Why Do I Hate The Bear?
WITHOUT APOLOGY
I liked season one. I did. Especially the music, the loving shots of the city, the cinematography in general felt very cinematic and important and it was about my city and my industry. I even somewhat enjoyed the plot and some of the characters at first.
Expectations of a realistic portrayal of restaurant life were tempered. Allowances were made for the insane labor cost numbers I was calculating in my mind as they all chattered on endlessly all day, dreamily feeding each other taste bites as 6 people cooks and an on-staff maintenance guy (what a dream that would be!) worked all day in a closed restaurant. Poetic license. I’ll suspend disbelief and play along.
I really like the character of Richie and am pretty awed by the acting ability of guy playing him.
….and….that is about all I can think of to say that’s positive about the show. Oh, great casting with the guest stars too.
Dang. I really went in expecting to like it. Wanting to. I was really rooting for this show.
I’ve seen a few articles talking about chefs who said they can’t watch it. It hits too close to home for them, triggers the same stress we feel all day at work while they’re at home trying to relax, gives them PTSD, whatever.
I can understand feeling that way, but that’s not it for me. That’s not why this show grates so particularly the wrong way on me as it does.
To be honest here…I actually don’t think I fully grasp why The Bear annoys me so much. A lot of times, when I need to work something through to get to the nut of what I think about it, writing helps me crystallize, hone, and better understand my mind.
Fortuitously, I just got Hulu back from some promo they were running when my college-age kid signed up for Spotify, so I think what I’m going to do is make this a new series. I’ll watch an episode or two of The Bear and then blog about it, trying to get to the heart of why I dislike this series that all indicators would point to me loving.
It’s critically acclaimed, winning tons of awards, it’s set in and celebrates Chicago, it’s about food, the writing is good, the acting is for the most part good. The plots are compelling. I even feel something of a personal connection to the show since I went to culinary school just north of that Mr. Beef location in the 90’s and I used to eat in their “elegant dining room” 2-3 times a week. (Shout out to all the CHIC alumni out there! It was either Mr. Beef or that Pakistani place to the north that all the cab drivers went to.)
SO WHY DO I FUCKIN’ HATE THE BEAR SO MUCH?
Confession: I pretty much started turning it off and tuning it out around mid-season 2, so I’m way behind. I feel like in fairness to this exercise, I need to re-watch the show from the beginning and catch up, allowing it to gain momentum back to give it a real shot.
And…as fortune has it, I’m unemployed right now. So, hey… I’ve got time.
So consider this post volume 1 of a new blog series: “Why Do I Hate The Bear? — A self-explorative web blog series by Ed.” There. That makes it official.
I consider this more a self-analysis than a critique of the show. Everyone loves it. It hits all my notes. They play Wilco in nearly every episode, for chrissakes! How is it possible that I fuckin’ hate this show? Why does it always leave me irritated? WTF is wrong with me? I feel like by admitting this I’m sharing a secret I’m ashamed of. Is there a self-help group for Chicago chefs who hate The Bear?
I’m gonna need all of your all’s help with this one. Send me your thoughts. I want to hear what you love about the show. Why do you love it? Which character is your favorite and why? Tell me your favorite episode! (no spoilers please!)
Let’s make this a real give and take. Maybe we can even do a subscriber chat!
It's a show about trauma filtered through food, and it's all rather heavy handed. So little seems to happen over the last two seasons. I also hated the plot device of taking a Chicago eatery serving indigenous local fare and replacing it with tired international cuisine. I also sorta hate the veneration of food trends designed for snobs and the effete. It's not where food is actually going anymore, as if it was written in 2010. As it approaches season 5, they may be taking it back to Italian beef, but can't tell. Richie is the only one to master the working-class Chicago accent, though Oliver Platt's has really improved as the series aged.
I loved your comment about the one thing you liked about the Bear. Richie is also my favorite character and favorite actor. In fact, I've been arguing that Ebon is so far superior to Jeremy--in acting and looks--that the two actors should have exchanged roles. I'm also a fan of Ayo, Lionel and Liza, and all of their characters need more time on the screen. Some time could be saved by eliminating the annoying Fak brothers. Oh and Oliver Platt is always great to see. No question about the best episode: "Fishes" in Season 2.