HBO’s ‘Barry’ Series Premiere Is A Great Start For Writer/Director/Star Bill Hader [Review]

It may not be the hottest of takes, but “Barry” is just as good as you’ve heard.

The new HBO series stars Bill Hader as Barry Berkman, an assassin stationed in the Midwest. When Barry becomes depressed, his boss, Fuches (Stephen Root), sends him to Los Angeles to decompress (and execute a hit for the Chechen mob). Once in LA, Barry follows his unwitting target to an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), where he comes to the realization that his passion in life might not be killing after all.

Barry’s epiphany? He wants to become an actor.

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There’s an initial difficulty in getting past the fact that Barry Berkman looks and sounds exactly like the guy who plays Stefon on “Saturday Night Live,” but that consciousness dissipates somewhere around the midpoint of the Hader-directed premiere. Hader fully commits to the pathos of the depressed hitman. He’s especially effective in wordless moments; the scene where Barry first discovers that acting might be his calling is particularly powerful. Hader has these giant, emotive eyes that convey quite a lot on their own. Barry isn’t really a funny guy, and Hader isn’t playing him for laughs. In fact, the premiere’s funniest scene is also the most out of place; it’s one of the few moments where you can see “SNL” Hader shining through “Barry” Hader.

The show’s supporting cast is of the highest imaginable caliber. Stephen Root doesn’t get a whole lot to do in the pilot, but he’s an all-time great character actor and it seems unlikely that Hader and co-creator Alec Berg are going to waste his talents as the season progresses. Henry Winkler is—unsurprisingly— a delight as Cousineau, the self-possessed acting teacher who so inspires Barry. A scene where he “Whiplashes” an acting student into a good performance is captivating, as well as funny; you can tell why his students idolize him so.

Sarah Goldberg plays Sally Reed, Barry’s fellow acting student and ostensible series love interest. She’s believably flighty, playing a genre of  LA-aspiring-actress that actually exists. Goldberg is charming and genuine—but she also gets to be funny, which is nice. The highlight of the whole premiere is probably the scene wherein Sally gives Barry this amazing motivational speech: “Do you think that Meryl Streep and Kaley Cuoco became stars just because they’re the best? No. It’s because they wanted it the most.”

Also playing an acting classmate of Barry’s is D’Arcy Carden; while she’s barely used in the premiere, one imagines that she’ll be playing an important role in the rest of the season. Because as you know if you watch NBC’s “The Good Place,” Carden is a superstar.

Anthony Carrigan is fun in a small role as an unconventional Chechen mobster, with the great Glenn Fleshler playing his boss to hilarious effect. The funniest scene in the premiere (also the most out-of-place, as mentioned above) involves Carrigan, Fleshler, and Hader incredulously repeating the words “stab him in the nut” back and forth for a solid minute.

“Barry” makes for a seriously impressive directorial debut for Hader, who helms the series’ initial three episodes. He doesn’t show off behind the camera, but the direction is efficient, impactful, and assured. Consider the fact that Hader is also directing his own performance, and it becomes a remarkable accomplishment. Someone on Twitter recently pointed out that we’re two-for-two with TV comedy stars directing masterpiece genre films (“Get Out” and “A Quiet Place”), and if “Barry” is any indication, Hader has potential to make that three-for-three somewhere down the line.

With “Veep” and “Game of Thrones” taking an off-year, it’s nice to have a brand-new HBO series to keep us warm on Sunday nights. As it happens, “Barry” makes for a fantastic pairing with “Silicon Valley,” which is in good form this season, as well. As much as we all like to dish out the occasional #hottake, in this instance the critical consensus has it right: “Barry” is a terrific new show that we’ll all be talking about for a very long time. [B+]