BEEF-Season One

BEEF is a half-hour dramatic comedy on Netflix creating a huge buzz, about a man named Danny (Steven Yeun) and a woman named Amy (Ali Wong) who nearly collide in a store parking lot, setting off a wildly original tale of revenge and ultimately reconciliation and redemption. BEEF meets the intention of its creator, Lee Jung Sin, the creator of the HBO series SILICON VALLEY) to create an allegory for the angry society Americans are living in during the present era of divisiveness, without being political or preachy, but the program’s 10 half-hour episodes contain excessive foul language, lewd behavior and a mixed, confused attitude toward Christian faith where the two lead characters reconcile and forgive one another, but the man loses his faith.

Danny (Steven Yeun) is a handyman struggling to get through life while having a Job-like series of misfortunes challenge him on a daily basis. For example, he lives with his worthless sponge of a brother and struggles daily to find enough work to stay afloat.

When a woman named Amy (Ali Wong) nearly collides with his car in a crowded store parking lot, he screams foul language at her before she gives him the finger. She drives off, but Danny chases her through Los Angeles in a scene that’s both funny and jaw-dropping. Danny follows

Amy to her house, thinking he’s been chasing a man, before opting to drive away. However, his frustrations push him into pursuing revenge.

Meanwhile, Amy is revealed to be frustrated by a lack of promotion in her career. There are also the tensions caused by hoping to sell her side business for millions of dollars while the buyer, who happens to be her boss, strings her along. Amy also feels claustrophobic about her marriage and being a mother. She releases her frustration with an implied perverse (yet unseen) sexual act.

BEEF’s second episode goes deeper into the series’ tale of spiraling revenge between Amy and Danny after she nearly hit his car in a store parking lot in the previous pilot episode. This episode takes a more serious tone before heading into a strongly comic mode in the next couple of episodes. However, it reveals deeper layers about the characters and explains why their lives have been pushed to the emotional brim.

BEEF’s third episode takes a surprisingly powerful Christian turn, as Danny hits an emotional bottom after suffering a horrible escalation in Amy’s revenge. Meanwhile, Amy kicks off the episode in marriage counseling with her husband. In the session, she says she’s dealing with stress in a healthier way now after a disturbing scene in the second episode.

Danny is faced with banks requiring him to come up with $100,000 to buy a house he desperately wants. At the same time, Amy thinks she’s discovered evidence of her husband having an affair. Danny and Amy’s newfound attempts at acting better are put to a tremendous test when Danny hatches a risky scheme and Amy opens a fake dating app account to lure Danny’s brother, Paul, into a potential affair.

BEEF’s fourth episode brings its comedic side to the fore, as Amy lures Danny’s easily duped younger brother Paul into a texting relationship when she sets up a fake dating app account to mess with him. This plot is another level of her revenge scheme against Danny. Meanwhile, Amy’s about to give the speech of her life at a business convention in Las Vegas. However, things go wildly askew when Danny and his troublemaking cousin, Isaac, find out that Paul stole Danny’s truck to head to Vegas in hopes of meeting Amy. Danny and Isaac give chase after Paul.

Looking at all 10 episodes, BEEF is generally a thought-provoking artistic journey, but it has some major theological problems in its final episode that conflicts with its beautifully redemptive resolution. As Danny and Amy, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong give incredible performances. Wong is especially great, considering she’s mainly been known as a raunchy star comedian thus far in her career. She immerses herself in the emotional rollercoaster of Amy’s life and keeps the character grounded even as some of her actions are unhinged along the way. Her mastery of all parts of the emotional spectrum is remarkable.

Another intriguing aspect of the program is that the show’s creator, cast and creative team is largely composed of Asians. This creates a unique perspective for the action and the program’s complex characters.

BEEF is a series that’s become known for its crazy, completely unpredictable twist-a-minute plots. Perhaps its craziest twist of all, however, is the fact that, as the series progresses, it becomes a complex look at struggles of Christian faith en route to becoming a secularized vision of redemption and forgiveness. In the final episode, however, Danny admits he’s lost his Christian faith, and both he and Amy wonder what the point of their existence is. That said, the program’s final moments provide an incredibly touching example of forgiveness, compassion and mercy.

Sadly, though, BEEF also has lots of strong foul language in every episode. For example, three of the first four episodes have more than 50 obscenities, including many “f” words. Also, the series is driven by revenge for a good portion of its 10 episodes. In addition, BEEF has a smattering of other strong lewd and immoral behavior.

All in all, therefore, MOVIEGUIDE® deems BEEF excessive and unacceptable, despite the program’s occasional Christian, redemptive, moral content.