Review from Salt Lake Tribune, yeah, it's Salt Lake but the first google that popped up and yes, he's as befuddled as Conky. "If anyone out there can figure out what HBO's new drama, "John From Cincinnati," is about, please e-mail me at vince@sltrib.com.
Please include - in 200 words or fewer - what you believe to be the guiding force behind this somewhat metaphysical portrait of the surfing subculture in Imperial Beach, San Diego.
And while you're at it, include advice on whether I should like the off-kilter and illogical characters and reserve valuable time to watch more episodes. It debuts tonight at 10.
Maybe this isn't the sort of television review that readers expect, but "John From Cincinnati" isn't the kind of HBO drama viewers might expect from The House "The Sopranos" Built.
And that says a lot.
But it's also what makes this scatterbrained drama starring Bruce Greenwood ("13 Days," "DéjÀ Views") more interesting than your standard television fare. There's definitely much to think about here.
Greenwood is Mitch Yost, an over-the-hill legendary surfer and patriarch of a surfing family dynasty who seems burned out by the live-free, seek-the-biggest-wave culture that ruled most of his life.
Mitch's only son Butchie (Brian Van Holt) has become a near-homeless, drug-addicted loser after the party lifestyle of competitive surfing nearly destroyed him.
Now, Butchie's 13-old-son Shaun (played by skating great Greyson Fletcher) is on the verge of competing on his own, much to the chagrin of his grandfather. But his grandmother (Rebecca De Mornay) wants Shaun to compete professionally.
Add to the mix an eccentric retired police detective (Ed O'Neill), a motel handyman (Luiz Guzman) and the bizarre title character (Austin Nichols), a kind of idiot savant who likes to follow Butchie around.
There's a fanciful and unearthly bent to this surfing colony. Can anyone explain why Mitch has a proclivity to float six inches above the ground every once in a while?
The point is, not everything must be explained in the first three episodes of a TV show (that's how many were sent to television critics in advance).
But it's also not a bad thing if your story has direction, focus and an underlying premise.
Creator David Milch, who also brought "NYPD Blue" and "Deadwood" to the masses, just spills this nonsensical character study onto the sand without one clue about how he wants us to see it.
But if we give "John From Cincinnati" a little time, maybe we'll know where John is headed next. When you figure it out, let me know."