A new Channel 4 drama about two flawed, star-crossed lovers who reunite from time to time has come under fire, amid the huge success of Netflix’s One Day.
Alice & Jack, starring Andrea Riseborough and Domnhall Gleeson, has been compared to a “disappointing date” with incredible characters.
Billed as a “love story for the ages”, critics have criticized the show for attempting (and failing) to replicate the television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
While Rooney’s character creations appealed to audiences despite having flaws, critics called Alice and Jack “narcissistic and cheesy.”
Speaking to Radio Times ahead of the show’s premiere, Gleeson said of the drama: “Adult romance, real romance, is complicated, people get hurt and it can take a long time.” And I think that’s what it is. That’s what makes me like it.”
However, according to audience reviews and critics who have joked that the show needs “a defibrillator,” the only people who are harmed by this romance are the viewers themselves.
With a few exceptions, the drama has earned two stars almost across the board, as critics were left wanting.
Here, FEMAIL reveals what the critics are saying…
The Telegraph
Critics have slammed Channel 4’s new drama about star-crossed lovers who never make it as “sad”
Anita Singh by The Telegraph described the drama starring Andrea Riseborough and Domnhall Gleeson as a “sad, anti-Valentine’s work”.
He compared the romance to the Netflix adaptation of David Nicholls’ One Day, which left viewers in tears over the heartbreaking plot, and said that it “feels like an arthouse joke” in comparison.
Like many critics, Singh took issue with Alice and Jack’s character development, describing Riseborough’s Alice as “terribly intense” with “scary” lipstick.
She writes: “They spend the night together and he wakes up in the morning to find her hovering over him with an expression that suggests she is about to remove his organs with a carving knife.”
As the plot unfolds and Alice comes in and out of Jack’s life, Singh suggests that the character was probably written with the intention of being “endearing.”
However, she reflects that the British public will probably see her as a “narcissistic madwoman”, while Gleeson’s Jack is a “fool”.
It’s not just the characters that Singh takes issue with; He calls the script “pretentious” and the plot “absurd and deadly at the same time.”
Financial times
The drama, created by one of the screenwriters of Mad Men, has left much to be desired as critics cannot believe the chemistry between the main characters.
He FOOTDan Einav says Alice & Jack doesn’t live up to its “forever love story” sell and instead comes across as something closer to a “disappointing date.”
He’s a little kinder about the show’s opening, which “doesn’t make a bad first impression”; However, despite showing promise, he says the show “devolves into a tortured, overwrought saga that repeats itself.”
Unfortunately, he agrees that the characters descend into “increasingly unbearable and unconvincing figures.”
Domnhall’s Jack, in particular, takes a beating as he remains “sadly obsessed with a woman he has met several times.”
Overall, he concludes that the characters’ “reckless” behavior would be more acceptable to the viewer if the connection and chemistry between Alice and Jack were easier to believe.
Like Singh, he suggests switching to Netflix’s One Day for a much better viewing experience on a long-running drama.
Evening standard
The Evening Standard’s Vicky Jessop concluded that the drama needed a ‘defibrillator’ to come back to life.
Vicky Jessop warns viewers that if they have a tendency to throw slippers at the TV in frustration, they’d better avoid Alice and Jack.
writing in the Evening standard, She says she had high expectations after learning that the show’s creator is Victor Levin, who was a writer on the hit series Mad Men.
However, he concludes that his expectations were “too high.”
Like other critics, she says the protagonists are neither “believable” nor “attractive.”
Gleeson in particular resembles “the human embodiment of beige” as Jack and wonders why he so desperately longs for Alice, who is “unstable and careless with her feelings.”
And he concludes: “Not only does their chemistry leave a lot to be desired, but it’s DOA.”
Rather than overwhelming the viewer with overwrought emotion, Jessop says the drama itself “needs a defibrillator.”
The Guardian
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian, like many critics, agreed that there was very little credible chemistry between the pair.
Lucy Mangan by The Guardian joins the chorus of voices clamoring for some chemistry between two main characters that the audience is supposed to root for.
Instead of comparing the drama to One Day, as other critics have done, he draws parallels with another drama about lovers who never make it, writing that it “feels like an attempt to ‘do’ normal people for a slightly older ensemble.” .
The one-night stand that the two main characters meet is described as a “very normal date” rather than a meet-cute that grabs viewers and draws them into the love story.
Describing Jack as a “beta cuckold” and Alice as a “boring woman,” he says, “You can’t fake chemistry between actors and there isn’t any here.”
Mangan finds it difficult to foster any kind of romance between the pair, as Alice tends to “ruin his life” every time she returns to the scene after disappearing for years.
He also maintains that Riseborough and Gleeson, both 40, seem too old to worry about “this kind of nonsense” in their love lives.
“At least the idiots in Normal People had the excuse of being teenagers when they met,” he argues.
The times
Unlike most critics, Carol Midgley said she ultimately grew fond of both the characters and the plot of Alice & Jack.
The reviews aren’t all bad: Carol Midgley for The times enjoyed what she describes as the “anti-com-rom-com”, although her praise remains lukewarm.
However, he admits that the show is “not a comforting watch” and says that he “didn’t like Alice and Jack at first.”
She also jokes that if she were Jack’s character, presented with a slightly rude Alice who mocks his career, “I would have downed my drink and left.”
However, even though he found it difficult to believe the connection between the pair at first, he admits that he began to fall in love with the characters by the end of the second episode.
She adds that Alice’s backstory helps viewers sympathize with her and understand her coldness as a character.
However, he agrees with critics that the drama is “not as moving as One Day,” adding that it is “unfortunate” that two dramas about star-crossed lovers were released so close together.
And he concluded: “It’s raw and honest, and if you make it to the end you will be rewarded, although not exactly applauded.”