Alice & Jack labeled a 'joyless' romance about an 'annoying woman' and a 'beta male' who have 'no chemistry' – as critics say you'd be better off watching One Day
A new Channel 4 drama about two imperfect, star-crossed lovers who find themselves at odds has been panned by critics, amid the roaring success of Netflix's One Day.
Alice & Jack, starring Andrea Riseborough and Domnhall Gleeson, has been likened to a 'disappointing date' with incredible characters.
Billed as a 'love story for the ages', critics have condemned the show for trying – and failing – to replicate the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's Normal People.
While Rooney's character creations appealed to audiences despite being flawed, Alice and Jack have been branded “narcissistic and sappy” by critics.
Speaking to Radio Times ahead of the show's premiere, Gleeson said of the drama: 'Adult romance, real romance, is messy and people get hurt, and it can last a long time. And I think this is this. That's what makes me love it so much.'
But according to audience reviews and critics who joke, the show “needs a defibrillator,” and the only people hurt by this romance are the viewers themselves.
With a few exceptions, the drama has earned two stars almost across the board, as critics leave much to be desired.
Here, FEMAIL reveals what the critics are saying…
The Telegraph
Critics have panned Channel 4's new drama about star-crossed lovers who never quite make it 'joyless'
Anita Singh for The Telegraph described the drama starring Andrea Riseborough and Domnhall Gleeson as a “joyless, anti-Valentine's slog”.
She compared the romance to Netflix's adaptation of David Nicholls' One Day, which has left viewers in tears over its heartbreaking plot – and said it “feels like an arthouse joke” in comparison.
Like many critics, Singh took issue with the character development of Alice and Jack, describing Riseborough's Alice as “scary intense” with “terrifying” lipstick.
She writes, “They spend the night together, and when he wakes up in the morning he sees her looming over him with an expression that suggests she is about to remove his organs with a carving knife.”
As the plot develops and Alice dips in and out of Jack's life, Singh suggests the character was likely written with the intention of being “endearing.”
However, she muses that British audiences are likely to see her as a 'narcissistic lunatic' – while Gleeson's Jack is a 'sap'.
It's not just the characters that Singh disagrees with; she labels the script “pretentious” and the plot “ridiculous and deadly at the same time.”
Financial times
The drama, created by one of the writers of Mad Men, leaves much to be desired, as critics do not believe the chemistry between the main characters.
The FTDan Einav of Dan Einav says Alice & Jack doesn't live up to the “love story for the ages” and instead resembles something closer to a “disappointing date.”
He's a bit gentler about the show's opening, which “doesn't make a bad first impression” – but while it seems promising, he says the show “develops into a tortured, overwrought saga.”
Unfortunately, he agrees that the characters descend into “increasingly insufferable, unconvincing figures.”
Domnhall's Jack in particular takes a beating as he remains “gloomily fixated on a woman he has met a handful of times.”
Overall, he concludes that the characters' “reckless” behavior would be more enjoyable to the viewer if the connection and chemistry between Alice and Jack were easier to believe.
Like Singh, he suggests switching to Netflix's One Day for a much better viewing experience in a lengthy 'will they, won't they' drama.
Evening standard
Vicky Jessop of The Evening Standard concluded that the drama needed a 'defibrillator' to bring it back to life
Vicky Jessop warns viewers that if they have the urge to throw slippers at the TV in frustration, it is best to avoid Alice and Jack.
Writing in the Evening Standard, she says she had high hopes after learning that the show's creator is Victor Levin, a writer on the hit series Mad Men.
However, she concludes that her expectations were set 'way too high'.
Like other critics, she says the lead actors are neither “believable” nor “engaging.”
Gleeson in particular, in the role of Jack, resembles “the human embodiment of beige” and wonders why he so desperately longs for Alice, who is “unstable and careless about his feelings.”
She concludes, “Their chemistry not only leaves something to be desired, it's DOA.”
Rather than overwhelming the viewer with heightened emotions, Jessop says the drama itself “needs a defibrillator.”
The guard
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian, like many critics, agreed that there was very little believable chemistry between the two.
Lucy Mangan for The guard adds to the chorus of voices clamoring for some chemistry between two main characters that the audience should get behind.
Rather than comparing the drama to One Day, as other critics have done, she draws parallels to another drama about lovers who never quite make it – writing that it “feels like an attempt to 'do' Normal People for a slightly older set'.
The one night stand where the two main characters meet is described as a “very ordinary date” rather than a meet-cute that grips viewers and draws them into the love story.
She describes Jack as a “beta cuck” and Alice as a “nasty woman” and says, “You can't fake chemistry between actors, and there's none here.”
Mangan finds it difficult to foster any form of romance between the pair, as Alice tends to “destroy his life” whenever she returns to the movies after disappearing for years.
She also states that Riseborough and Gleeson, who are both in their 40s, seem too old to be dealing with “this kind of nonsense” in their love lives.
“At least the dafties in Normal People had the excuse of being teenagers when they met,” she argues.
The times
Unlike most critics, Carol Midgley said she ultimately warmed to both the characters and the plot in Alice & Jack
The reviews aren't all bad – Carol Midgley for it The times enjoyed what she describes as the “anti-rom-com” – though her praise remains lukewarm.
However, she admits the show is “not a comfort watch” and says she “wasn't excited about Alice & Jack at first.”
She also jokes that, if she were the character of Jack, presented with a slightly rude Alice mocking his career, “I would have swallowed my drink and left.”
Despite finding the pair's connection hard to believe at first, she admits that she started to fall for the characters by the end of the second episode.
She adds that Alice's backstory makes viewers warm to her and understand her coldness as a character.
Nevertheless, she agrees with critics that the drama is “not as moving as One Day,” adding that it's “unfortunate” that two dramas about star-crossed lovers were released so close together.
She concluded, “It's raw and honest, and if you make it to the end, you get rewards, but no real cheers.”