A scene from ‘High Desert’. , photo credit: Apple TV+
It’s 2013 and Peggy Newman (Patricia Arquette) is hosting her family for Thanksgiving at her luxurious Yucca Valley house. His mother Rosalyn (Bernadette Peters), brother Stewart (Keir O’Donnell) and sister Diane (Christine Taylor) are waiting for Turkey with beers in their hands as the kids are busy in their scuba diving gear by the pool. However, their plan goes awry when Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers break down the door to raid the house; Peggy tries to flush the weed down the sink and hide the money in the pool filter to save herself and her husband.
High Desert (English)
Director: jay roach
mould: Patricia Arquette, Matt Dillon, Bernadette Peters, Christine Taylor, Rupert Friend, Brad Garrett, Veruche Opiah
Episode: 8
Story: Peggy Newman, a woman with a checkered past, makes a life-changing decision to become a private investigator following the death of her beloved mother.
Ten years after this event, Peggy has lost her fortune and is grieving the loss of her mother while working at a Wild West theme park in the valley. Her husband Denny (Matt Dillon) is in prison on a drug charge. Peggy tries to stay away from drugs and wanders the desert in search of a steady income. Soon, she bumps into Bruce Harvey (Brad Garrett), a private investigator on clients, and offers her services to him, even though she hasn’t been formally trained for the job. In her first proper case as a PI, she is forced to negotiate with a fellow dancer’s ex-boyfriend, Guru Bob (Rupert Friend), who appears to be selling stolen artwork. Bob is a former television presenter who switched careers after a breakdown on live TV and turned to spirituality to make a living.
While this is the main plot, a series of unfortunate accidents occur that complicate Peggy’s life – from encountering a TV actor who bears a striking resemblance to her mother to solving a burglary at her workplace – she becomes involved in those Tries to solve all but, in the process, creates more trouble for herself.
Patricia Arquette puts herself front and center in this dark comedy and doesn’t shy away from exaggerating Peggy’s quirks for the camera while wearing a period costume that heightens the absurdity of the show. But everything seems to be working against it – too many plot points populated with characters with no backstory make the show feel like a chore. Jokes and punchlines are often rushed and don’t give the audience time to breathe and adapt to the premise.
high desert fails to create a powerful environment to relay the psyche of addicts like other comedy shows lonely drunk woman have succeeded. But Patricia’s love for Peggy, which is reflected in her acting, convinces the audience to continue following her missteps for their hero.
While the eight-episode long show doesn’t make for an ideal binge watch, you may want to make room for chaotic 30-minute episodes every few weeks to keep yourself from drowning in Peggy’s whirlwind of chaos.
The first three episodes of High Desert are streaming now on Apple TV+, with new episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays.