My Review of Welcome To Chippendales: "Switzerland"

 

Written by Rajiv Joseph And Robert Siegel

Directed by Richard Shepard

Steve (to Ray): "Without me, there is no Chippendales."

These last few episodes really hammered home the downfall of Steve Banerjee and with this finale, the remaining part of his end came at the hand of someone whom Steve had placed too much trust in. Yup, it was Ray who brought about the end for Steve Banerjee.

With a large portion of the episode set in Switzerland (hence the title), there was a hell of a cat and mouse game between Steve and Ray. The former had become increasingly paranoid following his role in Nick's death and the latter was desperate to extract a confession from his employer in order to spare himself jail time.

For a moment it seemed like Steve was more annoyed with Ray's failed attempt to take out three dancers ripping off Steve at the London Chippendales before realising that he was being recorded. There was genuinely great acting from both Kumail Nanjiani and Robin de Jesus in those scenes as both ken had their respective worlds fall apart, but more specifically, Steve realised that he couldn't get away from his crimes any more.

The jail scene between Steve and a ghostly appearance from Nick though was a nice way of giving us one more scene with the latter character. Nick poked and prodded away all of Steve's insecurities and excuses before Steve in his own desperate  attempt to spare Irene being penniless ended up taking his own life before he could be charged. 

It was a tragic end to a story mired in so much jealousy, insecurity and corruption. While I don't think the series needed eight episodes (a lot of these type of miniseries biopics could tell these stories with six episodes and cut a lot of filler), the story of Steve Banerjee and his rise and fall with Chippendales did make for some interesting content.

- The afterlife ending with Steve back in the club with Irene and Nick (I don't think I saw Denise or Ray there) was a bit of a cheesy last scene.

- I can't tell if Ray had a crush on Steve because the level of devotion he had towards the latter, in spite of giving him up to the FBI was something else.

- Standout music: More, More, More as it played out during the closing credits.

- Chronology: Around 1992 with scenes in London, Lucerne and Los Angeles. 

Switzerland capped off this limited series in a reasonably good manner and while UK and Irish viewers can enjoy the series from January 11th on Disney+, it's over for me. Overall, while it could've told the story in less episodes and felt a little less showy compared to some of these other type of limited series, I did enjoy this a lot.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Welcome To Chippendales: "Paper Is Paper"

 

Written by Jenni Konner

Directed by Richard Shepard

Steve (to FBI Agent): "I have everything and regret nothing."

Except in this episode, Steve, you ended up losing your club, more money and your family in one fell swoop and due to your more serious actions, your freedom. Yup, we've gotten to that point of this messy saga.

I had a feeling the penultimate episode would be the one where Nick would be killed off and of course, it happened when everything was going Nick's way. Nick had been successful in preventing Steve from launching a counter Chippendales tour, business was better than ever and while he did somewhat piss off Denise, Nick was about to take his relationship with Bradford to the next level.

Unfortunately for Nick, Steve's burning jealousy of him had gone too far and the latter ended up hiring a gun for hire in order to kill Nick with Bradford being the one to find Nick's dead. It also took Denise not time to openly accuse Steve of being the one who had Nick killed and of course, Irene also quickly realised that Steve had blood on his hands.

In the previous episode, Irene was actively encouraging Steve's worse impulses but here with the reality of the business going under, she was back to pointing out that Steve made terrible decisions. Her response to remove herself and her child away from Steve when she knew what he had done was one of her better moments in the episode.

As for Steve, he's already attracted the FBI's attention and they were pretty clear to him that they believed he was involved in Nick's death. Steve even knew himself the walls were closing in on him and keeping the gun used in Nick's murder wasn't his best idea either.

- I loved the cheesy opening sequence highlight the success and excess that Nick, Bradford and Denise were experiencing. 

- There was a good unicorn on Nick's table. I noticed it before he was killed off screen.

- Standout music: Nice use of Footloose at the start of the episode.

- Chronology: August 1987, given the main plot of the episode.

Paper Is Paper with an added ten to fifteen minutes probably would've served as the finale but there's one more episode to go in order to wrap up the series. It's a strong episode though with all four main cast members giving it their all.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Welcome To Chippendales: "February 31st"

 

Written by Annie Julia Wyman

Directed by Nisha Ganatra

Steve: "I'm not the failure, you're the failure."

After this episode, nope, Steve, you definitely are the failure. Your attempts to make more money pretty much plunged your club into declaring bankruptcy and losing out in more money from your very creation doing world tours. In other words, you got played and badly played yourself here.

The episode started with Steve being somewhat childish and going out to New York in order to humiliate Nick and remind everyone he created Chippendales. Then Bradford got the idea for the Chippendales tour and Nick used it as a perfect means to partially help Steve but mostly to get even with the latter for embarrassing him so much.

Steve should've realised that signing a napkin contract without getting a lawyer to read over it was a very bad idea along with his attempts to evade responsibility over the VIP cards debacle. Then there was the calendars themselves. Going from 300,000 to 500,000 without checking the print was a spectacular blunder for Steve and the thing that forced his hand into declaring bankruptcy.

In the midst of all this, Steve had that gut wrenching call with his mother where she basically declared him to be a failure while both Irene and Ray enabled some of his recklessness in the episode too. It was more surprising from Irene as she spent some of the episode annoyed with his deceit, only to have that heel turn where she encouraged more shady behaviour from him. 

As for Nick he might have gotten the last laugh with Steve but given what this show is depicting, that level of deception on his part will not end well for him. If Steve was getting bad advice from Ray and Irene, then so was Nick with Bradford. Not in terms of profit, but more in terms of what will transpire as we head into the final two episodes of this series.

- Nick was schmoozing an agent of a famous client when Steve barged into his space. Steve also seemingly met Valerie Bertenelli. 

- Denise mentioned having a brother who she found as annoying as Nick does with Steve. She also seems to have warmed up to Bradford since the previous episode.

- The title came from all the months on the calendars having thirty one days, thus tipping Steve over the edge.

- Chronology: A couple of weeks since the events of the previous episode.

February 31st definitely had a lot of blunders for Steve but it was a great episode in depicting how this guy has gotten himself into so much of a mess, due to his own recklessness and listening to the wrong people. Just two more to go now.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Welcome To Chippendales: "Leeches"

 

Written by Jacqui Rivera

Directed by Nisha Ganatra

Steve (to Ray, re Electric Tomato): "I'm going to burn that place to the ground."

Well someone was a wee bit pissed off this episode, wasn't he? Steve was seeing people leeching off his success everywhere and went for the smaller threat in order to vent his rage first. I bet Ray might be somewhat regretful of pledging his undying loyalty after all. 

Speaking of Ray, I'm still trying to figure out what his deal actually is here. There's no denying he enjoyed stirring the pot here with getting Steve even angrier about Nick, while Irene was trying to do the exact opposite but the minute Steve somewhat embraced his dark side, Ray realised he had bitten off more than he could chew with Steve.

Ray found himself in the position of having to commit arson and burn down a rival nightclub because Steve had him by the balls. Steve also looked far too pleased with himself with Ray actually carrying put his request. The Electric Tomato night have an easy obstacle to take out but Nick undoubtedly will prove to be a lot more difficult.

At the start of the episode, it looked like things might have softened between Nick and Steve. The latter seemed to be impressed with Nick's Hunkenstein idea actually working and almost remorseful that he had dismissed it. Even the snowball fight between Steve and Nick seemed like a great way of breaking the tension, only to have it amplified even more between them.

I guess some people just cannot get along but while Irene and Denise seem to have fallen into the ropes of trying to be peacemakers with Steve and Nick, it's the likes of Ray and Bradford who were doing everything to drive them further into battle with one another. Going by the events of this episode, they succeeded big time.

Nick was a natural on the talk show circuit in hyping up Chippendales and making the nation believe that he was the brains behind the operation whereas Steve's attempts to counter this on one talk show was a complete car crash to watch. If anything, I think Steve has well and truly lost the plot here.

- Irene wasn't pleased with Steve's VIP card idea and the very idea opened them to a lawsuit from a black customer.

- Denise doesn't seem to like Bradford at all (or he with her). I thought the use of actual Chippendales chairs for the VIP lounge in the New York location was a very nice touch. Even Steve was impressed with that.

- That Hunkenstein routine was straight up ripping off The Rocky Horror Picture Show and I loved it for that.

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

Leeches was an apt title where it looked like Steve didn't learn the right lessons, listened to the wrong people (yes, I mean Ray) and made a lot of bad choices as a direct result. The rivalry between him and Nick has certainly reached boiling point.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Welcome To Chippendales: "Just Business"

 

Written by Annie Julia Wyman

Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Steve: "You're not fired."

Otis: "I know. I quit."

With the previous episode being somewhat sluggish, this one actually took a few interesting turns and ended up being a rather solid affair. We're halfway through this season and clear alliances are being made and broken all over the place.

Taking on a slightly larger role this episode was Quentin Plair's Otis, whom this series has emphasized as the most popular dancer at Chippendales. Naturally Otis would be miffed that he didn't make it on Steve's calendar and the latter's excuse about only money mattering wasn't going to be enough to keep Otis in the company line.

I don't blame Otis for going behind Steve's back with Ray to make his own calendar and I also don't blame him for refusing to stay with Chippendales with Steve undermining him. I was however a little surprised that he didn't take up Nick and Denise's New York offer but with four episodes left this season, something tells me he'll be heading for the Big Apple fairly soon though.

As for the Big Apple, Nick spent a large portion of the episode here trying to drum up business for Chippendales and he certainly fell on his luck when he hooked up with investor/lounge singer, Bradford Bartin (Andrew Rannells). Bradford wasted no time in telling Nick to take Chippendales to New York and Nick strong armed Steve into going along with the idea. Though Steve made Irene believe that he was the one behind the whole thing.

With Steve losing Otis, realising his wealth and influence can't buy his way into everything and Nick forcing his hand with the New York idea, having Ray swear his undying loyalty to him was an interesting way to end the episode. Is Ray being sincere in his loyalty to Steve or does he have an agenda of his own? Time will tell of course.

- Steve ended up buying a printers in order to print 10,000 copies of the calendar. Irene wasn't best pleased with that.

- Denise wasn't happy with one of the dancers eating while wearing the costumes. She seemed to have taken over the choreography during Nick's absence.

- Standout music: Bradford belting out Sondheim's Someone Is Waiting had it's moments.

- Chronology: Over five days since the ending of the previous episode.

Just Business emphasised it's title quite a bit with Steve, Nick and Otis all either feeling the brunt of that saying or using it to their advantage. Now at the halfway point, things are picking a bit more and this miniseries has gotten a little more interesting with this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Welcpme To Chippendales: "Velveeta"

 

Written by Rajiv Joseph

Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Steve's Mother: "Some people are not meant to be rich."

Now the above quote was definitely the kind of thing no one would ever want to hear and boy, did this episode certainly have a few things to say. Notably being that Steve's mother wasn't exactly beaming with pride at her son's accomplishments for a start. 

In fact she was lonely resentful f Steve abandoning the family printing business for his own ambitions and very dismissive and ashamed of him running a nightclub. Which made the funeral of Steve's father even more awkward than it already was. Then there was everything else that transpired in this episode. 

Steve really didn't like the fact that Irene (whom he was now married to) went out dancing with Nick and Denise and he certainly didn't like that she indulged in some cocaine on the side as well. In fact he was pretty horrible towards her and it did look like he was about to leave her at one point in the episode.

However he did seem to considerably perk up when handyman/photographer Ray (Robin de Jesus) appealed to his vanity and together, the two of them came up with the painfully obvious idea of doing a calendar for the Chippendales. To be fair, this would've been the sort of thing that Nick and Denise could've been on board had Steve actually bothered to tell them about it.

Instead Steve had purposely gone behind their back and seemed to take a rather petty delight in rubbing Nick's face in it, forcing the latter to head back to New York. Unlike Steve who went overboard with his hatred for Nick and Denise's Hunkenstein idea, I actually think Nick had a right to be mad here. Then again, there's five episodes to go, so we're not rid of Nick just yet.

- Nick compared himself to Sissyphus to Irene when he originally didn't know how he was go to top his bellboy idea at the start of the episode. Irene seemed surprised that he was gay.

- The title came from the brand of cheese that Steve's mother normally liked but rejected here.

- Standout music: Funky Town by Lipps Inc.

- Chronology: Two years since the events of the previous episode.

Velveeta continued with the male flesh on display, both Nick and Denise getting some action as well as both Denise and Irene trying to play peacemaker between a warning Steve and Nick. Not quite as the first two episodes but still a solid episode.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Welcome To Chippendales: "Four Geniuses"

 

Written by Robert Siegel

Directed by Matt Shakman

Irene (to Steve/Nick/Denise): "This is it. This is the team."

Well, this didn't waste time in getting things to move alone. Following the brutal deaths of Paul and Dorothy at the end of the first episode, this one added two new players into the mix and both of them didn't waste time in making their impacts on both Steve and Nick.

First of all, there was accountant Irene (Annaleigh Ashford) who Steve tried to chat up with. At first it seemed like Irene wasn't interested in him, only for her to then reveal her money saving ways for Steve's business and the two of them to bond over things such as Wonder Woman and wanting to make Chippendales into a more profitable business.

It's hard not to watch Irene's scenes with Steve and not see why he fell in love with her instantly. The two of them certainly paired up rather quickly to the point where merchandise was being sold, gents could come in after the show and both Steve and Irene had desks facing each other. Yup, we got our central love here but seeing as this episode was called Four Geniuses, where were the other two?

Well, there was Nick who played coy with Steve at first before accepting a full time choreography gig, including the hiring and firing. Out with most of the dancers from the first episode and in with largely new ones, with a particular emphasis on the rather gorgeous and ambitious Otis (Quentin Plair). Nick didn't seem to like the fact that Otis had aspirations beyond dancing though.

The last genius in the mix then would be Denise (Juliette Lewis). At first she seemed to be an overzealous fangirl constantly getting into Nick's personal space. Then when she actually managed to get Nick's attention, she revealed she was a costume design who proved her worth pretty fast with the breakaway pants for the dancers. Naturally Nick wanted to hire her on the spot but it wasn't until Irene pointed out the merits of an in house designer that Steve agreed to Denise's addition to the team.

Speaking of the team, while Irene and Denise showed a bit of sisterly solidarity, tensions were already brewing between Steve and Nick. Going by the trailer for the rest of the season, they are clearly going to get worse and worse the more their joint venture takes off beyond one nightclub.

- We got a rather nice title sequence with both Annaleigh Ashford and Juliette Lewis's names added to the opening credits.

- Steve drinks a lot of cola as does Irene while we also saw Nick divorcing his wife and copping up with one of her lawyers at the start of the episode. Otis didn't like being kissed by the customers (he has a wife and kids) while his co-workers were doing a lot more than that.

- Standout music: Blondie's Call Me, which was also used in American Horror Story: NYC last month.

- Chronology: From where the first episode left off. 

Four Geniuses did a great job in setting up the status quo for the season and it certainly moved things along too. The pacing for this episode alone felt much quicker. Both Annaleigh Ashford and Juliette Lewis are great additions to the series.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Welcome To Chippendales: "An Elegant, Exclusive Atmosphere"

 

Written by Robert Siegel

Directed by Matt Shakman

Steve (to Paul): "There are a million strip clubs for men in Los Angeles and yet not a single one for women."

Hulu seem to be on fire with their miniseries this year and after a successful enough venture with Pam & Tommy at the start of the year, Welcome To Chippdenales seems to be something of an interesting way to end the year. 

Based on the book Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders, this opening episode of an eight part miniseries certainly got the ball rolling with giving us a rundown of Chippendales creator Somen 'Steve' Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani). Steve was a man who didn't want to own a garage. He had bigger ideas and over $44,000 to name but not all great ideas come at once.

Nope, instead Steve started off with several bad ideas that nearly brought him to ruin and collaborating with night club promoter Paul Snider (Dan Stevens)and his Playboy bunny wife Dorothy Stratton (Nicola Peltz) definitely proved to be something of a mixed bag for Steve. Fortunately a night out in a gay bar actually provided a good idea for Steve.

As Steve was right to point out, men have plenty of strip clubs to get their rocks off but women do not and with Dorothy affirming that women like to look at attractive men with barely anything on. As a result, the Chippendales was born and Steve had a success story for the ages. Thongs for Paul and Dorothy on the other hand took a very dark turn by the end of this episode alone.

Throughout the episode, Paul's jealousy towards other men desiring Dorothy led to Paul fatally killing both of them in a brutal act largely shown offscreen as Steve reveled in his success with the Chippendales. I'm surprised they did this so early in the miniseries but I don't doubt there's bigger stuff to be covered in the remaining episodes.

Notably Steve's other partnership with Emmy winning choreographer Nick De Noia (Murray Bartlett) of Unicorn Tales fame. Nick was quick to whip Steve's men in shape when Dorothy wasn't suggesting their signature look and he certainly got theses guys into shape as well. That cowboy routine alone certainly cemented a success for both Steve and Nick and given what's ahead, it's going to be interesting to see how this partnership will go very badly for both men.

- Steve talked about the name coming from an inventor when explaining it to Paul. 

- Other businesses we saw were backgammon, mud wrestling and oyster eating, all of which were a disaster.

- Standout music: Hot Stuff, I Was Made For Loving You and More, More, More to name a few.

- Chronology: 1980 for the majority of this episode.

An Elegant, Exclusive Atmosphere did a strong job opening up this miniseries. Some strong performances from Kumail Nanjiani, Dan Stevens, Nicola Peltz and Murray Bartlett. Yup, this certainly got things off to a good start.

Rating: 7 out of 10