Maya Rudolph-Led 'Loot' Is Loaded with Mayhem, Cash, Charity and Laughs
Loot gets off to a slow start, but it's worth giving this Maya Rudolph-led comedy a little room to grow on you.
Rudolph plays a divorcee in this Apple TV+ romantic comedy, which blooms into a sweet, if fairly standard, somewhat predictable story.
After meeting on the couple's mega-yacht, Rudolph's Molly Novak is rudely shaken out of her dream life when she finds out that her husband has been cheating on her (Adam Scott). In an arc we all know at this point -- a la Mackenzie Scott, the former wife of Jeff Bezos and a major philanthropist -- she's on her own with an estimated $87 billion to help her feel better.
Molly hears from Sofia Salinas, played by Pose's Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, who runs a charity that Molly didn't even know she inherited. She wants to do something with her money and time, so she gets interested in the place and makes the staff, who are all different, into a kind of extended family.
At first, that sounds like the setup for a workplace comedy with a lot of cheap, off-color and probably ill-advised jokes. But after a few episodes, the show does reveal some more twists. First, Molly starts to settle into herself and have some "regular" moments with their reserved and recently single accountant (Nat Faxon). Then, she meets a dashing billionaire (Olivier Martinez from Unfaithful) .
Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, who worked with Rudolph on the 2018 comedy Forever, made Loot. It features a continual stream of amusing scenarios, such as when Molly is unaware that she owns a theme park in the Philippines until an incident there leads her to list all of her possessions, from the ridiculous to the magnificent.
The show even becomes somewhat somber when it discusses a system that only allows a select few to amass this type of wealth and how much charitable giving those individuals ought to undertake. Rudolph is skilled in both styles, but the flashier flourishes from her SNL days typically don't stick out as much as the subtler ones.
Loot leaves a lot open at the end of its last episode, which means the door is wide open for a second season, or beyond. Whether or not Apple renews the comedy, its first run is a truly fun ride. Rudolph and the rest of the cast make sure that even if it's not a big hit, it's still a lot of fun. With a main character who has time and money to waste, they created a show with endless possibilities.
Loot is now streaming on Apple TV+.
