Kevin Can F**k Himself is an eight episode dark comedy. It’s a unique blend of a parody type depiction of classic sitcoms and the darker more serious showing of dramas. It follows what we initially assume to be a typical husband and wife, Kevin and Allison. Both are 35 years old and Kevin is shown to be a man-child who hasn’t grown up, while Allison is showing signs that she’s sick of Kevin’s childish and selfish behavior.
The show initially starts off in a classic sitcom style, with the bright lights, multiple-camera setup and canned laughter. Kevin’s selfishness is played for laughs and Allison, despite her grumblings, will just have to put up with it. Then the style shifts to a single-camera setup and while it’s the same house with the same furniture, it’s a much darker and more realistic shade of color and all that frustration that built up inside Allison is shown. It’s extremely jarring at first but intriguing at the same time. You never really considered those ridiculous scenarios in sitcoms are actually frustrating and infuriating behavior to the normal person.
Kevin, his brother and his dad are pretty much the only characters to only show up in the sitcom style. This means that they’re always bro happy, always reckless, and always stupid. It deliberately paints them as an oblivious couple of idiots. It contrasts with their sister, who is a lot more than meets the eye. So while Kevin may be fun to his siblings and friends, he is a terrible husband. He doesn’t do anything, is selfish, only plays around, and doesn’t treat Allison with any respect. It makes you wonder why Allison stayed with him for so long.
As a result, you’ll soon see Allison’s point of view. Kevin may not appear it at first, but he’s actually extremely controlling of Allison. Whether it is deliberate or not, his actions restrict Allison to only things that he would like her to do. He ignores her whenever she says something that isn’t to his like, and always forces his way. It’s such at odds with the tone of the atmosphere at times. This feels like a type of domestic violence, and yet the happy sitcom theme suggests otherwise.
A common theme is that every time Allison has something positive happen in her life, it quickly gets quashed. This is cruel and you sympathise with her predicament. There are certain things that are totally unfair for her but then some of the characters are correct when they ask her why doesn’t she just leave. Apart from having no show to watch, Allison doesn’t have a proper response for that, so she’s confused herself.
Allison crosses the line midway through the season. The show can get into a dark place very quickly, more so when you realise that Allison wasn’t joking this whole time. The whole season has Allison slowly figuring out a way to get out of the situation she’s in. She’s decided the way is to get rid of Kevin (rather than getting away herself). Unfortunately, the pacing in this season wide arc can be slow, as there is little progress in each episode.
As a result of her decision to get rid of Kevin, she ends up becoming an unlikable character at times. This is a shame as it ends up making every character in the show unlikeable. A lot of problematic situations she finds herself in are caused by herself, so it’s hard to sympathise at times. We get that she’s frustrated but some of her actions can seem extreme and we her very very close to breaking point, if not already. In fact, from the very beginning, Allison’s been depicted to be having a sort of mental breakdown.
The final two episodes of the season had a lot of things going on. It plays into the expectation that there might be a resolution, and you look forward to that. However, since there’s a second season (announced a few weeks after this season finished), you know that won’t be the case. It sucks that the season ends on a massive cliffhanger. Allison find herself in deep trouble and we don’t get to immediately see the serious consequences of that. She’s gone too far in now to back out, and despite everything that she’s done, you still can’t help but lean more towards her side as Kevin is just so insufferable.
Overall, Kevin Can F**k Himself is a really unique take, mixing the light comedy sitcom with dark serious drama. There’s quite a bit of mood whiplash in every episode when it swaps between those two distinct elements, but it manages to make it work. The story is intriguing, even if slow paced for most of the season. There does seem to be a heavy and serious message through its portrayal of Allison’s relationship and how constricted she feels. It’s worth a shot as there isn’t another show like this.
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