Absent laughter… sharp criticism of the makers of the series “Khaled Nour and his son Nour Khaled” | art

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A general state of disappointment spread on social media platforms towards the makers of the series “Khaled Nour and his son Nour Khaled” after the first five episodes were shown, amounting to a third; It is a Ramadan drama with 15 episodes.

The harsh negative impressions stemmed from the high level of prior expectations towards the work, especially since its idea seemed promising, whether on the level of drama or comedy, in addition to the fact that Chico and Karim Mahmoud Abdel Aziz are good at presenting comedic works based on ideas that combine fantasy and science fiction. However, the level of Work is less than expected.

An unrepeated idea, a plot based on black comedy, a promising crew, and a director with important works, some of which occupy a place among the most important works in the history of modern cinema, such as “A Cultural Film” and “The Night of the Fall of Baghdad.”

All of the above allowed the audience to bet with confidence on the series “Khaled Nour and his son Nour Khaled” and its story, which tells about an engineer supervising an important nuclear project, but things do not go as they should and end with a huge explosion, as a result of which the engineer turns to office work.

Then, after 7 years, without any introduction, he meets by chance a person similar in age to him who bears the name of his son, and the same old circumstances. The difference is that this son’s father and mother died in the explosion and he lived in an orphanage. Faced with the impossibility of the idea of ​​the two being father and son, the son (played by Chico) clings. ) that he has found his parents. Finally, the father (Karim Mahmoud Abdel Aziz) falls prey to astonishment and unwillingness to believe, and events continue.

The result is nothing

As we have noticed, the work has a huge amount of room for situational comedy, at a time when its starring role was assigned to two of the most successful actors who are able to make the audience laugh and who are close to the heart of the viewer. However, the comedy in the work was very scarce and heavy-handed, and even that which might succeed in urging the spectator to smile sometimes. It loses its elegance and impact when its speaker keeps repeating it more than once in a single scene or over the course of episodes.

This extreme poverty in writing and wasting the first episodes to reveal a plot that everyone knows in advance resulted in viewers getting bored, and the work being removed from most of them’s viewing list when they did not find anything worth giving their precious time to, especially with the presence of many new Ramadan works that began showing in the second half of Ramadan. They compete for the audience’s affection, and some of them looked really good, such as the series “Without Warning” and the series “Gooder.”

What is strange is that the performance of the main stars was weak and without a real imprint in the case of Chico. As for Karim, despite his attempts to embody the character, he appeared artificial and merely copied from the movements and gestures of his father, the late star Mahmoud Abdel Aziz.

Faint female presence

4 female models included in the series as wives of the heroes of the work. Their roles were played by Aya Samaha, Donia Maher, Donia Sami, and Hanan Suleiman. Despite their different personalities in form and content, their presence can be described as dull, as all the characters were painted within the same general framework that presented them as models characterized by extreme superficiality and lack of intelligence. Which aborted any possibility of dramatic diversity in the female lines in light of the misuse of the comedic abilities of Donia Sami or Donia Maher.

Other technical defects

In addition to the main dramatic lines, the work included some side lines without need for them, most notably the line of the young man, the nephew, who causes many misfortunes and deals with adults with nervousness and bad manners, using incomprehensible and inappropriate language (closer to the language of the street and bullying), which is not what happened. Not only was it repulsive at the level of dialogue, but even the emotions were exaggerated, and most importantly, the use of this method for laughter has become worn out and outdated and has passed since the era of the “Lumby”.

Considering the other techniques, the directing did not reach the level expected from Muhammad Amin, and his fans expected him to pass on some political messages and objections to the current situation in a comedic and indirect manner from time to time, which is what he is professional and good at, but this did not happen this time.

Finally, with the soundtrack, which can be described at times as annoying and at other times as inappropriate. The clearest and most joyful positive element came from “Tatar,” the beginning of the series, and the song “Qalbat Aak” – sung by Attar and lyrics by Menna Al-Qai’i – which was loved by many and suited the plot perfectly.

A comparison is necessary

Despite all these flaws, some social media platform pioneers suggested that the overwhelming attack on the Chico series and the abundance of negative criticism would not have occurred to the same extent had it not been preceded by the series “Apartment Works,” which not only achieved tremendous success and won the love of the audience, but also continues despite the end of its episodes a year ago. It has been the most watched series on the Shahid platform for nearly a week, while the Chico series has not yet entered the top 10 series.

But these allegations can simply be refuted by looking at Ramadan 2023, when the series “Under Guardianship” was shown in the second half of the month and was able to attract the attention of the audience and public opinion, and many critics classified it as the best Ramadan series.

Hard work series
Despite the end of its episodes, the series “Apartment Works” remains the most watched on the “Shahid” platform (Al Jazeera)

Returning to the comparison between the Hisham Majed series and the Chico series, we find a huge difference not only at the level of comedy and the ability to entertain the audience, whether with new funny situations or unused “evidences,” but also at the level of other elements, the most important of which are the smart and smooth writing and the clear chemistry between the heroes of the work.

The series “Khaled Nour and his son Nour Khaled” written by Ahmed Abdel Wahab and Karim Sami, directed by Mohamed Amin, and starring Chico, Karim Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Sherif Ramzy, Donia Maher, Hamza Al-Aili, Donia Sami, Aya Samaha, Salah Abdullah, and the child. Adam Wahdan.

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