The House Of Flowers Season 1 Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP7PcXQLmcI

Episode Guide

NARCISSUS (Symb. lies)
CHRYANTHEMUM (Symb. pain)
LILY (Symb. freedom)
PETUNIA (symb. resentment)
DAHLIA (symb. gratitude)
MAGNOLIA (symb. dignity)
PEONY (symb. shame)
BROMELIA (symb. resilience)
TULIP (symb. hope)
TUSSILAGO (symb. worries)
ORCHID (symb. lust)
SISYMBRIUM (symb. adversity)
POPPY (symb. resurrection)

Dark comedy The House Of Flowers doesn’t push boundaries nor does it do anything that hasn’t been done better or more effectively in other shows. While there’s plenty of familial drama at the core of the series and the characters themselves are relatable and charming in their own unique way, as a comedy The House Of Flowers fails to live up to its comedic premise. This plays out much closer to a twisted drama and when the show focuses on this rather than contrived bursts of humour it makes for an enjoyable watch. It helps too that there’s a unique visual style to the show and there’s certainly something endearing under the hood but The House Of Flowers is likely to be the sort of series that divides opinion.

The story begins with an upper-class Mexican family, the De La Mora’s, celebrating patriarch Ernesto’s birthday party. With high profile guests, expensive fashion icons and a big flashy display of wealth and power, the family find their perfect world rocked when Ernesto’s mistress hangs herself. With the death hanging heavily over the family, all of them try and keep up their perfect facade in public while dealing with their own personal issues in private. This is where the bulk of the drama lies and whether it be Julian mustering up the courage to tell the family he’s gay or Virginia dealing with the financial issues plaguing the Flower Shop they run, there’s a variety of issues explored throughout the 30 minute episodes.

As a familial drama, The House Of Flowers does reasonably well, relying on the dysfunctional family unit to inject some much needed pace and tension into the show. Those looking for something more lighthearted or genuinely comedic should probably steer clear of this one as the bursts of contrived humour never quite work as well as they perhaps should. Still, for those who can adapt to the dark satire hiding under the drama, The House Of Flowers does just enough to make for an entertaining, but largely passive, watch.

Where The House Of Flowers excels is with its aesthetic which is by far the best part of the show. Bold, bright colours fill every scene with numerous shots feeling like an explosion of vibrancy. Reds, greens, blues and oranges flamboyantly parade their way through every episode and the deliberate use of coloured props in almost every scene only further emphasises this. All the way through the 13 episodes, The House Of Flowers constantly blends these colours together – sometimes harmoniously, other times jarringly – but even when things clash badly, it still works as a metaphor for the dysfunctional family that sit at the centre of this series. Visually at least, The House Of Flowers is very impressive and the perfect example of when art can enhance an otherwise average show.

It’s worth mentioning too that the English dubbing is truly horrendous. While it’s common now for these foreign dramas to feature lacklustre dubs, The House Of Flowers is up there with one of the worst. The acting itself is a little exaggerated and over the top too, playing on the quirky traits inherent in a comedy without the laughs or silliness to back up the mannerisms. It makes for quite the contrast at times but the characters do develop well and certainly grow throughout the series. Whether it be Virginia turning to marijuana to handle her stress, Julian’s sexual confusion or a rival florist family possibly being the answer to the De La Mora’s financial woes, the series constantly mixes things up and keeps things interesting.

You’ll know early on whether The House Of Flowers is a series for you. The show plays out much closer to a drama than a comedy and in doing so, could easily get lost by the sheer amount of content on Netflix. The show doesn’t really do anything particularly intriguing or different that other shows haven’t done before but the visual design is very impressive and there’s a good amount of character development throughout the 13 episodes. Is this likely to be a show you remember for years to come? Probably not, but there’s just enough to entertain you through to the finale nonetheless.