Last Man On Earth Review
Eat what you want. Drink what you want. The only catch is you’re all alone.
The Last Man On Earth is a dark comedy following Phil Miller (Will Forte) in a post-apocalyptic United States.
We assume the entire population has been wiped out from some mysterious virus, and Miller was immune or not exposed. The first episode starts one year after the virus, and Miller has gone hog wild.
Not Mad Max wild, but he’s lifted numerous artifacts from museums including Michael Jackson’s red jacket from the Thriller music video, a giant dinosaur skull, and what looks like an original copy of the Constitution.
Those are just a few examples of what he’s collected in his search for other survivors.
We don’t see any of the cross country adventure, which is fine as it would be more depressing than anything else. Those scenes are down the road.
Instead we see Miller head back home, squat in a multi-million dollar mansion, and get plastered daily.
If I’m in Miller’s situation, I’m doing the same thing. I’m eating all the processed foods I can find. Drink as much booze as I can and hit on lady mannequins. Stealing national treasures to hang in houses I’m squatting in.
I’m cutting a hole in a diving board to have a poo pool.
But *spoiler* while Miller is the last man on earth, he’s not the last person.
Before deciding to off himself in front of his friends (think multiple Wilsons from Castaway), we meet Carol (Kristen Schaal). And as wild as Miller got in two years away from other people, Carol kept her civility.
So much so, she corrects Miller any time he ends a sentence with a prepositional phrase, makes him stop at any stop sign, park in non-handicap spots, and wants to get married before having sex.
At this point, the show turns from a one man show to a post-apocalyptic odd couple. The two drastic characters will generate laughs in future episodes just from the frustration level between them.
That can only last so long. Certainly there has to be more than just two people in all of America. There’s more episodes to fill and I don’t think the odd couple shtick has that kind of staying power any longer.
While The Last Man On Earth didn’t have as many laugh out loud moments I anticipated, it turned an apocalypse into lighter fare. I’m cautiously optimistic this could be a good show, assuming Fox doesn’t cancel it first.
