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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Better in idea than execution, October 18, 2011 This review is from: Hung: The Complete Second Season (DVD) I've watched seasons I and II of Hung with mixed emotions. In season II I'm heading more toward dropping it, due largely to the writing and in some increasing sense, the casting.
The premise, that Ray Drecker is a high school coach (getting laid off in this season) by day, and reluctant male prostitute by night, totally sparks my interest. Current, provocative, a story seed that can grow and blossom in any number of interesting ways. However the writers just aren't going anywhere at all with this. The shock value of an average Joe using his biggest endowment to earn a salary wore off in Season I. We saw Ray awkwardly executing his first few jobs, we saw him come to terms, sorta, with his status as male prostitute, we saw Tanya the poet totally get off on the vision of herself as a pimp. Enter the evil conniving woman who tries to take over the business for a bit of intrigue and stress. And that... is pretty much where we have Season II as well. And the first few episodes of Season III. Nothing much is happening that's new, and they've explored most of the avenues opened in the first several episodes of the entire series. There simply isn't any freshness in the story line.
Another problem I have is the relative sexiness of the show. I'm a woman - the target client of this fictional male gigolo - and what I'm seeing is more of a male-fantasy version of a man giving women what they want so much they're willing to pay $600 a pop for it. For instance one recurring theme is that Ray drops his pants to show a woman his size, and they immediately become obsessed with having him. [A thousand online dating clients with cell phone cameras will tell you that this approach does not seem to actually entice your average woman] I'm not really getting the sex appeal. Yes, he's handsome, but that only goes so far.
As a viewer, I want to root for Ray and I want to see him develop the fantasy that he's selling in order to like and stick with his character. It would be forgivable if early on he was uncertain what made women tick and gradually came to understand that it wasn't a big you-know-what. However what I'm seeing is a character who doesn't seem to especially like women in any way that could come across as passion, sexiness or even interest to work out how to really please them. He sighs quite a bit (actually quite disgusting, old-man phlegm-filled rattles), he frowns, he isn't gentle, he argues with them defensively when they tell him what they want, he rarely appears interested in any part of the process, and even in the heat of the sex scenes themselves he's often shown looking exhausted and as if he's one step away from either a stroke or a back injury. In fact he DOES often get injured by his usually younger, more limber and more exuberant clients. As a viewer not opposed to some hot sex scenes, can I just say there's nothing sexy about a man who can't caress a woman without dislocating a shoulder and then rolling around on the floor clutching himself and groaning dramatically while the woman asks if he's okay and apologizes for hurting him? As a woman, I'm not feeling that.
Following on that thought... this season the actor himself (who is actually very handsome) has aged visibly. Yet they still team him up with much younger women, and I'm finding it harder and harder to suspend my disbelief that these girls who are in some cases young enough to be his daughter, are interested in this frowning, sighing, curmudgeonly man. And it's becoming harder to watch his character basically pummel these very young women into a wall as hard as possible as if that's all a woman could possibly desire (and as a woman who has participated in many conversations pondering how to disabuse a partner of that particular belief, I keep waiting for the story line to address this) - the age disparity is starting to feel more 'umm...gross' than 'ooh..edgy'.
I've watched the first few episodes of Season III to see if the competing-gigolo story line did anything for the show's major issues, but so far it's actually almost highlighting the largest problems I have with it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you?19 of 24 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars "Another Great Season", September 17, 2010 This review is from: Hung: The Complete Second Season (DVD) After completeing season two of "Hung" in the late summer of 2010, HBO has already announced the second year will soon be finding its way onto DVD and Blue Ray shelves. If that isn't enough good news, the cable station has stated that season three of "Hung" has been ordered and will air, as usual, during the summer in 2011.
"Hung" deals with the adventures of a good-looking basketball coach named Ray (played to perfection by mega-stud Thomas Jane) living in a suburb of Detroit. In order to make ends meet he enters the escort business as he possess a rather large bodily "tool" that lots of women find most attractive. The series deals with his interactions with his former wife, played beautifully by Anne Heche, as well as his two children. The second season mainly deals with Ray's involvement with his two female pimps, Lenore and Tanya, who both have different ideas in making Ray a huge success.
This season, like season two, has 10 entertaining and well-written thirty minute episodes. Here is a list of those shows along with their original airdates.
1. "Just The Tip", June 27, 2010
2. "Tucson Is The Gateway To Dick, or This Is Not Sexy", July 11, 2010
3. "Mind Bullets or Bang Bang Bang..." , July 18, 2010
4. "Sing It Again, Ray or Home Plate", July 25, 2010
5. "A Man, a Plan, or Thank You, Jimmy Carter", August 1, 2010
6. "Beaverland", August 8, 2010
7. "The Middle East Is Complicated", August 15, 2010
8. "Third Base or The Rash", August 22, 2010
9. "Fat Off My Love or I Am The Alllergen, August 29, 2010
10. "Even Steven or The Luckiest Kid In Detroit", September, 12, 2010
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Simple premise long played out, January 7, 2012 This review is from: Hung: The Complete Second Season (DVD) I enjoyed season one so much that I actually looked forward to spending my money to buy season two. Big mistake. Whatever it was that captivated me and my sweetheart about season one, was TOTALLY lacking in season two. I think season number one took a very unlikely premise that was replete with varous comic opportunities and made good use of them. Season two continued the established story but took it nowhere worth going.
Probably one year passed from the time I had watched season one and the time I watched season two. Watching season two and being BORED right from the beginning made me realize how SHORT each season is, namely only 10 thiry minute episodes. I did not pay a lot for this series, but even so, the story line no longer delivered even modest entertainment. the 300 or so minutes was better than a BAD movie, but it did not live up what I have come to expect from the best of HBO when HBO is really delivering the "goods."
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