TV Review: Why Hulu’s 'Candy' is Exceptional, and Max’s 'Love and Death' is Just Meh

One crime, Two True Crime Limited Series

Candace (Candy) Lynn Montgomery is a church-going, first row in the choir singing Texas housewife who killed her ex-lover’s wife and friend, Betty Gore, by striking her 41 times with an ax and was acquitted of murder in 1983. On May 9, 2022, Hulu released its limited true crime series Candy starring Jessica Biel, and HBO/Max (soon to be called Max..I think) released its version on April 27, 2023; both limited series are based on the Montgomery/Gore case. Here’s my review.

Candy blew my mind when I first saw it last year. It was incredible. Jessica Biel (Sinner) and Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) are phenomenal. Both portray the subtle nuances and obvious aspects of female rage with a compelling and authentic realism that is a joy to behold.  Head writers Robin Veith (MadMen) and Nick Antosca (The Act) guided their writer’s room to show rather than tell each character’s story. Making this true crime series one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.  Although Biel plays the title role of Candy, as Betty Gore, Melanie Lynskey brings her unique style of terrifying suburban housewife menace in all of her glorious subtlety. She has a fantastic script to work with. 

Love and Death, written by David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies), is downright bland. It felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie of the week with a huge budget. The writers choose broad stereotypes regarding housewives, divorced women, and affairs, and the actors don’t look anything like the real people they portray. 

On the other hand, Veith, Antosca, and their writer’s room are gifted storytellers.  Their creative use of flashbacks in the first episode and throughout the limited series draws the audience in and leaves you wanting more. The script has humor, sarcasm, sex, wit, suspense, and horror, woven through the narrative in all the best ways.  In this limited series, Candy and Betty are co-stars. Along with giving us a full view of Candy, the writers take the time to dive into Betty’s dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety beyond how other characters mention it in conversation.  We jump back in time and see Betty miserable working as a teacher in a middle school where the kids hate her, and she hates them right back.  We see the duality of Betty fostering a child because she desperately wants to fill the loneliness, only to be faced with the harsh reality of being unable to parent the child adequately.  On top of the chaos at home, Betty doesn’t fit into the community. Her failed attempts to connect and rejection trigger her anxiety and work against her marriage. Betty is not just surface-level. Lynskey is the perfect casting for this role. You can easily think Candy got away with killing Betty, but knowing the events that drove both Candy and Betty to the bad decisions they made, make these characters complicated, messy, and wildly entertaining.  Every choice has a consequence. 

Love and Death gives us none of that. Lily Rabe’s (The Underground Railroad) Betty is a cliche played in one note. Betty and Allen (Jesse Plemons, Breaking Bad) indicate being anxious through dialogue, but the writing doesn’t give the audience any visible, active background to get inside this character.  Also, Love and Death seems obsessed with close-up shots of  Elizabeth Olsen/Candy’s face, her big expressive eyes emoting. In the three episodes of Love and Death I saw, I was tired of all of the close-ups of Elizabeth Olsen. It was ridiculous.  And, in every episode, some man has to tell Candy how pretty she is. This Candy is uninteresting. We see her interacting with her kids superficially, and she tells all her business to her bestie Sherry (Krysten Ritter, Jessica Jones) as she’s thinking it, which is fake. All children in Love and Death feel like props rather than people impacted by the insane and irresponsible actions these adults are taking.  Love and Death felt like a bunch of men in a writer’s room writing their interpretation of what women. There was no believeable portrayal of a church community, just small scenes in different locations to move the narrative along. 

In Hulu’s limited series, the writers, cast, and crew create an authentic vision of what a tight-knit Christian community in the South was like in the late ’70s early ’80s. The church is the center of the community, and everyone slides into their place in the hierarchy.  From coed volleyball to Vacation Bible School, The Church provides everything this community needs to nurture and entertain itself. It also provides a structure and culture that compels some people to rebel. Through Jessica Biel’s excellent embodiment, you can feel Candy’s unbounded energy, and it’s understandable why she’s so popular in the community. It’s also clear to see her flaws and insecurities within the power she holds.

As Candy’s husband, Pat Montgomery, Timothy Simons (Veep) is perfect in this role. Pat’s nerdy personality and Dad jokes work with Candy’s sharp wit and boundless energy.  Their kids are happy. The audience sees how loving and silly Pat and Candy are with their kids. Betty’s relationship with her husband, Allen (Pablo Schreiber, Orange is the New Black), is complicated and juicy.  Allen is also a nerd, but when we see him in shorts and a tank top playing volleyball, the dude is an undercover hunk!   When Candy has the idea to have an affair, watching her shop for men during Church volleyball practice and silently picking Allen to be her lover is wildly entertaining. Those volleyball scenes are super steamy and so fun to watch.  

Elizabeth Olsen’s Candy seems to only be popular in the community because she’s a petite, pretty blonde with a decent wardrobe.

In Candy, the Church had Black and White families worshiping together. Loved that. Rarely do we get to see these kinds of mixed-race communities on TV during this time period. I tell you they exist because I grew up in one.  And what I saw in Candy reminded me of my childhood watching the adults in the religion I was raised in the 70s. (Thankfully, there were no ax murders, but there were dramas) The sheer hypocrisy written into the Christians in Candy is hilariously accurate. Pastor Jackie Ponder’s (Selena Anduze, WandaVision) friendship with Candy includes exchanging smutty romance novels, gossip, and solid pastoral guidance. The fact that Pastor Jackie is a Black woman who chooses her happiness through a divorce and sexual liberation, and she has agency in her path forward, spoke volumes to me. Jackie’s friendship with Candy doesn’t feel like the run-of-the-mill stereotypical single Black friend totally invested in the white character‘s well-being we always see on TV. Hulu’s version has more than one well-rounded Black character in the story, which I love.  

Love and Death is an all-white cast, and their Pastor, Jackie (Elizabeth Marvel, Homeland), is a pitiful victim of divorce, afraid to be alone after being left. Yes, the congregation loves her, but her sendoff isn’t on her terms. This version is like reading a story in a newspaper from the 20th century or watching a black and white tv show.  The outlines are there, but we’ve seen everything before. There are no surprises. I give Love and Death 1 star out of five. The first three episodes are now available on HBO/Max. New episodes stream on Thursdays.

The better series, hands down, is Hulu’s Candy. The writing, set design, costumes, makeup, hair, writing, and acting allow the audience to see all sides of this tragedy that could have been avoided. Candy is a 5-stars

out of 5 limited series not to be missed. All episodes streaming on Hulu.

Stay Safe

Jeanine

I write about how TV & Film make me feel.

Thanks for reading. I’m a Film & TV Critic, Entertainment Journalist, VisAbleBlackwoman The Podcast host, and Contributor to Black GirlNerds.

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