Still Up

Sweet without being sentimental, sharp but never nasty, “Still Up” entertains questions of fate and timing that in the end make the comedy powerful and moving.

Still Up draws a moving portrait of two people in a crowded city desperately trying not to feel alone. You’ll laugh and you’ll cry. It’s proof that, alongside making pricy smartphones, Apple has mastered the art of heartbreaking comedy.

If you're unsure on whether to stick with Still Up after the first episode or two, I would recommend you keep going. It's a series which only gets stronger the further you delve into it, and by the time you reach the finale, you will not only be left with a warm, fuzzy feeling, but also a real longing to see these characters again.

In the latter half of the series, things improve greatly (not least because it sees the return of personal trainer Amy – Lois Chimimba – as Danny’s potential love interest, who enlivens episode three and punches up every scene she is in). The emotional stew thickens, the pace picks up, secondary characters are given something to get their teeth into and things progress instead of moving in slightly desultory circles.

Still Up is like sitting in the pub watching two friends flirt: nice for them, but you kind of want to make your excuses and leave.

Eight half-hours turn out to be an awfully long time for Lisa and Danny to keep spinning their wheels. I suppose they had to be filled with something, but I wonder if it might not have been better to get rid of this bloat altogether and whittle the core narrative down to a 100-minute movie.

The show is not without its charms—in fact, it’s full of them, thanks to its two perfectly cast leads. But the series has an air of unsustainability, like a scrapped pitch for a Quibi show, stretched into half-hour doses instead of 10-minute bites. While Still Up will delight rom-com fans, its rote storylines and flat jokes will leave most viewers drowsy.