After watching Beeforeigners I felt like I wanted to see some more of this strange type of Nordic humor. And then I realized that the same duo behind this time-travel series had also created a show that a good friend recommended me. It's about a mafioso from New York who ends up in the Norwegian town of Lillehammer... In fact, that setting is already weird enough to spark my interest, so I decided to check it out.
Ridiculously Out of Place
They say one of the three recipes for a funny situation, apart from something being too small or too big, is having something or someone in a place they clearly don't belong in. This is certainly true for the show's main character, Frank Tagliano played by Steven Van Zandt, a well connected member of an Italian organized crime group in New York City, who is sent to Norway by the witness protection program. Sure, I can see a bunch of bells going off for all those of you who may be pointing out how unrealistic this initial setup already is. My suggestion is, however, to simply ignore them, because there will be plenty more of them as the series progresses. But who cares? What you get instead are some insanely funny situations that make up for the unrealistic story.
Second Chances and Cultural Adjustments
While most viewers are familiar with Italian-American gangster culture, thanks to The Sopranos or Goodfellas, which are heavily sampled from in Lilyhammer, Scandinavia, and a Norwegian small town in particular are a bit harder to imagine. Let alone when these two cultures meet. At first Frank tries his best to integrate into what is essentially a fairly egalitarian and peaceful society with incredibly low acceptance of corruption. He learns the language (which he seemingly understands quite fast, though he never utters a word of it), he diligently attends his integration courses, and makes friends with the locals.
However, it is only a matter of short time before he finds himself in his own element. Buying a bar, getting his hands on bootlegging alcohol, and confronting the local organized crime (in form of a poorly organized biker gang) are the first signs that this guy has no intentions of leaving his old life behind him. However, every step he takes he is reminded that things are a bit different in Norway. People operate differently. The authorities work in a different way. Though finally he manages to find a workable balance, and starts building up his own local mafia in the town where the 1994 Winter Olympics took place.
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Migration Issues and Locals with Serious Problems
One of my favorite aspects of Lilyhammer was its portrayal of the local Norwegians as being just as weird (if not worse) than the overall backdrop of the show. Many of them grapple with mental problems, some to the level of facepalms, other at a much deeper cringe level. In fact, the mobster protagonist may be the most well adjusted character of all. The irony of the show I took as a tongue-in-cheek way of the writers pointing out the side effects of a well taken care of society. The unemployment office, the law enforcement, and the public health care are great examples for this, but the most poignant aspect is the center for asylum seekers. Foreigners are generally normal characters, while the locals are obvious freaks, with multiple mental issues, many of them sex related. However, this is also what builds up to the funniest scenes, where it is the mafia meddling that brings some badly needed normality into the mix.
A Great Show Reaching its Limits
Of course all the laughter can drone the warning bells only for so long, before the whole series starts looking way too absurd. Given the fact that Lilyhammer has three seasons, it deserves all the respect for having made it this far. But after a while, too many innocents have been beaten up mistakenly, the docile cops have been vamped up by a no-nonsense police lady, and even Frank's past is starting to catch up with him. So despite the record breaking popularity of the show, it was brought to a clean closing before it all got out of hand. What remains, is a series that takes the viewer from roaring laughters to cringe that makes one embarrassed for watching it. All in all, I consider it great entertainment, getting me another dose of what I am learning Scandinavian humor to be like. For a first impression, take a look at its trailer:
To see my other reviews of (mostly good) TV series, please visit my Binge on This collection.