On October 19, the final episode of the series 'Treachi' with Gleb Kalyuzhny and Yuri Stoyanov was released on the online cinema PREMIER. This project proves by its own example that lightning does not strike twice in the same place, especially if it...
The series 'Treachi' was presented as the return of the acting duo Stoyanov-Kalyuzhny, which many loved so much in . The show about the clash of two generations of comedians (domestic 'Tricks') hoped to play on a popular theme and an already proven tandem. The actors even made the cover of the September issue of 'Sobaka.ru' and gave an interview to the publication, but for all these techniques to work, the project needed to be taken seriously, not done slapdash on the knee.
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Open materialWhat's the Plot?
Danya Markov (Gleb Kalyuzhny) works as a plumber and has already become a stand-up star in his Balakovo. The young talent decides it's time to conquer new heights, so he urgently needs to go to Moscow for a successful life. He has to start small, so first, on the advice of his acquaintance Shafika Khayzenovna (Roza Khairullina), the comedian rents a room from a grumpy and drinking old man Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Sokolov (Yuri Stoyanov), who turns out to be a once-famous Soviet satirist.
It so happens that right at the station, the guy gets all his money stolen (what a twist, huh?), so he has nothing to pay for rent, but Danya promises to pay immediately as soon as he earns from performances. However, provincial dreams shatter against the harsh capital reality, and Markov's jokes turn out to be unfunny for the Moscow audience (frankly, they are absolutely the same for anyone). Unexpectedly, Vyacheslav Nikolaevich comes to the rescue, having seen the sheets with the young stand-up's material. The old man can't restrain himself and makes his edits to the monologue, so the Balakovo comedian, discovering the corrections, goes on stage again and performs brilliantly. From this moment, a toxic partnership arises between the duo, which should help both of them improve their lives, but they will have to overcome a considerable number of obstacles.
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At the idea and announcement stage, 'Treachi' was a very intriguing project, but at the implementation level, they stumbled so hard that they lost balance and fell face-first into the mud up to their ears. It's amazing how a person with the arrogant face of a connoisseur can call Christopher Nolan banal, boring, and ordinary cinema , and then produce a banal, boring, and ordinary sitcom with his brother, while giving their maximum.
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The show is so stereotypical and formulaic that it's shocking. The main character is a typical provincial who wants to conquer Moscow. He thinks he already knows and can do everything, because he has a dream leading to success. Stoyanov's character is a classic, life-weary alcoholic grump who is almost always drinking and chewing (how did Yuri Nikolaevich agree to yet another exploitation of himself in a stupid role. The next step, probably, is the lead role in the film adaptation of the meme 'Obeme'). The comedian's ex-girlfriend Elvira (Zepyur Priluchnaya-Brutyun) is a model village chick, greedy for money and moved to the capital to make it big using the trump card between her legs. And her boyfriend is a dim-witted and cocky rich kid who doesn't consider people below his income level as human.
'Treachi' doesn't even shy away from using clichéd images. I'm sure you all know every character perfectly. As they say, here they are from left to right. When meeting Lena (Yulia Ilyina), it immediately becomes clear that she is a good girl whom the main character will not notice at first in pursuit of attention from his ex, but will eventually realize that happy relationships are right next to him. With the appearance of producer Alexander (Alexey Kirsanov), it will be obvious that Danya's career with him will first go uphill, and then this disgusting, arrogant, and mercenary man will corner the guy and cheat him out of money. The unfunny comedian rival Anatoly (Alexander Yakin) will become a friend after a short feud, and the employer Arkady Ivanovich (Mikhail Evlanov) will forgive all the mistakes of the hapless waiter and part-time stand-up comedian every time.
Even the courier who appears on screen only once is, by all stereotypes, Asian. Of course, because if he were of a different race, it wouldn't be possible to play this image very stupidly. The level of humor, both situational and stand-up, in the series tends to zero. And if outside the performances there are still some funny moments, then all the monologues are so bland and unfunny that at any 'open mic' there would be dead silence. Frankly, I don't understand why a streaming service like PREMIER, which has a whole arsenal of real comedians at its side, didn't hire a single professional to polish the jokes, because the screenwriters sometimes bring what happens on screen to the point of cringe.
Treachi and Comedians Ruined Our Country
Imagine how much you need to want to latch onto a popular topic to think that if you clash two generations of comedians, stuff the soundtrack with pop-rap, film frame-by-frame the meme scene from 'Spider-Man 3' about fake photos, and don't forget to mention popular comedians like Louis C.K. and Bill Burr, you'll get something worthwhile? Before recording a special, comedians first work fruitfully on their material, so the creators of 'Treachi' should have taken an example from them and diligently worked on the script.
The series has a ton of moments that are far-fetched and just as many unnecessary details. Why did we need to know that Danya is a plumber? What does the storyline about his mother's loan add? The abundance of unnecessary elements in the story is overwhelming. Moreover, viewers know perfectly well that in such projects, everything will be fine in the end, so it's very important that the process of striving for this 'fine' is engaging, funny, and not stupid. The authors, in turn, simply make the main character, as Vyacheslav Nikolaevich would say, kissed in the ass, so all his life problems are solved so easily that you don't even worry about him.
It's generally surprising that a project with so many production studios mentioned at the beginning of each episode looks so cheap. 'Treachi' saved literally on everything: on the opening, on the font, on the script, on the sets and locations, on editing and transitions. It's no wonder that the actors also slack off, doing their job, because even they were saved on. Take, for example, the situation with the birthday of Stoyanov's character's grandson. The boy from a fairly wealthy family has his first milestone birthday, and all his guests are mom, dad, and paternal grandmother. No maternal relatives, no friends or classmates, no one. What a decade. What a party they threw, of course. The celebration will probably be remembered for a lifetime.
It's noticeable with the naked eye that almost the entire cast is playing at half strength. No one has the desire to give themselves to the role and reveal their character, because there is no point. Alexander Yakin generally looks like Roma from 'Happy Together', who left Yekaterinburg, changed his name, and decided to become a comedian. Perhaps, of course, that's the case, and 'TNT' is now developing its own cinematic universe, but whether this theory is true or not, we will only find out in the upcoming 'Bukiny'.
Honestly, it feels like for many, the project is a side job between real shoots, and they came here just to mess around and earn some money. Kalyuzhny, for example, gets drunk very awkwardly and caricaturedly, playing drunk like a little child. You don't believe in either the events or the conversations. 'Treachi' is so saturated with falseness and unnaturalness that the world around them seems cardboard and unreal.
However, I wouldn't want to create the illusion that the show has nothing bright and positive. It does. That's the presence of Yuri Stoyanov and Roza Khairullina. Even in such conditions, their charisma stands out from the overall picture, so no bad script can mask it. And among the young actors, only Yulia Ilyina really tries to play a role in this project.
Additionally, if you look at the series as a whole, somewhere in the depths of all the negative moments, you can discern a hint of a warm buddy movie that 'Treachi' was intended to be. It's a pity that this spark will never become a flame. But now domestic cinema has another example that 'Andreasyan Brothers Film Company' is a clear sign, not of quality, but that pressing the 'play' button or buying a movie ticket should be done solely at your own risk.
What's the Verdict?
'Treachi' is a typical bad sitcom of 'TNT' production, but unlike, say, 'SashaTanya', it has no meme background and no nostalgic predecessor from the late 2000s-early 2010s, so it doesn't even have anything to cover its flaws. The proven duo didn't save the mediocre series, and all the show's merits can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It's a pity, of course, that a good idea turned into such a low-quality product, but what can you do? Such is the fate of almost any project touched by the Andreasyan brothers. They are like Dementors: they fly in and suck out all the good things that were in the movie.
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