Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels) is a real estate kingpin and a bloated snob with a fat account who likes to be listened to and needs to be the center of attention.
As a character, he is extremely interesting and entertaining. He is not satisfied with little, and on that imaginary peak, with a distinct southern accent, proclaims that when he leaves for eternity, at least people will notice. Whether they love him or hate him.
For the purposes of the six-part series, he is indeed an ideal character. The creators are aware of Daniels’ strengths, so they chose the archetype of a tough player with a comedic talent for finding or constructing bizarre situations.
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As Croker tries to save his empire from a hungry banker, he fights with a rattlesnake, shows off his new mechanical knee, or blackmails and exploits anyone he can get his hands on.
The main dispute with the bank on behalf of Harry Zale (Bill Camp) and, above all, Raymond Peepgrass (Tom Pelphrey) works great, and the more tricks and verbal exchanges the trio invents, the richer the series becomes.
The kids on the sand scream and drive each other crazy until Kelley’s team jumps into the subplots.
Foto: Mark Hill/Netflix
The role of Charlie Croker perfectly suited Jeff Daniels.
That’s when the Man on Top loses his footing, and the amusing head-butting turns into a hard-to-digest legal or political episode.
The passionate triumvirate is replaced by a lawyer, a corrupt mayor or the mundane and useless husband of Croker’s secretary, who unluckily ends up behind bars. No matter how close their connection to the central players is, they only perform mandatory tasks. And that includes names like Diane Lane (Croker’s ex-wife) and Lucy Liu (her friend).
It is even more eye-catching how much secondary characters are given space. The individual parts suffer tremendously from them, and with every passing minute the viewer misses the big-mouthed Daniels or the great pair of positions of the submissive simpleton and the vengeful psychopath played by Pelphrey.
After their performances, you can’t suddenly get serious and play the Struggle for Power (successful series produced by HBO). Too much contrast significantly slows down the pace, thereby reducing the quality of an otherwise unusual story.
Foto: Mark Hill/Netflix
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Even the finale emphasizes what should have been the sole motive of the entire series. Roosters fight until their feathers fly. And it is clear in advance that none of them will be the winner.
They thus take any objections to simplicity or laziness of the screenwriter as their own in the form of a brisk and straightforward finish. As one calls to the forest, one is heard from it. And when exiting the individual camps, the viewer cannot expect a well-thought-out ending with a twist.
The main message of The Man on the Top is much more suited to the childish and even stupid epilogue faithful to the etudes of the main protagonists.
The Man on Top, 6 episodes (Netflix) USA 2024, 38-49 min. Directed by: Regina King, Thomas Schlamme, starring: Jeff Daniels, Bill Camp, Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, Aml Ameen, Jon Michael Hill, Nathan Rudd, Josh Pais, Evan Roe, Jerrika Hinton, Atkins Estimond, L. Warren Young and moreRated : 65%
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