It feels weird to say this about one of basketball's most popular living legends, but it does feel like Steph Curry has found his breakout role in Mr. Throwback. The show’s parts are far better than the whole. The show is breezy but not memorable, funny but not laugh-out-loud hilarious. It’s okay, but it’s still worth watching just to see Curry play an outsized diva version of himself and SNL star Ego Nwodim deliver a pitch-perfect sendup of overworked assistants. Creator Adam Pally, who also plays the titular lead, is smart to step back when Curry and Nwodim are onscreen doing their thing. In fact, all the other characters are more interesting than Pally’s, which should feel like a flaw, but it works. There’s always someone to watch and something to fixate on the screen when Pally’s man-child character gets a bit too much. This is not the show to put on if you’re sick of the overplayed mockumentary format, but it is the one to watch if you ever wondered, “Can Curry act?” (yes) or “Nwodim deserves more parts in SNL” (absolutely).
Synopsis
A down-on-his-luck memorabilia dealer looks for redemption by reuniting with his sixth-grade teammate, NBA legend Steph Curry.
Storyline
In this mockumentary, Steph Curry plays an elevated version of himself who reconnects with a long-lost friend, Danny Grossman (Adam Pally). Little does Steph know, Danny has more than a few debts he’s hoping his friend can fix.
TLDR
You have to possess a high level of self-awareness to play someone who lacks it, and that’s exactly what Steph Curry has in this breezy mockumentary.
What stands out
Who are we kidding? Especially after the Olympics, Curry’s light shines way too bright to focus on anything else. That the show remains funny in its own right, however, is a testament to its strength.
