Critics Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
It’s fair to say that Rashida Jones is no stranger to the entertainment industry, whether music, movies, or television.
However, this new series from A24 and Apple TV+ takes the actress to new heights with a simple yet powerful premise.
However, setting up a future setting with sentient robots is not an innovative story, but what the series does succeed in doing in many ways is focusing on the more human aspects of the show.
Although this project is one of the darker entries in Rashida’s filmography, she still brings years of her comedic talent to the intense and highly entertaining new series Sunny.
Things aren’t all sunny for Suzy.
As far as openings go, the series certainly doesn’t waste any time getting to the bloody center that will likely be the violent heart of this series.
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While AI outperforming its creators is a stereotypical approach that has been a constant motif since Frankenstein, it still has us watching our Alexa and Roomba devices.
It is worth noting that despite the immense turmoil and trauma that Rashida’s character goes through, the actress still somehow manages to look amazing despite her questionable choices.
And by questionable choices, I of course mean drinking wine straight from the bottle while actively sitting on the toilet.
This is not an image that the public can quickly forget.
What’s most interesting about recent sci-fi movies is that most viewers’ reactions are less about the wonders of technology than about the possibility that these gadgets are real.
Like an earphone that translates foreign languages in real time.
Was this Apple’s way of incorporating the next technological advancement into its latest series?
Once again, the audience sees the bizarre trend in science fiction of self-driving car accidents despite the illogical nature of a future society still working on solving the problems of self-driving cars.
It’s really cliché at this point because, as I recently mentioned in my review of Orphan Black: Echoes Season 1 Episode 4, this has already been done in both Upload and Orphan Black: Echoes.
It’s a mess at its best, with a good deal of sadness and questionable culture shock.
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Since the series is presented as a black comedy, there was an expectation that there would be comedy in whatever form it might take, and although there are subtle jokes, it is still not wrong to laugh.
It’s clear that Rashida’s Suzie is going through a deep, dark phase of grief, and her mother-in-law is far from helpful, especially considering the older woman has just lost her son and grandson.
But that tearful ceremony was hard to understand until I saw it in action.
However, the phrase “handsome man makes us cry and then wipes away our tears” will still be a tough sell to anyone.
He did this because the man had them call the phones of their missing loved ones.
However, you’ll know you’re watching an excellent dark comedy-drama if you don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or grab a baseball bat for protection.
Robots have feelings too.
Then there’s the namesake of the entire show in the form of a small but very heavy “home robot,” Sunny, who comes out of the gate looking to cuddle Suzy.
You might think that in the future, AI will be able to read a room as well as it can read code.
And if the enthusiastic, unwelcome robot wasn’t enough, there’s the bonus that her husband has been lying to her straight up about his job throughout their marriage.
Apple TV+ is in chaos with husbands who keep their jobs and lives secret from their wives, as is the case with Eva Longoria’s character, Gala, in another Apple TV+ original series, Land of Women.
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One thing that really caught my attention was how the man who handed Sani over to Suzy kept referring to Masa, Suzy’s likely deceased husband, in the present tense.
It seems like a deliberate choice as the character has a strong understanding of the English language.
This poor little robot has no idea that he’s being set up for a toxic relationship, but at least Suzy has a drinking partner, because apparently, screens on a treadmill can quickly make Sunny go crazy.
This is definitely not something we see very often, although Janet from The Good Place was capable of getting very drunk if she was near a really strong magnet.
Please don’t have sex with robots.
Although Sunny was an odd choice as a gift for the wife of a deceased employee, the robot has some interesting benefits and features despite being a device the size of a large child.
A robot that knows when it’s time for a martini? Take my money and sign me up!
It’s better than drinking red wine until you fall on the floor.
Although it seems that Suzy who is drinking is easy for complete strangers to say extremely ridiculous things, starting with the employee who vomited his feelings for Masa directly in Suzy’s face.
Then there was Mixxy, the mixologist who flat-out told Suzie that she programmed her “Home Bot” to serve her for maximum pleasure.
It is disturbing to think that no matter what technological or scientific innovations are introduced, people will still try to find a way to use them in sex.
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The series premiere of Sunny left audiences with far more questions than answers, but at least we know that someone is watching Suzie, someone who likely has ties to Division 5, where Suzie’s late husband worked.
Although Sunny’s character seems kind and helpful, there’s no escaping the potential “Trojan Horse” that the series seems to be building.
Overall, the show feels like an episode of Black Mirror, with a strong resemblance to the episode “Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too.”
With so many potential influences and similarities between the amazing projects, our hopes are high that Rashida Jones will lead viewers to an epic series with more intense and awkwardly funny moments.
What do you think of the premiere of Sunny?
Do you think everything that’s happening to Susie could be part of a more elaborate experiment by Section 5?
Leave a comment below to let us know, and join us again when we review the next episode of Sunny!
