From Scratch is a Netflix Romantic drama about a Texan artist and an Italian chef who fall in love and explore their lives together. Their love story takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster but fails to keep its characters interesting.
Story
Amy and Lino meet in Florence, Italy and they fall in love. Lino moves to Los Angeles with Amy to build a life with her.
The couple works towards their dreams while constantly supporting each other. Lino struggles with the sudden change in his life but Amy comforts him and they get engaged.
Lino’s parents do not approve of his decision to marry an American woman. Lino chooses Amy over his family. They adopt a child together.
The newly married couple’s future plans are put on a halt when he is diagnosed with cancer.
Performances
Zoe Saldana stood up to the expectations. Her performance added intense emotions to the scenes which otherwise would have felt bland. Her Italian speaking skills added to her chemistry with Lino. Eugenio Mastrandrea’s performance equally complemented Saldana.
Danielle Deadwyler, Kellita Smith and Keith David played the roles of Amy’s family members who supported the couple through their ups and downs, Their performance created a wholesome environment for Amy and Lino’s love story to grow.
While mentioning the topic of family portrayal, Lucia Sardo and Paride Benassai as Lino’s parents expressed their complicated relationship with their son and their disapproval of his marriage. Their relationship arc was one of the most engaging parts of the series.
Positives
The series takes the viewers on an emotional roller coaster as we become the third person in Amy and Lino’s relationship through their happy and bittersweet moments. Despite a predictable plot, the series evokes all forms of emotions. The finale of the series perfectly ties together the story and the cultural differences between the character.
The families of Amy and Lino add nuances to the story. Their complicated yet realistic portrayal alone makes the series worth watching.
The character development in the series such as Amy’s improvement of her Italian speaking skills or Lynn accepting her ex-husband’s wife adds to the sweetness of the show.
Negatives
The time skips in each episode makes it hard to comprehend Amy and Lino’s timeline and the big events in their life. The series overlooks the complexity of their daily lives after marriage and follows a very generic romance plotline. The last episode adds some uniqueness to Amy’s story.
Despite its hour-long episodes, From scratch often rushes over the storylines and fails to build tensions between the characters. Most of the subplots like Amy’s relationship with Giancarlo and their love triangle are not explored properly. The performance by the actors compensates for the lack of relationship-building.
Verdict
From scratch follows a generic storyline but the execution and the performance of the cast make it a story worth keeping close to your heart. It is a must-watch for people looking to watch something simple just for its emotional impact.
From Scratch
Director: Nzingha Stewart, Dennie Gordon
Date Created: 2022-10-21 12:30
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Also Read: From Scratch ending explained: Does Amy move to Sicily?