Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson did not rule out a presidential election in public. This is an understandable strategy of a man who is well aware of his popularity and the power to project the right image, which in Johnson’s case is a kind of saturated human being.
Precisely for that reason he is the chosen family-friendly hero of our time, with some version of himself available and accessible to all, whether via ‘The Fast and the Furious’ franchise or’ Jumanji ‘, by way of his inspiring reality competition’ The Titan Games “or Elizabeth Warren’s favorite HBO show” Ballers. “
The limitation of possibilities is exactly the opposite of Johnson’s trademark, which is why NBC’s “Young Rock” is in the very best way the commentary on the dangerous intersection of fame, personality and political power. It may be an unintended sitcom with big tent ambitions that needs a few deliveries to organize the approach.
Or it could end up being something media reporters look back on from 2032 with a degree of self-loathing because they do not recognize it as a smooth repeat of 2015, with NBC again misled into offering free campaign ads for a man who has a charm has offensive. The difference this time is that the candidate in question is on the company’s payroll.
It’s a whole lot of paranoia that plows on the forehead, to hang on to an otherwise harmless, heartwarming family comedy of Johnson and fellow showrunners Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang, who worked together on ‘Fresh Off the Boat’.
I will also admit that some of these fears are for show only. Just as Johnson can handle and treat his seductiveness with equal care, it is only fair for writers to at least provide evidence of Johnson’s motivation here.
Perhaps ‘Young Rock’ is simply a ‘The Wonder Years’ built for 2021 and offering universal lifelong lessons in the past. That it is also loosely based on the childhood of a real person with a giant fandom is also not original, as anyone who has seen ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ can attest.
However, it has never been seen that Chris Rock looks back on this discomfort of pre-adolescents during campaign peaks in 2032, which is much closer than you might realize.
This not-at-all-meant-literally-or-seriously-writing of Johnson’s future efforts makes him travel the country in a bus with a hologram of himself winking and smiling at The People.
Randall Park is questioning him for at least two stops (deliveries) in the future as part of an ‘all-access’ coverage agreement that Park’s program has with Johnson’s campaign, and in their talks Johnson is acting as a personal’ man for all mankind ‘despite his obvious success quickly points out that he is no better than anyone else. “No one is perfect and we all magnify. I just happened to mess up a little more than most.”
That, by the way, would probably have been a smarter campaign slogan than the one on the side of his bus: “Just hang on, I’m coming.”
Depending on the level of PTSD your body is still holding on to after the past five years, it’s all nice or it may just feel a little too soon to be joking with. Johnson would have been the highest paid celebrity in Hollywood for two years in a row if a critical mass of Americans did not love him. Turn it around and you have another celebrity who wins the presidency, and this time a real wrestler instead of a fool pretending to be one.
Are we really ready for The Johnson Presidency: Part Deux? And what’s the chance this President Johnson avoids accusation? The latter could not get it right.
The narrative arrogance of the campaign stems from sweet family relationships at the heart of the show, namely Johnson’s loving ties to wrestler Rocky Johnson (Joseph Lee Anderson) and the close bond he shares with his mother Ata (Stacey Leilua).
A much more difficult distraction occurs in the pilot where Khan, who wrote the episode, tries to put together the four timelines in which the series takes place in one cohesive unit. The result is a disorderly cage battle between four periods in Johnson’s life, each competing for dominance.
Separately, the three phases of Young Rock serve different purposes, each contributing to the overall charismatic look we associate (and who sells movie tickets) in today’s Johnson and the 2032 era.
First and foremost, we meet Dwayne in 1982 at the age of 10 (Adrian Groulx), where Rocky is a star wrestler in a Hawaiian wrestling match run by Ata’s mother Lia (Ana Tuisila). Then we jump off the ropes in 1987, when the family is struggling to get by and teenager Dwayne (Bradley Constant) has adopted his father’s habit of exaggerating his success with a side of shoplifting.
Two deliveries provided to critics focus exclusively on these timelines and these streamlined tips for the show find its progress. Before it can succeed in this rhythm, however, we also move on to 1990, where Dwayne (Uli Latukefu) has a chance to recreate his image at the University of Miami by playing him in the starting lineup of the football team.
No one can deny that Johnson has an incredible story apart from a family legacy that connects him to pro-wresting titans.
It’s hard to find much wrong with the foundation of wholesome nostalgia, which gets a fuller broadcast in the second episode when Constant’s Dwayne learns a lesson in respect and dignity, and clings to his father on his happiness when he’s no longer alive. is not. entertainment at the local flea market while Ata cleans houses.
People who struggle to wrap their arms around the first installments of ‘Young Rock’ may find a reason to stick with the outstanding gang actors of the series who pose as such wrestling legends from the 80s like Ric Flair and Iron Sheik . In so many ways, the show immediately nails in, and an adventure from the sixth episode with a day trip with Andre the Giant (Matthew Willig) is particularly enchanting. Willingly channels the sweet tenderness of the towering icon, which is a soft joy that can melt all doubt about this show.
In those moments we see what ‘Young Rock’ can still become. What plans the creator has for the future remain unclear; he is a registered independent that Joe Biden endorsed in this election. He also appeared in a big and vocal way during the Republican rally in 2000. And some of the greeting card wisdoms he dropped during his fantasy campaign ceased, as did his commitment to the appreciation of ‘unique people with very different points of view’. thin sound to it after the days of rebellion. Like wrestling himself, there is nothing to his devotion to it. But he might be working the gimmick a little hard now.
“Young Rock” is on Tuesday, February 16 at 8pm on NBC.