Forsythe is sentimental about the concept of a person having baggage going into a relationship, and using werewolves in a slightly playful rom-com formula is a compelling way to illustrate it. But the emotional conflicts don’t work, including how Gary is initially disgusted and horrified when he learns that she has eaten people before; we also don’t buy it when she’s worried that he’s going to reveal her previously airtight secret to the world. Gad tries to cover this gap with nervous energy, especially as Mary keeps crashing into his life, but it’s not all that worrisome, or funny.
When Gary and Mary do start a relationship he changes his mind about his apprehensions pretty quickly, which then affects how much we do not believe the next problem soon after, about whether his daughter will accept it or not. The need to be loved runs throughout this series, but it also cancels out the worry that Mary’s appetite on a full moon is going to ruin everything. Even worse, the storytelling rhythm feels off, which is especially noticeable in the machinations of a rom-com.
“Wolf Like Me” runs for six episodes, about 25 minutes each, and it’s one of those series that feels like a flabby feature, stretched out to satisfy an episode quota more than the pieces inside. It’s about Gary and Mary, and it also gives time to Emma, recognizing her own private darkness about her mental state and grieving her mother. But as powerful as Donoghue’s performance is with the material, and how this arc offers representation to kids who struggle with loss, it doesn’t add much to the overall story.
Although the execution of the story fails them, at least “Wolf Like Me” has the chemistry between Fisher and Gad. They both give some soulfulness to the darkness of their characters, and while they aren’t as funny as the story may want them to be, they have lively banter, especially when their characters baring their feelings about love lost in the past. It comes back to the baggage, and taking it or leaving it. “Wolf Like Me” is a story in which you recognize what it’s going for, but you don’t feel it. It has a true bleeding heart, gushier than a lot of other rom-coms, but it could use a lot more bite.
Now playing on Peacock.
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