All’s fair in art and criticism, and that’s good because “All’s Fair” is absolutely terrible. The Ryan Murphy-created legal drama featuring reality television star Kim Kardashian as divorce lawyer Allura Grant has been getting torn to shreds by critics and audiences alike, sitting currently at a 19 cumulative score (out of 100) on Metacritic. While the concept of a group of all-female lawyers leaving their male-dominated firms to start their own feminist firm seems ripe for review-bombing, unfortunately, the show is actually just abysmal. It’s kind of a shame, too, because aside from the woefully cast Kardashian, the cast is pretty fantastic. There are a couple of the better Murphy regulars, like Niecy Nash-Betts and Sarah Paulson, along with major actors who seem to be slumming it a bit, like Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, and even “Modern Family” and “Married… with Children” patriarch Ed O’Neill.
While it’s certainly better than trying to squeeze every last drop of salacious material from real-life tragedies like Murphy’s “Monster” series, which has frustrated viewers season after season, “All’s Fair” isn’t good television. Look, I absolutely love the “Love Boat”-meets-“Nip/Tuck” ridiculousness of Murphy’s recently-discontinued “Doctor Odyssey,” so I don’t mind my television trashy or terribly written as long as it’s fun. Unfortunately, “All’s Fair” commits the greatest sin of all: it’s more than bad, it’s boring.
Critics picked apart the storytelling above all on All’s Fair
There are some absolutely baffling acting and casting decisions on “All’s Fair,” including centering a series around Kim Kardashian, but the worst decisions seem to be ones easily leveled at Murphy. In her review, The Wrap’s Kayleigh Donaldson writes, “everyone in ‘All’s Fair’ is a stock caricature from a man’s idea of a woman’s drama,” pointing out that Murphy’s typical high-octane camp has gained a bitter edge. Liz Shannon Miller for Consequence of Sound called the writing “bad first drafts of a cheap soap opera” without any of the fun elements of that genre, which unfortunately sounds like a lot of Murphy’s more recent output outside of the wonderfully fluffy “Doctor Odyssey.” Murphy shows tend to be at their best when he produces and helps with ideas but leaves the writing to others, and unfortunately, his co-writing credit on “All’s Fair” means there are some utterly inhuman dialogue choices.
Is “All’s Fair” the worst thing that Ryan Murphy has ever created? Probably not, but it’s nowhere near the best. Maybe he and Kardashian both need to take on slightly lesser roles, because it all worked a lot better on “American Horror Story.” C’mon, Mr. Murphy, just give us some good old-fashioned horny camp again, please! We miss “Nip/Tuck”!
