'Moone Boy': a delightful choice from Hulu

“Ever wanted to be the imaginary friend of an idiot boy in the west of Ireland? Me neither. But, there you go.”

Opened with a line like that, Hulu’s newest exclusive show ‘Moone Boy’ successfully brought a chuckle out of me. And thankfully, it only transformed into a great laughter along the show until the credits have rolled.

‘Moone Boy’ centers on a twelve-years-old boy, Martin Moone (David Rawle) who happens to have a supposedly-make-you-feel-better imaginary friend, Sean Murphy (Chris O’Dowd). Takes place in Boyle, Ireland in 1989, the series tells the day-to-day of Moone and how he embraces his life among his school friends (including some bullies) and his family, with the help of Murphy.

First time I watched this show, I didn’t expect anything special. Besides, I don’t really fancy Europe’s TV series, so I just watched it merely because I had to write something in this blog. Hehehe. But, the show then really surprised me. Like I said, the line on the opening pilot was ear-catching, the one that would made you feel ‘well, this could be funny and all’ with a smile on your face.

The opening line actually was a voice-over from the invisible friend itself, Murphy. O’Dowd, who was recently playing the lead role on HBO’s summer comedy ‘Family Tree’, plays hilariously for the character. Murphy’s misguided advice and silly attempt to encourage Moone on the screen works really well with O’Dowd’s dumb and clueless expression. O’Dowd also the one who created this show along with Nick Vincent Murphy, by the way.

Other characters on the series are laughable as well. For instance, the Moone family, in which comprised of father, mother, three daughters, and Martin Moone himself, always has something we can laugh at in their family’s room. Like when Martin was feeling excited about his birthday and instead, one of his sisters said he was a mistake. Or when the father was talking on the phone and one of the daughters broke a lamp behind him.

Watching this show, reminds me so much of ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’, which also tells about an average, ordinary boy who’s struggling in his adolescence. More than that, the style of storytelling between the two is similar, with the voice-over and some animated drawings come to life in between the scenes. The latter is one of the reason I like this show even more, ‘cause it gives a childish and delightful nuance to the show.

Initially, ‘Moone Boy’ was airing in UK a year ago. But then the streaming site, Hulu provided the whole episodes of season one on their official web since 10 July as one of their exclusive show for the Americans. Smart move, by the way, seeing all the acclaims the show has gotten since its first debut.

‘Moone Boy’ is a fresh and honest comedy. Even if you miss some Irish jokes in it, you wouldn’t miss the comic expression, funny gestures, and silly voice-over during the show. Overall, I give this one 8 out of 10. I hope Hulu will keep the access open in the future, since the show itself has already finished the second season in UK. *finger crossed*