TL;DR – This was a wildly odd first episode. I am not sure how to take it, but the absurdity is strangely compelling.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service used to view this series.

Minimum Wage Review Introduction

One of the odd joys of enjoying weird comedy groups is that occasionally they blow up, and you get to see them take things to new heights. See Aunty Donna or even what Zach Cregger is up to at the moment. Today I get to add to this with American High School’s dive into Netflix.

So, to set the scene, in the Village of Liverpool, New York, USA, there is the odd pizza place: American Height’s Slice Club. They have a habit of buying all the streaming services and crashing pizza vans into lakes, but maybe not making a lot of money, which may be important for Mr Sylvester (Randall Park), who owns all the Slice Clubs. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

You Must Lean into the Absurd

It has been a while since I got my teeth into a mockumentary that really took that absurdity to heart. Indeed, we open with Luke (Luke Burke) flailing in a lake in a full pizza mascot costume, and there is a cottage cheese trampoline prominently featured. It is an odd collection of facets that only really work because the cast, including manager Grace (Grace Reiter), commit to it with their whole bodies. There is no shame here, and this kind of show needs that kind of full commitment to work. Though I do hope that commitment does not extend to the food safety because I am not sure a hairdryer is a suitable replacement for a heat lamp.

An Odd but Interesting Structure

A lot of the first two acts of the episode are just introducing all the zany characters and grounding the setting. All of this is fine, but that is not something that you can tie a whole series on. It needed some sort of hook, and that is when Randall Park shows up to pull the rug out from underneath the cast. The threats of closing the store, the reality of not having a job, and a new, slightly unhinged boss is the shape-up to the end of the episode that it needs. It also helps that Randall Park’s energy perfectly matches the insanity of the rest of the cast.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Minimum Wage? I am not yet sure if I am sold on the premise. However, there is enough here in this first episode that makes me want to see if they can stick the landing of this sheer absurdity. Have you seen Minimum Wage yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Minimum Wage
Directed by – Will Phelps
Written by – Jeremy Garelick & Will Phelps
Created by – Jeremy Garelick & Will Phelps
Production/Distribution Companies – Studio Central, American High & Netflix
Starring – Aidan Micho, Grace Reiter, Hyde Healy, Julia Dicesare, Luke Burke, Ryan Micho, Tommy Armstrong, & Randall Park.