Critic Reviews

It's unclassifiable and unpredictable, in the best possible ways.

This show may not have set out to remind people of Raising Arizona or Fargo, but it earns the comparison by telling its own comedically surreal tale of an unexpected Job figure, a story of another ordinary guy fighting against extraordinary currents. We may not all be Hampton Chambers, but we get him.

Government Cheese's standout moments, while quite sharp, could have benefited from tighter pacing to match, but it's still a joy to watch a project with its feet on the ground and its head in the clouds, and its leap of faith sticks the landing.

If you can stay the course, a few episodes in it settles into a worthwhile family drama cleaved to a likeable crime caper. .... The money is not just on the screen – it’s been spent on the writing, too.

If "Government Cheese" isn’t quite to the level, or the depth, of the best of these ["Lodge 49," "I'm A Virgo," "Mrs. Davis," and "Fargo"], it’s a kind of show I like very much, and plenty of good things are therein.

There are certainly funny moments in the first episode of Government Cheese, and we like the potential of the story, plus the performances of Oyelowo and Missick. But the first episode didn’t grab us as much as we thought it would. There’s enough good stuff there, though, to encourage us to stay with this show.

What “Government Cheese” really offers is something softer and more common: a mildly sardonic, artfully presented magical realism. .... The palpable intelligence that Oyelowo brings to his roles is a good fit for Hampton.

The first half could have likely been significantly trimmed without losing much, and while its sharp look is eventually matched by some much-needed character growth that gives us something to hold onto, it takes far too long to get there. All things considered, I wish it were a bit more filling, but Government Cheese eventually provides just enough to satisfy a hunger for the unusual.

There’s a lot about it I loved and enjoyed, but it suffers from the same problem as so many other prestige TV shows: were this a two-hour film, it could be brilliant. Dragging out a high-concept surrealist comedy to 10 episodes cannot help but dull its impact.

The cast is game, although their characters’ relationship to reality is frequently estranged. Mr. Oyelowo plays Hampton as a kind of Candide, an optimist in spite of everything and forgiving of almost anything. If this seems an absurdist way to conduct oneself, Hampton finds himself in the proper story.