Raunchy comedies come and go, and it looks like there are a lot more coming to streaming right now than anytime in the last several years. And they are surprisingly good too. Following the success of Summer of 69 on Netflix, it is now Prime Video’s turn to get all ribald with its new series Overcompensating,
which has leapfrogged the mighty Reacher to claim the number one spot on the chart since its debut last week.
Overcompensating is another chart-topper that doesn’t rely on big Hollywood A-lister names, multi-million-dollar action sequences, or a script by Taylor Sheridan to make it a hit. Instead, the comedy based on true events by Benito Skinner tells the story of “a closeted former football player, who becomes friends with a college outsider to fit in.” If this sounds like the premise of college sex comedies of the 70s…and 80s…and so on, then you would be right, but it also manages to pull it off beautifully according to its Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 94%.
Related
A 650-Year-Old Sex Comedy Is Now Must-See TV
Hilarious and rife with obliviously self-absorbed characters, Netflix’s latest hit series has proven to be a show worth watching.
Creator Skinner, who also stars in the series as lead character Benny and produces alongside Superbad star Jonah HIll, is best known as a social media comedian and actor, having spent many years posting skits, impressions and his own character creation on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The show also stars Wally Baram as Benny’s unlikely friend, Carmen, Mary Beth Barone, The White Lotus star Adam DiMarco and Rish Shah as the main cast.
While the series certainly does not rely on big-name stars, there are some familiar names who make guest appearances in the series, including Megan Fox, who appears as a poster of herself (It’s a raunchy college comedy, we all know why there is a poster of Megan Fox there), Charlie XCX, Happy Death Day star Rachel Matthews, and – inexplicably – Edith Conn, who is best known for playing Frenchy in the 1978 musical Grease.
Is ‘Overcompensating’ Worth Watching on Prime Video?
It seems that both audiences and critics are very much in agreement that Overcompensating is worth your time. Critics in particular have been very positive about the series, and its 94% Tomatometer score proves this.
Michael Shirey of Gay City News says that it “works because it isn’t afraid to show the good, the bad, and the messy parts of college.” The honesty of the series has certainly helped it gain positive reviews from many critics. Belen Prieto of Espinof said, “Overcompensating is many things, but above all a love letter to self-discovery, the importance of identity and knowing oneself, and, of course, friendship.”
Rolling Stone magazine’s Alan Sepinwall makes note that while many projects by YouTube stars prove why they are YouTube stars and not TV stars, Overcompensating “is good enough to have a shot at bucking that trend.” This is something that is emphasized by Maddy Mussen of the London Evening Standard, who added, “Skinner has truly found his footing. Hopefully its release today will be the success it deserves, and Skinner will put the impersonations to bed. He’s got better things to be doing now. Like making a season two.”
While it is seemingly very easy for bad action movies to find their way to the top of various streaming charts, a good comedy series doing the same is much rarer. Overcompensating appears to be bucking that trend in more ways than one, and it could even do just enough to avoid that dreaded one-and-done cancelation trend too.
Source: Flix Patrol/ Rotten Tomatoes
