unfortunately, not even the finale makes this series convincing enough to continue. She explains the war in Heaven isn’t going in the right direction, and she feels that Lucifer could take over. Frisbee updates Clark and others regarding Satan. He reveals that the spell protecting the hospital from Satan will expire at dawn due to paperwork.