Review: The Stanley Dynamic “The Stanley Luck”

The Stanley Dynamic returned last night for another new episode titled “The Stanley Luck”. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about the show thus far is how creative they can get blending live action with animation. We’ve seen the animated character (Luke) do a lot of interesting things. He casts his own shadow, can interact with physical objects pretty seamlessly, and general conversation between him and the live action cast is also pretty good. This week they gave us something different, what is it exactly? If you saw the episode, you already know! If not, read on to find out…

In “The Stanley Luck” Mom accidentally sells Larry’s lucky shirt leaving Larry to face an onslaught of bad luck. Meanwhile, Doop lacks the confidence to ask Pam for a raise. Lori takes it upon herself to coach him to give him an edge.

Right off the bat the episode sort of lost me in regards to it’s story. The lucky possession falling out of possession of it’s owner” story is one we’ve seen countless times. Nothing too special to mention there. Where this episode does shine is with it’s running gags. Allen, a guy aiming to take Doop’s job is an example of this. He’s a character that doesn’t have a single line, but is always presented to us in a funny fashion. He’s wears the exact same outfits as Doop, and he is always looking on ominously from a corner of some sort. I think his scenes were actually my favorite! Another running gag is what I eluded to earlier about Luke. This week they stepped up their animation/live action blending game by putting Luke in an actual suit of armor. Of course, it wasn’t actually a cartoon character making an entire suit of armor move, rather when his helmet is open you’re able to see his face, and the rest of his body is still moving naturally. I think they pulled that off well.

The cast was good. Everybody was funny and charming as they usually are. There weren’t any stand-out performances, and there were a few scenes where I felt some lines could have been delivered better. Sometimes what I thought was going to be a joke was just a standard line, another time what I thought was a serious line was actually a joke. I think I misunderstood the set-ups, so those particular lines fell flat for me. Besides that, everyone was what I said in the first sentence of this paragraph: charming and funny.

Overall, I think this episode could have benefited from an original direction. The lucky item premise is a good one, but throwing an original twist on it could have given that elevation. They gave Lori more to do this episode and she was really good. Her acting chops are great for somebody her age, and I’m sure she’ll get better as time goes on. The rest of the cast was great also, with the exception of a few minor hiccups. It looks like they have a lot of fun putting this show together, and it really shows on screen. Luke’s animation with the armor is what stood out for me this episode. Very creative stuff. Obviously the show doesn’t a huge budget, but it’s awesome to see that they know how to use their resources effectively. Can’t wait to see what other cool ideas they have. Of course there were the running gags that I loved. If they decide to bring back Allen at some point, I wouldn’t complain. Th

 

 

 

 

 

Not a bad episode, but not a great one either. How did you guys like “The Stanley Luck”? Like it? Not so much? Share your thoughts!