It is sort of like A Simple Plan, but in Pittsburgh instead of rural
Minnesota. It turns out that is a more dangerous place to squabble over
misplaced drug money, considering how freely the Russian mob operates there.
Joe Washington’s dad worked as a mule for the “Thieves by Law,” until his
accidental death, but not before he stole 10 million dollars and a Lamborghini
we have yet to see. Not surprisingly, the Russian mob wants it all back in
creator Robb Cullen’s Average Joe, which is now streaming on BET Plus.
Washington
and his friends are struggling to get by. His wife Angela should see a
specialist and his daughter Jennifer will need college tuition. Leon
Montgomery’s hardware store is barely scraping by, while their friend Benjamin
“Touch” Tuchawuski, a white desk-cop, as they frequently point out, is wracked
with guilt over a family tragedy. Nobody would have thought Washington’s dad
had ten million bucks laying around, so he is quite surprised when the Russian
gangsters start asking for it, in a rather rude manner.
Quite
awkwardly, one of them happens to be Dimitri Dzhugashvili, his daughter’s
boyfriend. Frankly, Washington never really liked him, even before
Dzhugashvili’s goon started breaking his fingers. However, ten million would
solve a lot of problems. They would solve a lot of problems for Montgomery and
Tuchawuski too, who also get involved. Despite their clueless reluctance,
Washington’s family and Montgomery’s true crime-binging wife Cathy soon also get
mired in their scheme.
Based
on the first two episodes, Average Joe is surprisingly funny, in a
one-darned-thing-after-another kind of way, especially the second episode,
which really leans into the morbid humor. Cullen and the writing team have
already buried Washington in a host of troubles worthy of an average Job. They
also have a decent handle on how the Thieves By Law operate. Generally
speaking, it is not a good idea to cross them.
This is Moscow, where everything goes. No matter how wild the game might be,
there is always a big enough palm to grease. Logically, this is where an annual
real-life gladiatorial betting extravaganza takes place. Some of the players sort
of suspected what they were in for, whereas others did not. Either way, they must
kill all their rivals to be the final winner in Slava N. Jakovleff & Ilya
Kulikov’s eight-episode Insomnia, which starts streaming today on Crackle.
Contestants
in the Insomnia game get a car, a gun, one bullet, and shot of a drug that will
make their hearts stop if they fall asleep. That last part was a nasty surprise
to everyone, but some were expecting the kill-or-be-killed rules. The
frontrunners are the Russian hitman, the American Special Ops vet with the
heavy Russian accent, the ex-cop tarnished by controversial shooting, and a
massively creepy sexual predator. The dark horses include a sixteen-year-old
girl who is so dull and expressionless, she must harbor some kind of strange
secret. The wild card has to be Ken, a former Insomnia employee thrust into the
game. Weirdly, he is not so shocked to be there (but none too thrilled either).
It
all unfolds as the fat-cat VIPs watch from a luxury hospitality suite. This
year, Marina Croft will also be there. She is taking the place of her late
mogul husband, who just died in a suspicious plane crash. As she watches Insomnia
unfold with a mixture of horror and fascination, she starts to suspect her
husband’s death might be related to the blind bet he placed on Lea, the boring
girl.
Basically,
Insomnia is like a cross between Crank and any one of the dozens
of involuntary online bloodsport thrillers, like Guns Akimbo or the
dreadful 31. In this case, Jakovleff and Kulikov mix in a bit of Lost,
by revealing hidden player connections through flashbacks, which helps a lot.
It is a bit embarrassing to confess, but Insomnia is addictive, much
like the reprehensibly voyeuristic game it depicts.
Pasha
D. Lychnikoff is a major reason why the series is s watchable as it is. Playing
Russian thugs is his specialty, so the kind of smirking, snarling, and scenery
chewing Insomnia needed is right in his wheelhouse. Basically, he is the
pro-wrestler of the series, yelling into the camera, “I’m coming for you,”
while keeping his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.
