Grade: 2.5/5.0
Nicolas Cage, Hollywood’s patron god of chaos, is the perfect host for the new Netflix docuseries, “History of Swear Words.” Wearing a sharp suit and a contemplative countenance, Cage conjures a sort of manic scholarly bravado from the comfort of a lush emerald drawing room adorned with built-in bookshelves, a tan leather armchair, a tower of tomes and a fully stocked antique bar cart. He swaggers around the manicured, pompously intellectual room as if he were an instructor for MasterClass and in this messy, meandering show, he is.
Each episode of the six-part series explores one expletive. The series starts off strong: “History of Swear Words” begins with the episode “F k,” the most profane swear word, and Cage spends the first 30 seconds swearing at the audience. He’s all in, committed and cussing with the kind of kinetic energy that excuses the script’s trite, disconnected ideas. (“An actor’s greatest tool is their imagination,” he mus
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The Karate Kid franchise stars
Ralph Macchio and
William Zabka make their appearance virtually on a giant screen on set. There’s also another surprise guest in this episode, but that’s a major spoiler for the show’s third season, so just in case you haven’t seen it yet, we won’t name who it is, and you might want to hold off until you’ve finished the latest episodes.
Also, if you stick around for the later part of the episode, comedian
Bill Burr pops up to make a guest appearance.
Cobra Kai takes place 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, where a now successful Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) struggles to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of Mr. Miyagi, and must face his previous adversary, down-and-out Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who seeks redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai karate dojo.
As do a whole lot of actual swear words.
When Netflix dropped the first (obviously) sweary trailer for
History of Swear Words late last year
, it seemed to be an appropriate way to usher in 2021 with a different energy. Visually appealing and hosted by king of comic gravitas Nicolas Cage,
HOSW promised audiences the kind of release only a well-placed expletive can offer.
Following its premiere earlier this month, the six-episode docu-series tries its best to deliver that promise. Sitting by a (fake) fireplace in a (fake) drawing room set, Cage delves into the history of F k , Sh t , Bitch , D k , Pu y and Damn (inconsistent asterisks courtesy of Netflix) with etymologists and comedians.