“A bizarre nostalgia recycling exercise”: why critics scold the series “How I Met Your Dad”

On Tuesday, January 18, How I Met Your Dad premieres on Hulu.

The main role in the project went to the star of "A Cinderella Story" and "Lizzy Maguire" Hilary Duff.

She plays photographer Sophie.

The heroine, who is about to turn 30, hopes to find her love.

In the story, a girl tells her son the story of meeting his father.

The roles in the series were also played by Francia Reisa ("Secret from the Parents"), Suraj Sharma ("Life of Pi"), Tom Ainsley ("Versailles"), Thien Tran ("Candyman") and others.

Sophie from the future was played by Kim Cattrall ("Sex and the City"). 

Foreign critics met the new project without enthusiasm, based on the popular TV series How I Met Your Mother in the 2000s and 2010s.

The experts came to the conclusion that the tape, which is positioned as a continuation of a successful sitcom, copies the original too obviously, without offering fresh solutions.

Dave Nemec of TV Line notes that How I Met Your Dad is not a claimed sequel, but a full reboot.

“In essence, this is a new look at an old story ... which, unfortunately, does not quite live up to the original,” the expert says.

As IGN contributor Siddhant Adlaha writes, "How I Met Your Dad," with its multi-camera footage, laugh-outs, and female cover of the original opening theme, comes across as "a reflection of the original sitcom."

Among the elements similar to the original, Adlakha names both the main idea with the story of an acquaintance, and the plot, which contains funny episodes, friendly meetings and romantic stories.

However, according to the critic, after introducing the viewer up to date, the authors of the project are still trying to surprise the audience with something.

“When the pilot series finally reveals its cards, it becomes obvious that the narrative concept (of the new series. -

) not only repeats the original, but also departs from it in a rather intriguing way,” writes Adlakha.

According to Collider's Ross Bonham, the filmmakers in the new series are trying to both maintain the charm of a classic sitcom with comedy scenes with a group of friends and off-screen laughter, and implement a more daring project. So, the vast majority of the scenes are quite suitable for showing on television in prime time, but in some places very frank topics are raised. Bonham notes that, in general, this is not bad for a picture about modern relations, however, in the series, such episodes sometimes cause irritation - with their help, the scriptwriters seem to want to argue the relevance of the plot.

According to Variety author Caroline Framke, during the first episodes, viewers are repeatedly reminded that the main action takes place in 2022 (and Cattrall's character appears in 2050).

However, in her opinion, jokes and references to the present are outdated by about five years.

"Combined with the original How I Met Your Mother's adherence to low-key gags followed by deafening bursts of off-screen laughter, this makes How I Met Your Dad one of the most disorienting shows of recent memory," Framke said.

She notes that the show "goes over the top to show the characters using smartphones and ring lights, but still seems to be frozen in mid-2000s amber when the original sitcom was set."

• A scene from How I Met Your Dad

• © imdb.com

According to Framke, the tape could be more interesting and original if its authors made their own project, which takes place in the 2000s.

The expert emphasizes that the participation of Hilary Duff and Josh Peck, who were popular on television at that time, would also benefit from such a series.

And the resulting tape, according to the critic, is "only a bizarre exercise in the processing of nostalgia for a modern viewer, which at the same time manages to be completely out of date."

Siddhant Adlaha also considers the series not original enough.

"Until he finds his own foothold, it will be difficult for him to become anything more than a mere reminder of a much better series," the review reads.

Critics are generally pleased with the casting.

Adlaha argues that the cast of the project, compared to the original, more convincingly reflects the people of New York, since in the new series not every central character is straight, white or American.

According to Ross Bonham, Hilary Duff and Chris Lowell have good on-screen chemistry that takes the story to the next level.

Other performers of central roles, the reviewer believes, are also organic in their images.

Siddhant Adlaha, however, believes that the characters of some of the characters are not developed enough.

As a result, the characters, although interesting in their own way, do not look like fully formed personalities.

“Watching the idiosyncratic interactions of these characters is a real treat, but many of the other interpersonal relationships in the show are too lifeless for character-based humor to really work,” Adlaha says.

How I Met Your Dad boasts a young and talented cast.

However, the material does not match their level.

It lacks the wit that the original was famous for, and it relies too much on far-fetched sentimentality,” echoes colleague Dave Nemec.

He adds that in the series, "at times, thanks to the considerable charm of the actors, everything works out."

However, the author believes that "it may be a long wait before the show becomes legendary ... wait, wait ... gift."

Another failure, according to the critic, was the decision of the filmmakers to repeat the main intrigue.

“The mystery of who is the father of Sophie's child is not all that intriguing, especially considering how painfully long this story dragged on the first time.

Who wants to go through something like this again?” Nemets asks.

Bonham, in turn, notes a certain freshness of love stories - according to him, "How I Met Your Dad" explores new relationships, and does not copy what worked in the original.

“Although (in the series. -

) there is still a protagonist suffering from unrequited love and a potential romantic interest who does not yet fully believe in love, the new sitcom is more diverse and open in terms of the possible development of love stories,” the expert explains.

The first episode of How I Met Your Mother aired on CBS in the fall of 2005.

The sitcom continued to air until 2014.

During this time, nine seasons of the project were released.

The series was warmly received by both critics and the general audience, and won eight Primetime Emmy awards and other awards.