Modern Love – Amazon Prime Full Season 1 Review

Episode Guide

When the Doorman Is Your Main Man – | Review Score – 3/5
When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist – | Review Score – 4/5
Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Rallying to Keep the Game Alive – | Review Score – 3/5
At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity – | Review Score – 3/5
So He Looked Like Dad. It Was Just Dinner, Right? – | Review Score – 2/5
Hers Was a World of One – | Review Score – 3.5/5
The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap – | Review Score – 4/5

Much like other anthology series of its kind, Amazon Prime’s Modern Love is a bit of a mixed bag. From deeply thematic and thought provoking episodes through to simplistic plots that border on pointless, Modern Love explores the timeless feelings of love and lust across 8 episodes of varying quality. Based on the New York Times’ column exploring these concepts and with a smattering of stars dotted throughout, the concept of love keeps everything tied together but the sporadic quality of each episode may put some people off from watching every tale.

Although each episode is different, with a stand-alone plot and new characters to explore, the general set-up of each remains relatively unchanged. Each features a musical montage at some point along with some nice ideas and themes dotted throughout. From a bipolar woman struggling to find love through to an awkward date that ends up in the hospital, Modern Love certainly spices things up across its episodes and does well to showcase a range of different ideas.

Personally, episodes 2 and 3 were my favourites here but some of the later episodes are equally as endearing too. Of course, because of the different Directors, actors and ideas portrayed through this anthology, your favourites may well differ. That’s ultimately the beauty of an anthology like this and although it’s unlikely to reach the same prolific status as something like Inside Number 9 or Black Mirror, there’s enough of a foundation set here to open this up to the possibility of future seasons.

The different familiar actors dotted through the episodes is a nice touch but ultimately it’s the writing and themes that will either make or break the episode for you. Tina Fey, for example, plays a disgruntled wife through her episode but the premise leaves little room for her character to grow. By comparison, Anne Hathaway and Dev Patel both steal the show with their characters, the former doing an excellent job capturing the rollercoaster ride of emotions felt by someone suffering from this condition.

Those looking for something that reinvents the romantic genre or becomes another Amazon break-out hit will almost certainly be disappointed. Given the excellent wave Amazon Studios have been riding as of late, Modern Love is a lukewarm offering, one that does exactly what it says on the tin without innovating or breaking the mould. That’s not a disservice to the show though, quite the opposite. Some of these episodes are fantastic but as a collective whole the anthology is a little hit or miss. If I’m honest, I feel like Anne Hathaway’s bipolar showcase should have opened the series as a statement of intent instead of the average offering we’re given here which may put some people off from trying more of Modern Love.

Having said all that, Modern Love is a decent romantic anthology and well worth sinking your teeth into. If you want to give this one a go, I’d recommend starting with episodes 2 and 3 and if you’re not sold by those two entries, Modern Love is unlikely to be a show for you. However, if you’re in the mood for a romantic comedy or some light entertainment for the evening, this is a great offering and one I’d recommend checking out.

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