Donny Broussard Reviews: “John from Cincinnati”

HBO is a powerhouse when it comes to the original material that they pump into the boob-tube, and the odd, yet emotionally enthralling ‘Jon from Cincinnati’ is another strong uppercut from the cable maverick.

The show follows the chaotic life of the Yost family, a dysfunctional group of surfing royalty torn apart by drugs, lies, deceit, and accidents on the ocean. They give new meaning to the term dysfunctional family, Cissy Yost (Rebecca De Mornay) is the mother/grandmother that pushes everyone she loves away from her, Butchie Yost (Brian Van Holt) is a heroin addict ex-suffer that signed his kid away to his mother so that he could lock himself in an apartment and get high, Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood) is the father that likes to sleep around and sometimes levitates, Shaun Yost (Greyson Fletcher) is Butchie’s son and a surfing prodigy that rises from the dead, Tina Blake (Chandra West) is Shaun’s mom and a porn queen. And if the family isn’t odd enough, there’s Bill Jacks (Ed O’Neill) a friend of the Yost family that talks to his pet bird, Linc Stark (Luke Perry) a surfing promoter that wants to sign Shaun, Dr. Michael Smith (Garret Dillahunt) a doctor with a crisis of faith, and John Monad (Austin Nichols) a strange man that talks like a parrot, yet always know exactly what to say.

The Yosts’ lives get even weirder once John Monad shows up. First Shaun has an accident while surfing and is rushed to the hospital where he is pronounced brain dead by Dr. Smith, yet after Bill brings his bird to see Shaun the boy wakes up with no trace of injury. Butchie starts hanging out with John and for some reason even though he hasn’t gotten high, he isn’t feeling any withdrawals, and last but not least Mitch Yost starts levitating.

The show has a strong cast and is well written, but for some reason it didn’t connect with its audience, thus HBO declined to order a second season. The problem with a show like ‘John from Cincinnati’ isn’t that it’s not good, in fact I enjoyed the show very much. The problem in my opinion is that most people don’t want to think. And a show like this requires a little thought and that just doesn’t cut it with mainstream audiences. It’s a shame because ‘John from Cincinnati’ had phenomenal acting, beautiful cinematography, strong writing. I’d recommend this show to anyone that enjoys good television because ‘John from Cincinnati’ is a killer series.