Disney Plus were ever so kind to send me an early screener although after watching it, I wish they hadn’t. Here’s my How I Met Your Father review.
In the near future, Sophie (Hilary Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.
Riding on the coattails of one of the best American TV comedy series of all time was going to be no easy feat.
When the cast line-up was announced many die-hard HIMYM fans were even more sceptical with Hilary Duff seemingly steering the ship all by herself without strong support.
No Neil Patrick Harris, no show for me as How I Met Your Mother thrived on his energy and ability to drag us all into his mischief and mayhem whilst the other characters took that more mature and grounded role in their lives with their own unique comedic edge.
How I Met Your Mother had some of the most perfect castings since Friends, in my opinion. The chemistry was absolutely perfect and resonated with so many people across the globe.
How I Met Your Father is entirely the opposite. The cast feels disjointed and absolutely all over the place and using Ted and Marshal’s old flat to keep us living in the past won’t help this show from bombing and bombing hard.
Sophie (Hilary Duff) is a hopeless romantic living in New York. Long gone are the Ted Mosby days of finding love face to face in the big city, it’s now all dating apps and love at first swipe.
With punchlines that fall flat, terrible cast chemistry and Hilary Duff desperately trying to steer a ship away from the inevitable cold reception it will receive upon release.
Grasping at straws to appease a fanbase still living in the How I Met Your Mother repeats on TV this show just won’t cut it.
Kim Cattrall plays an older Sophie talking to her son about how she met her father and it’s great seeing Kim on screen. Probably the highlight of the entire show if I’m truly honest.
The acting feels wonky and all over the place and despite one laugh out loud moment (due to my own crude sense of humour) my face was as straight and sharp as the two swords hanging up in the boy’s apartment.
I’d dive into the other characters aside from Sophie but in all reality, I don’t care. Beyond forced English accents and some seriously hollow character development, I just had no interest.
Josh Peck (from Drake and Josh) becomes Sophie’s love interest a few episodes in and it’s nice to see him in the show playing a more straight-up, mature bloke as opposed to his usual comedic relief roles of days gone by.
Sophie is such a one-dimensional character that even Hilary Duff can’t save her. Laser-focused on finding ‘the one’ but without the depth or personality that Ted Mosby had.
Ted Mosby was relatable to so many people yet Sophie seems to be searching for love for all the wrong reasons literally going on hundreds of dates in this fast-moving society and settling for just about anyone that gives her a compliment.
It’s not a good look.
Dragging us back into How I Met Your Mother references just to keep old fans interested. Why bother?
You just can’t cling on to the past, it’s too late, it’s already gone.
Past the first 4 episodes, one can only hope it improves but seeing the first 4 for me was more than enough. I’d simply be watching it in the hopes of it improving but sadly until it’s released I can only go by what I’ve seen.
How I Met Your Father does step it up in terms of adult language and more sex-friendly humour but this feels like a show destined to be canned.
Before seeing an episode, please, swipe left. You can thank me later.
Our Rating
Summary
Sadly an endeavour that felt doomed to fail before it even began. Ted Mosby was right, times really do move at different speeds but I’m hoping and praying I fast forward through this era including this show.
