Steve Karam got lucky, sorry to be so condescending, but The Humans while heroic in its attempts to incorporate 9/11, dementia, body shaming, adultery, chronic disease and family issues fails because of that…analogous to why Respect didn’t work as a proper honor to Aretha, again trying to encompass way too much.
While I read the play and never saw it live, the movie version written and directed by the playwright himself was just odd. I love Richard Jenkins and he is fantastic even with the wrong artistic choices of faraway cinematography, views through semi-opaque glass and near total darkness. The rest of the cast is also great, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun, Jayne Houdyshell and June Squibb. The only miscast was Beanie Feldstein who according to the character is obsessed with physical health of which she does not appear to be in this character’s costuming and demeanor.
A tough watch, even from someone in a dysfunctional family.
The Humans: Plays to Screen…Dicey Transitions
