4 out of 5

Written by: Robert B. Weide, Aschlin Ditta, Oliver Lansle

While it has the markings of a British Apatow man-child comedy, ‘Mr. Sloane’ avoids most of the pitfalls of that genre by – first and foremost – the ever-entertaining and charming performance of Nick Frost in the lead, and secondly (importantly), writing that continues to veer toward realism instead of easy conclusions.

Sloane is down-on-his-luck.  Incredibly so.  His wife has left to “find herself,” his mates all pick on him, he’s lost his accounting job, and he’s just botched a suicide attempt.  But, dust yerself off, put on a suit, and head out for that job the next day, trying to make the best of it.  Which is how Nick Frost plays Sloane from episode to episode, erring the character toward competence despite his frequent bumbling – bumbling that will elicit squirms of “I’ve been there” from the viewer – who manages to find some glimmer of something to pull him into tomorrow.  The main glimmer for these six episodes is the American Robin, played by Ophelia Lovibond, who’s scraping by in the UK after having moved there with her now ex-boyfriend on a lark of pursuing his music dreams.  The friendship / flirtation between Sloane and Robin is a meet-cute with gross-out gags (the gags being what’s most suggestive of Apatow), that, again, elicit more giggles than groans thanks to how relatably Frost plays his character.  It also toes the line of believability, staying moreso on the realistic side, thankfully; we are watching the formation of a friendship, including the missteps along the way, and the timeline advances such that we can appreciate how the bond between two seemingly opposites can grow thanks to how they complement one another.  Not that the flirtation is ignored – it is used for drama at times – but it’s not overdone or underdone and, as with the best rom-coms, really sweet on occasion.

The dividing humor line between US and UK is most apparent in Sloane’s relation with his pub mates, who are very clearly scumbags.  In a US equivalent, there would probably be a “bros for life” bond that’s more used for satirical effect here than as a fallback for providing stupid smart advice when needed.  Further giving Mr. Sloane its own identity is the 60s / 70s period setting.  It allows for the wild American / cheeky Brit dynamic to be played up, but our writers smartly avoid using the setting itself for a source of humor.  It’s more a trick to allow the scripting to be simpler than a modern setting would require, which is fine.  Uber-awareness in modern comedies can get a little taxing.

While the pee / poo / vomit gags might mark this as a different sort of comedy, much like its main character, ‘Mr. Sloane’ keeps emerging from its depths with a smile despite itself, and gives Frost an excellent chance to combine some acting chops with his silly side.