Nikki MassaroIn case you want to know my thoughts on Shingles so far…
Shingles
Review by NikkiMK
Synopsis: A middle-aged woman gets Shingles
Commentary:
The story begins in a predictable manner. The main character, played by Nikki Massaro Kauffman, thinks that she either slept in her arm wrong (the old “middle aged slept on it wrong” trope).
She notes that her arm could also still be sore from the vaccine she had days earlier. (Cue flashback—no—cue montage of flashbacks—to a history of vaccine side effects and obscure reactions.)
But a routine doctors visit adds a twist to the story: Nikki notes that she now has a rash, and the provider, played by a friendly physician’s assistant, reveals that she has Shingles. Shortly thereafter there is brief cameo by a pharmacist.
This story’s action sequences are greatly lacking. While Nikki would much prefer “setting shit on fire” or “blowing shit up” (her words), this production had a very small budget which only covered antivirals and a topical ointment.
Instead we must pretend that the scenes of a middle aged women on a treadmill in slow motion are high-speed chase sequences.
I won’t spoil the ending for you, but if you are curious about Shingles, I hope that all that is available is a trailer, a short film, or worst-case a feature film. While my experience with Shingles has been largely uneventful, I don’t think I would want to experience the director’s cut.
MPAA rating:
R, mainly for the treadmill sequences where our main characters uses her new catchphrase, “I am a fucking badass.”
Ratings:
Originality (1 star) - not only have we done the whole “Nikki gets some kind of neuralgia” before, there’s a whole other spin-off series in this universe where the main character’s sister keeps getting Shingles, so it just looks like our main character’s story line is a poor knockoff, despite Nikki predating her sister by six years.
Acting (4 stars) - the main character does such a good job of pretending Shingles isn’t so bad she actually believes it herself (minus a few sparse moments of intermittent pains).
Editing (2 stars): Have we mentioned there SHOULD NOT be a director’s cut of this?
Overall (3 stars) - Shingles really isn’t great, but there are worse episodes in the Nikki universe.