In the finest of words, “Haters Back Off” starring Colleen Ballinger is a disappointment to the name of Netflix. Ballinger, better known as Miranda Sings from her YouTube channel, assumes her alter ego full-time for this poorly written Netflix original.
Starting off with a cringe worthy, full three minutes of her singing, a true comedian (or even a good writer) would know that a scene needs to be cut where you have the audience begging for more. Maybe all the writers missed that day of class, but this scene was milked of its comedic value within 15 seconds of the opening credits.
I fully understand that the root of the comedy comes from Miranda not having any talent and still producing videos, but that is also the root of the problem. For a YouTube “comedian” who produces two-minute videos every few weeks, overdrawing your lipstick and singing poorly could very well keep you in business for a year. But this is a Netflix series that has eight episodes, each 30 minutes long, and that schtick only works for an episode if used extremely sparingly. Even then, it becomes tedious.
Philostrate in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” said the line, “A play there is… some ten words long… but by ten words, my lord, it is too long.” Never in my life has this line related to anything so hardcore.
The only way I can articulate my disdain towards this show is that I had to take breaks after each scene because I could not deal with the stupidity and annoyance of the characters. It took me an hour and 15 minutes to watch one 35-minute episode.
Straying from the topic of disdain and moving onto pure disgust, the character of Emily, played by Francesca Reale, is a mentally abused high schooler who has to pay the family’s bills and constantly has her mother, sister and uncle telling her she is worthless. I am not able to comprehend how this concept is supposed to be comedic, or how someone could watch this show without wanting to strangle all of the characters.
The acting was not as bad as I expected. Bethany, played by Angela Kinsey (who is better known for playing Angela Martin in “The Office”), did the best she could at playing the part that she was cast in. The only word I can use to describe her character is cute. There was no substance to Bethany. She did not show any sign of progressing in character, either.
Uncle Jim, played by Steve Little, was spectacular in his role. The character of Uncle Jim is atrocious, but his acting was superb. He was able to fully commit himself to the part and I respect actors who can play annoying roles very well. The difference between a good actor and a great actor is a good actor can play multiple versions of themselves. A great actor can play multiple versions of other people. Little understood his character and played him much better than when he was in “30 Rock”, “Suburgatory” or “The Office”.
To say the least, “Haters Back Off” was insanely terrible and I would not recommend this show to anyone I like. It destroyed all hope for YouTubers who could one day create a good television show, and makes all viewers finally finished with Miranda Sings.
