Mid-Week Wrap-up: Sophomore Seasons, Streaming (part 2)... Sneaky Pete

Sneaky Pete

Okay, so I love a good con job. There’s just something about being able to outwit, outmaneuver, and outmatch another person (a group, a company, whatever)—by using your brain, rather than relying on manpower, weaponry, or whatever, that really appeals to me.

But, while there’ve been plenty of good movies about con men (and women, obviously, but no one ever says “con women”)—“The Sting” or “Oceans Eleven” (et al), for instance—televised examples of the genre have been pretty sparse.

With the arrival of “Sneaky Pete” last year—and the follow-up second season, which debuted earlier this spring—that’s all changed, though, because “Pete” is, most assuredly, the real deal.

So, a little background from the first season (non-spoilery, as per my usual, so no worries). A con man (one Marius Josipovic) gets out of prison and, after learning that a lot of really bad dudes from New York are hot on his tail, decides to borrow the identity of his former cellmate (still imprisoned, natch)—a naive, harmless chap named Pete, whom nobody could possibly want to kill. Circumstances being what they are, Marius—in short order—finds it prudent to fully embrace his new identity… going so far as to step into the long-lost man’s shoes and move into the rural Connecticut farmhouse with Pete’s grandparents and a couple of cousins (none of whom, conveniently, have even seen Pete for some twenty years). He also gets roped into helping out with the family bail bonds business (and no, that’s not awkward, at all, lol).

The catch? (Well, the catch I’m gonna mention, anyway?) Marius is a con artist extraordinaire… but he isn’t a “bad guy”, down deep, and quickly becomes fond of the crazy family who’d welcomed the prodigal nephew/cousin “Pete” back into the fold with open arms. So, when various family members have problems, Marius feels compelled to help. 

Cue the second season (no big spoilers, again), when Marius is trying to break the ties (without breaking confidence) and move on… just as more (bigger, worse) problems arise: Grandma Audrey got messed up in something in the first season, which Cousin Taylor (a local cop) helped her cover up… but the arrival of a NYC detective bent on finding out what happened means all of that business could come out. Meanwhile, Cousin Julia is being blackmailed. And, Grandpa Otto—who had a stroke not long before the first season began—is being chased by a young nut job with a trigger finger and a chip on his shoulder. 

Oh, and one more little, niggling thing. Marius needs to get Pete—as in, the real Pete—out of prison, to find Pete’s missing mom, and the eleven million dollars she stole a few years back… or, you know, it’ll be curtains for the entire clan.

In less-skilled hands, this could’ve been a hot mess, but the truth is, it’s anything but. Giovanni Ribisi is the perfect lead as Marius, and the rest of the cast’s performances are likewise up to snuff. (Gotta give special shoutouts to Margo Martindale—whose work [see "Justified" and "The Americans", for example] I always adore—in a plum role as tough-as-nails matriarch Audrey, and Jane Adams, as the hippy-dippy missing mama, who also has some brains and skill up her ex-wild-child sleeves).

Bottom line: this latest outing of “Sneaky Pete” surpasses its freshman season, going deeper and delivering more heart and emotional dimension.

And, after that ending? I can hardly wait for Season 3! 

~GlamKitty

Note: Each brilliant season of “Fargo” serves as a notable exception to the whole “few-and-far-between-examples-of-quality-TV-con-jobs… but my Upper-Midwestern favorite will just have to wait for another time. ;))