‘Bless This Mess’ is a comical take on the ‘simple life’

Starring: Dax Shepard, Lake Bell, JT Neal, Pam Grier, Ed Begley Jr.

Release: April 16

For most millennials who have grown up in the cities, farm life seems like a novelty idea. An Instagram-able life for sure.

The idea of ‘fresh country air’ and ‘farm living’ has somewhat encouraged younger people that farming is the next big thing.

Even young Kenyans who work in big corporations seem to be investing in farming. They proudly bring tomatoes from their farms to sell to colleagues in the office.

Well, this trend is also the plot for the newest comedy show, Bless This Mess. Mike and Rio give up their New York city lives and careers to move to rural Nebraska, where Mike’s great aunt left him her farm when she died.

Excited for their new country lifestyles, Mike and Rio are met with a series of disappointments upon their arrival in Nebraska. The picturesque farm is in shambles; the farmhouse is a ruin and the farm itself has dead soil. As in, nothing can grow on the farm until they revitalise the soil with organic manure. And their aunt’s old neighbour, Rudy, lives in their barn.

For Rio, who has never been out of the city, the idealistic farm life she had imagined is nothing close to what she must live through. The couple realise that being farmers is not for the weak-hearted. However, they decide to stay on at the farm and give it their all. But they are not alone. They have a village behind them willing to help wherever they can.

The concept is not a new one. It feels more like a built-up scripted version of Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton’s Simple Life, without the excitement of Reality TV.

Although it tries to elevate itself above the familiar and predictable with humour, it barely raises a few chuckles. The only salvation comes from the cast, as they embody their characters wholly. The show speaks to the universal truth that while farm life is seen as the ‘simple life’, the truth is it’s far from it.

Star rating: 3 stars