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Viewers Couldn’t Concentrate On ‘The Kennedys,’ Distracted By Matthew Perry’s Bizarre Appearance

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:56 PST, May 30, 2017

During Donald Trump’s presidency, people seem to be interested in politics more than ever before, which is why they tuned in on Monday night to watch new Channel 5 drama The Kennedys: Decline and Fall, which stars Matthew Perry.

Prepared to explore the story behind America’s great political dynasty, the Kennedys, viewers were instead distracted by a bizarre prosthetic worn by Matthew Perry, who stars in the political drama as former U.S. Senator and youngest Kennedy brother Ted Kennedy.

Judging by the first episode of The Kennedys: Decline and Fall, TV critics seem to unanimously agree that the Kennedys show is no competition to House of Cards in the political drama category, as the new Channel 5 series received dubious reviews.

Interestingly, The Kennedys: Decline and Fall Episode 1, which aired on May 29 to celebrate the 35th U.S. president’s 100th birthday, aired less than 24 hours before the entire fifth season of House of Cards was released by Netflix.

While most reviews have slammed the Kennedys TV series – with the Guardian’s Sam Wollaston describing it as “a great story turned into bad soap” – reviews from viewers on social media are focusing on Matthew Perry’s bizarre appearance on the show that centers on what happened to the Kennedys in the years following the assassinations of JFK and RFK.

The Kennedys: Decline and Fall may have had a very deep meaning behind the 145-minute political extravaganza, but viewers just couldn’t see it behind Matthew Perry’s false ears and fake nose.

But it’s not only Matthew Perry’s prosthetic look on the Kennedys show that has come under increased scrutiny from social media users but also his mediocre acting on the political drama.

While Matthew Perry’s ears, nose, and jawline have visibly been enhanced to make him look more like Ted Kennedy, the former Friends star’s transformation was apparently too much to handle for TV viewers.

But Matthew Perry wasn’t the only Kennedys: Decline and Fall cast member who got under the microscope of social media users; the Kennedys show’s other characters are also seen sporting distracting makeup.

In what came as a yet another attack at the show’s makeup department, critics are criticizing actor Alexander Siddig, who plays Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, for sporting quite a distinctive fake nose.

The Kennedys: Decline and Fall, which is a sequel to the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, also stars Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy. Holmes’ portrayal of the most unknown of the known women of the 20th century certainly drew comparisons to Natalie Portman’s portrayal of JFK’s wife in 2016’s Jackie.

The Kennedys: Decline and Fall, starring Holmes and Matthew Perry, explores the Kennedys and the tragedies in the family following the assassinations of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Robert Kennedy in 1968.

Matthew Perry spoke about his prominent role on the Kennedys show back in January during the Television Critics Association event. Back then, the actor called his role on the series the most challenging role he has ever played, according to Deadline.

Matthew Perry also opened up about working with a dialect coach in order to get his Kennedy speech pattern and accent on point.

And judging from sour reviews that blast Matthew Perry for “beyond hammy” and “terrible” acting on The Kennedys: Decline and Fall, it’s fair to say that the former Friends star didn’t work hard enough on his portrayal of Ted Kennedy.

The two-part miniseries, which is also called The Kennedys: After Camelot, originally aired in the U.S. on Reelz on April 2, 2017, and April 9, 2017.

[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/AP Images]

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