Living with Yourself

Is this funny? Often, and at times, very. Is the writing sharp? Razor sharp, and in fact, there's a line later on that's draws blood it's so good, but context is important to see why. Rudd is excellent, both of them.

In this smart, funny, mostly breezy but occasionally thought-provoking series (I’ve seen all eight episodes, each just under a half-hour), Rudd makes great use of his inherent likability, his unique way of mining big laughs out of just a few words of dialogue and his underrated dramatic skill set.

The execution of Living with Yourself is mostly brilliant. These eight half-hour episodes go fast. If I have a quarrel with the show, it’s that too much time is spent on the admittedly rich storylines that can be developed from this premise. ... Really, you should watch Living With Yourself for Paul Rudd and... Paul Rudd. A role like the two Mileses requires a surprising amount of emotional range, and Rudd’s got it.

Living with Yourself is perfectly calibrated for binge-watching. Several of the episodes end abruptly, at the peak of cliffhanger tension, and the eight half-hour installments whiz by in a satisfying rush. We could all use a break from living with ourselves, so spend a few hours with Miles and Miles. You’ll come away refreshed.

Rudd's affable Everyguy persona is perfectly suited to this demanding dual role. ... Series creator Timothy Greenberg keeps us delightfully off balance by continually shifting perspectives between the two versions of Miles. [28 Oct - 10 Nov 2019, p.9]

A bizarrely twisty, highly inventive dark comedy that, among other things, considers the elusive quest for happiness. The premise, frankly, really doesn't do this Netflix series justice, as the producers somehow keep pulling rabbits -- and unexpected wrinkles -- out of hats.

For all its messaging and repetition, its time travel and related wandering, the series (created and written by Timothy Greenberg, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris) maintains its compelling power from its hilarious beginning all the way—and it’s a long way—to its predictable end.

The show feels breezy but also smart, entertaining but thought-provoking at the same time.

An intriguing and surreal serving of fun fantasy. It’s an ideal role for Rudd. Well, make that two ideal roles for Rudd.

The series arrives at a place of hope that will redeem it for many viewers, but its willingness to stagger towards that moment can be punishing. I can think of two full episodes I’d have excised from this show’s run, not merely because it feels and is too long and recursive but because the show has a tendency to want to say everything on its mind at once. And yet it remains curiously worth watching.

“Living With Yourself” is as much about earning your happiness as it is choosing to be happy, and watching Rudd guide us through the well-worn mid-life crisis arc adds just as much spring to the story as Greenberg’s original premise. Without either, the show could’ve fallen apart. As it stands, there’s a lot to like no matter what you know going in.

It’s an incredibly entertaining dual performance that carries Living With Yourself… even when the show’s initial spark begins to fade.

Obviously, there are some really deep ideas in “Living with Yourself,” and I wish the writers leaned into them even more. Every time an interesting philosophical underpinning reveals itself, the show shuffles off to what is really a very crowded plot for eight episodes that all run under half an hour.

“Living with Yourself” busts through some of the expected guardrails on the story. Other characters do learn that there are two Miles so the story pushes forward without spinning its wheels too much.

Though there are some missteps (comedic and otherwise) throughout these episodes, it fits in well with Netflix’s binge-and-purge model of storytelling. The season (presumably this isn’t a series finale) concludes abruptly, having postulated a number of interesting questions but never really diving deeply into any of them. The initial “what if?” is extrapolated enough to overcome a shaky first episode, but also never becomes must-see.

Living With Yourself is to cloning as Santa Clarita Diet is to zombieism; a great starting point, but an imperfect execution.

Takes a few episodes to warm up, and improves by the end of the series. But it never recovers enough to live up to the promise of its premise. Like Miles, Rudd bites off more than even he can chew.

Yes, the result is shallowing, but there is scope, too, for us to fill in the blanks ourselves. But that is what Living with Yourself ultimately is – a comedy that asks the big questions but doesn’t look too far for the answers.

Events are shown, and re-shown, from different perspectives and often reach far enough back to cause some confusion if you’re not bingewatching several episodes or the whole thing at once. The technology makes Rudd’s appearances with himself seamless – no dodgy shooting over a stand-in’s shoulder here – and it chunters along nicely, musing philosophically as it goes and delivering enough laughs at least to make sense of the casting. I can live with it.

Living with Yourself starts with an interesting “what-if” and keeps answering that question with enough verve to keep you cracking through the episodes at a rapid clip. It’s got a twisted sense of humor and two compelling leads in Rudd and Bea, who mine the often thin material for more than its worth. But it’s hard to escape the feeling that the series could have been more, gone deeper, hit harder.

Some of the story arc decisions are dubious (it works better at being funny than being serious) and often it feels like Living With Yourself needs to slow down and stretch for a bit, luxuriating in the ease of the idea. Instead, it races into scenarios that feel forced. There's still a lot to like about the series and maybe it will work better as it gets comfortable in its own skin.

The unfortunate irony of this show about copying people is that it itself feels like an inferior knockoff, a genial lark that can’t help but fall short of the soul, wit, and creative ingenuity of the thing it’s unconsciously echoing.

Living With Yourself is a slight, not entirely coherent series. After watching all four hours, I’m not sure what to take away from the experience. There are complications introduced and then dispensed with for no reason beyond keeping the binge-watch going. But there are lovely moments, too, and sharp observations about marriage.

Greenberg teases depth and ingenuity that he never quite delivers.