Frank of Ireland Review: Well-Cast But Obnoxious Dark Comedy Rarely Brings The Laughs

The Illuminerdi reviews Amazon Prime's newest comedic series, Frank of Ireland.

I was annoyed by Frank of Ireland. Amazon’s new show (created by and starring brothers Brian and Domhall Gleeson) is well-cast and the acting is solid, but its humor oscillates between shock value crudeness and referencing classic movies I could have been watching instead. Perhaps a season 2 can improve it?

Frank (Brian Gleeson) is a 33-year-old man living in Ireland with his promiscuous mother (Pom Boyd). He spends his days cavorting around town with his best friend Doofus (Domnhall Gleeson) and attempting to win back his girlfriend Aine (Sarah Greene) despite her being engaged to new guy Peter Brian (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor). Every day brings a new adventure, and Frank, Doofus, and the people in their lives attempt to peacefully co-exist in their small town.

Frank of Ireland Official Trailer

Frank of Ireland has one shining thing going for it: The Cast. Everyone is clearly giving their all to these characters and that energy earned a couple chuckles per episode (Season 1 has 6 available each running 23-25 minutes). Again, maybe it’s like the American Office and needs time to find itself.

However, for this season, Frank of Ireland’s biggest problems are the title character himself and the humor it goes for. Adult manchildren are nothing new to TV, but they need to have people around them reacting believably to their insanity as well as be charming somehow. However I never found Frank charming or endearing in any way, and while the supporting cast get shining moments as the show goes on, but for now they’re largely relegated to reacting to Frank’s antics (barring episode 5, which raises the stakes and hints more good could come in the future).

Most of the Frank of Ireland episodes are also parodies of classic movies and will see Frank constantly discussing and referencing said films, but all this did was make me wish I was watching those films instead of this. Again, to give it due credit, the cast is clearly committing 100% to the material and earn a chuckle once in a blue moon, but with this much talent and energy assembled, I wish it was funnier.

1 out of 5 stars

Frank of Ireland season 1 gets a massive skip from me, but if you enjoy mostly crude humor or any of the actors involved, you can catch it on Amazon Prime April 16^th, 2021. Let us know what you thought of the new series in the comment section below or over on our social media!