Ruxx (2022) User Reviews

Finally, a look at modern Romania

[matei-890-712847 · 8/10 · 19 March 2022]

Romanian productions typically look like an x-ray of a specific, often exagerated trait of old-world Romanian society, one where young urbanites are either misrepresented or completely absent.

Ruxx finally feels relevant & relatable to us. It's inch-close to our reality and the first show I'd recommend for anyone looking to move or visit, wondering how it's like.

That's how we dress. Those are the places we hang out at. Those are our problems and that's how we handle them.

And low and behold, it's not that different from other places in the world. Turn on Spanish subtitles and you will relate as well.

Finally, a Romanian TV show that's not about a Romanian cliche, but about globally relevant people who just happen to live in Romania.

Good enough to see it yourself

[andreeav-75320 · 8/10 · 8 April 2022]

Even though the script can have an update, the story itself is a good story. In Romania the LGBT reaction is close to what's presented in the series. I liked the overall acting, but I can agree with some of the comments that the attitudes are somehow Americanised. Compared with other Romanian TV series, I like it.

Uncomfortable yet refreshing

[oxxana · 10/10 · 25 April 2022]

First, I haven't seen Umbre, second here are my two cents.

I say this is Bucharest, at least a part of it. I say this movie - series make one think, question and feel. Some of the language is unnecessary vulgare and some of the scenes Americanized or westernized. But to be truly honest, this is, in my opinion, an honest and cynical representation up until a certain level of how the Romanians are trying to fit in in a modern yet not 100% identifiable version of life. There is a lot of confusion, diffusion, signs of corruption and chaos, powerplay and undergorund life which at first sight seem so random and remote, but they are part of our life, this is a good and uncomfortable reflection all together, especilly with its "kitsch"iness of how lots of us try and succed to fit in, in this new globalized world. Yes, it could have been more flattering in general for Romanians, but its purpose is to make us think and question... everything? Especially women's place and roles in the contemporary times. Not a fan of the new generalized trend of serving a dish of lessons regarding sex orietntation, but at least in this movie I see it as a pretext to challenge prejudices, to extend visions, to pt our tolerability and intelligence to a test.

Last but nit least, I really felt so many, many colours of emotions seeing Bucharest from up above and from a certain distance. A unique place of mixtures, versatility and eclectism (also indulgently embracing the ugly and beautiful of balcanical or not :) kitsch) of making its way, trying its best to "make" it in the absence of the the coherence or the leadership or proper systems which other places in the world benfit of.

Coming from nowhere, going nowhere

[CX78-I · 1/10 · 26 March 2022]

I can't see the mechanism through which HBO decides to waste their money on such weak, amateurish scripts. Is this the best România could come up with? A confusing plot with volatile characters missing every mark of professional script writing.

How HBO takes such poor decisions for Romania? Why HBO doesn't organize script writing competitions?

Great piece of work

[gabi_balanescu-04228 · 10/10 · 15 April 2022]

I loved it, I binged the whole series in one day and I can't wait to spread the word that this series is sooo unexpectedly good.

A fresh, modern, bright and smart collection of images and lines, an excellent cast and a vibrant picture of Bucharest in 2022.

Go see it, after many years we finally have a non dark, sad, bitter and self-pittying Romanian piece of cinema. And also the telenovela vibe is missing, thanks God.

Everything looks so real - this is the way we look, we dress, we speak, we act and relate to the others, in 2022 Bucharest. These are real problems people are facing in 2022 Bucharest.

Excellent, I hope there will be a season 2.

Unapologetic View of Life and Love in Bucharest

[alnora1227-228-702883 · 10/10 · 1 April 2022]

Full disclosure: I cam to to this series because of Alec Secareanu, the actor that plays Andrei in the series. I have followed him since God's Own Country and was excited to see his work in this format.

As a longtime avid consumer of films, a former theatre student, and a member of the LGBTQIA community, I am so in love with this series.

Firstly, a suggestion to viewers: opt for subtitles. I do NOT know what is up with the dubbing industry or who decided what voiceover actor goes with what character but, lord, just read the dialogue. The pitch of the voiceover actors are NOTHING like that of the actual cast and it is really jarring to me.

That said, I am very impressed with the way this series has chosen to tackle controversial and commonplace subjects alike. The script and the skillful work by the actors craft these issues without a sign of preachiness or excess. Whether it is the caregiving of a parent, relationship dynamics, or the very real problems of misogyny, bigotry and prejudice, or self discovery, each is handled with the honesty and worth it deserves. The plot unfolds like origami, intricate and surprising, each fold a new revelation.

The work is also succinct, in many ways. Things are not overexplained; histories are not exhaustively hashed out. The writer trusts the viewer to make those connections focusing on the larger storylines that move the plot forward.

To write this series, to include the subject matter in what is still a very conservative country, is, if not great work, BRAVE work.

Judge for yourselves.

Don't waste your time...

[Binecunoscutul · 1/10 · 9 March 2022]

We did not exceed the level of the films of the 90's immediately after the 'revolution' in Romania when after so many years of censorship we felt the need to use in excess: swearing, nudity and sex, all this without any cinematic relevance. We note that in 2022 WOKE also reached Romanian cinema, unfortunately ....

Coming from the show "Umbre" to this ? What happened ..

[armand-mihaies · 1/10 · 31 March 2022]

First of all as a Romanian and theatre major I am forced to make this review , been a member of this site for atleast 15 years and am an AVID movie watcher.

Romanian cinematography is awesome and we have amazing productions and one of the biggest is the exclusive HBO series UMBRE which we will compare this show too , because it shares most of it's original cast.

There is no backstory to Ruxx , you are basically thrown into a new age "romanian lifestyle" which is very capitalistic , carnal , vulgar and very anti-climactic , the leading characters seem to be reading from a prompter there is no depth/no feeling in these characters at all.

The show also lacks any kind of direction and every episode just seems to jump from characters to characters and situations to situation there is zero continuity.

It feels like this show is a high school kit with a very low budget , i'm amazed it received above 6+ rating because this show is barebones and I doubt it will receive another season.

Confusing due to lack of context

[qui_j · 3/10 · 21 March 2022]

This is a very confusing series from Romania. There is little context as to who the characters are, as from the very start of episode 1, the viewer is dropped into a story that seems to have already been in progress. While the story, and context may unfold in later episodes, the first episode was not compelling enough to sustain interest.

I'll keep it pithy.

[andrei_d_06 · 5/10 · 2 April 2022]

The cast is stellar, but...

Foley stifles speech.

Semi-illiterate verbiage; not colloquial style, but grammatical uneducated unwitting errors.

Mixed Romanian-English stilted language; the gen. Z lot don't talk like that.

Some dialogues look as if they are re-translated from American-English life experience patterns.

Unintelligible diction sometimes, subtitles frequently needed.

Woke themes raised here and there, sometimes everywhere, unwarranted.

A lot of action happens through smart phones screens' (sic!) social media.

The plot is passable mediocre, no humdinger (though they touted it as terrific), or far-fetched incomprehensible story, or gross mistakes. The story simply starts out of nowhere, then expands erratically elsewhere. It should taste bad for either the cultured or the spoon fed.

As for swearing, now that is one genuine characteristic! Points gained.

HBO raised a high bar with series "Umbre", then dropped it low down now.

High-budget SOAP OPERA

[iuliacryss · 1/10 · 10 April 2022]

First of all, I agree with all of the other reviews on how bad the show is. I want to also highlight how badly LGBT relationships are portrayed. On a very surface level, we see characters played by known figures in the Queer scene from Bucharest. The lesbian relationship in this show is terrible and disgustingly written. The script is written by a woman who acts like a man in portraying women and relationships between them. The fact that a man (who was anyway disconsidering Ruxx at the beginning) comes between Ruxx and her FIANCÉ highlights once again the misunderstanding of lesbian relationships; it is even more tragic that this was written by a woman who, willingly or not, further encourages this stereotype in cinematography and gives men the idea, the power, the fantasy to think they can always come between two women who are involved in a romantic way. It's funny that we almost never see things going the other way around, meaning we won't see a woman destroying a relationship between two gay men and we never see gay men being attracted to women. Furthermore, the lack of responsability for such actions in this show is sincerely disgusting. This is not only about Ruxx, but also about the Moscu couple. So we can understand that this series is about cheating, cheap music choices, bad writing, surface level relationships and fake feminist pretentions. This show is a JOKE. I cannot imagine that a 40+ year old woman can only achieve a teenager perspective on contemporary Bucharest life. It is a disgrace towards romanian cinema.

SO BAD

[mTwdor · 2/10 · 10 April 2022]

So, where to start?

1. Bad acting! Almost every actor is like they are reading their lines from a book, basically no acting skills, apart from 2-3 actors who get the job done.

2. The lines! OMG they are so terrible. Most of the time, the lines are cringey AF. A lot of cursing is not necessary and placed horribly into the dialogs, THIS IS NOT HOW ROMANINS SPEAK. It makes it seem so unnatural, forced, tras de par in plm

3. The plot! Lame, everything is so lame.

This review is from a Romanian perspective. I've seen a lot of Romanian movies, this is by far the worst, truly terrible. At this point i am only watching it to see how low can it get.

Lame...lame...lame.. sorry lame again..

[ovidiuss-om · 1/10 · 2 April 2022]

Seems like Hbo is on the same page as NETFLIX, Disney ,MEANING....it becomes a LGBTQRZXCSNSGEMDUBFLTE++platform...this is the new NORMAL!!I thought I'll see only on those video platforms the LGBTQRZXCSNSGEMDUBFLTE++ content but,I was wrong...

Seems like a parody but it's not

[puiu · 3/10 · 5 May 2022]

There's no way to consistently deliver fake after fake performances, stupid dialogue and clichee after clichee. And then there's Ruxx. Actors are fine, some struggle to deliver, but they are crushed by the horrible scriptwriting. This is just bad cinema writing and if you're Romanian you can also enjoy the cheesy fake dialogues in all their glory.

An attractive cast of characters ruined by a telenovela script

[WingsOf · 3/10 · 29 January 2023]

The few stars are for the cast and production.

Viewing this is like going to a McDonalds in Bucharest. Yes, you know you are in Romania and people and signs aren't American but...

Problem with producers and writers trying to move beyond the legacy of a country's entertainment staple is that they really don't know what to replace it with and so throw in a mix of global themes "dubbed" in local dialect. Unfortunately, that does reflect a new generation that rejects the old but don't know what to replace it with other than anglicized styles and mores.

This show tries to be an "Emily in Bucharest" mashed with typical Latin show scripting that make characters alternate between passive and emotional outbursts intent on self-sabotage just to create stupid and meaningless drama. Not wishing to stop there, the script forcefully throws in pop scripting on social issues whether trying to find redeeming value or making the show relevent in contemporary times but failing in both.

An extremely shallow attempt.

the worst series

[llorre · 1/10 · 5 July 2022]

Too bad for the actors, I could hardly watch the first episode and that only for the actor from the series "Shadows" also made by HBO - Serban Pavlu.

Everything Americanized that in our country in Europe - Romania doesn't really catch on. Poor quality language, bad script, disappointing in many ways. You say it's after 1989 and he's been free to swear. Everything is so fake, the actors play so embarrassing, and it doesn't continue.

Absolutely a waste of time. Don't do it. Note 1, I'm sorry.

I hardly watched the second episode, I didn't think it was that bad. Too bad for the actors, I could hardly watch the first episode and that only for the actor from the series "Shadows" also made by HBO - Serban Pavlu.

Everything Americanized that in our country in Europe - Romania doesn't really catch on. Poor quality language, bad script, disappointing in many ways. You say it's after 1989 and he's been free to swear. Everything is so fake, the actors play so embarrassing, and it doesn't continue.

Absolutely a waste of time. Don't do it. Note 1, I'm sorry.

I hardly watched the second episode, I didn't think it was that bad.