UMC's "Stuck with You" Has Hella Potential But Needs More Luv

Tammy Townsend plays Candace one half of CandyLuv a celebrity power couple comprised of herself and her husband Luvell played by Timon Kyle Durret Candace is an RampampB singer who peaked in the Nineties and Luvell is a movie star whoamp8217s still pretty poppinamp8217 supposedly amp160From what Iamp8217ve gathered Luvell cheated at some point prior to the series beginning and then because of the fame and financial success that the public image of their marriage brought them they decided it would be less of a marriage and more of a business relationshipSide note amp160Why didnamp8217t they just call it CandyLuvFirst off Townsend is not one of the problems I have with this show amp160Iamp8217ve loved her work since her Family Matters days and KC Undercover amp160Townsend plays Candace pretty well Besides the fact that her proclivity for comedy tends at times to shine through sheamp8217s also impossible to misread facially at least amp160She can say whatever she wants but one look at Candaceamp8217s face and you already know what sheamp8217s thinking regardless of the scene amp160She also never sounds like sheamp8217s just saying lines amp160Weamp8217ll come back to thatHonestly the acting on the show isnamp8217t any better or worse than most other shows in this genre but there are other factors that contributed to the amp8220somethingamp8217s offamp8221 feeling I had here and there amp160Maybe Iamp8217m a product of my profession but there are some things I just couldnamp8217t help but noticeFor example Iamp8217m not sure if it was the actual cameras or lenses being used or if the color grading was off my moneyamp8217s on the latter but something about the visual feel of the series didnamp8217t sit right with me during the first couple of episodes amp160This was especially true during exterior shots where the background was washed out by the sun amp160By the time the third episode came around it seemed to have been worked out but that also kind of goes for the other minor gripes I had amp160Well for some of them anywayAnother issue was some of the framing and blocking amp160Itamp8217s like no one wants to get in any tighter than a medium closeup amp160Give me a real closeup amp160I want to see right into the actoramp8217s eyes amp160These people are real not CG and yet Iamp8217ve seen tighter shots of ThanosLocationwise everything is mostly good during the exterior shots as I mentioned earlier the color grading and exposure issues seem to have been worked out by the third episode amp160The issue is the interiors and how theyamp8217re presented to the viewer and I truly think that is the crux of what is amp8220wrongamp8221 here amp160Have you ever seen a play Of course you have amp160You know how you know itamp8217s a play that youamp8217re watchingamp160 Because every set only has one side and you can see the whole damn thing at onceCut toamp160 Luvell in his office amp160I donamp8217t know what his entire office really looks like or where his clients sit or how nice the building itamp8217s in is supposed to be because I canamp8217t see any of that amp160Sure I can see out the window behind him amp160I can see his assistant Quasir Terrence Green sitting next to his unexplained standing desk but heamp8217s never actually facing the desk amp160Heamp8217s facing the camera which again is mostly relegated to one side of the room amp160It reminds me of the way actors amp8220cheatamp8221 towards the audience during a theatrical productionIn real life people face each other turn around and walk around corners amp160The camera should follow these motions amp160It should whip pan the way oneamp8217s head does especially in such supposedly dramatic situations amp160But it doesnamp8217t for the most partThe lack of visibility is honestly the main thing that pulled me out amp160Luvell is supposed to be a movie star but I canamp8217t see enough of his house or his bathroom or anything to truly buy the idea that this man has bread amp160Same goes for Candace amp160Show some faux footage from an old music video a poster of her from the Nineties or a faux broadcast from a media outlet like one called GMZ instead of TMZ or something amp160Make me believe this shtLastly I would mostly just raise the stakes all around amp160This series should fall somewhere between how Empire feels and how blackish looks blackishamp8217s visual game is on pointTo be clear none of my gripes about what is otherwise a solid source of black entertainment mean that this series isnamp8217t worth a watchamp160 It definitely is amp160It just has a lot of elements that feel how I imagine a playturnedscreenplay might feel and in that scenario spoken lines can occasionally feel like lines that are just being spoken instead of natural dialogue amp160Onedimensional backgrounds shown mostly in wide shots no real extras and barely any establishing shots amp8230 if addressed these minor details could take this show to the next levelStuck with You has hella potential and because of that I will stick with it as wellamp160 Townsend is a godsend and when everything else falls into place I know this show will become the series that itamp8217s truly capable of beingClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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UMC's "Stuck with You" Has Hella Potential But Needs More Luv

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Ainsley Andrade

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UMC's "Stuck with You" Has Hella Potential But Needs More Luv

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