Candy on Hulu Review

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I recently conducted a poll on Instagram stories, asking what people would love to see me share more of. I mentioned things I love, including true crime and documentaries. I had a number of DMs excited about the possibility of my sharing thoughts on those. Creating content around them seems like a good idea, plus I guess it gives me a reason to watch more shows. This brings us to this post, my very first review of a Hulu series based on a true crime story, Candy.

All of my reviews will contain just the basics – no spoilers. I hope that they will help you to find something new to watch or shows to avoid completely!

Candy on Hulu is TV-MA
Drama – Crime – Mini Series – 2022

Candy Montgomery is a 1980s housewife and mother who did everything right—good husband, two kids, a nice house, even the careful planning and execution of transgressions—but when the pressure of conformity builds within her, her actions scream for just a bit of freedom. Until someone tells her to shush. With deadly results.

Storyline:

Texas in 1980 and based on the true story of killer Candy Montgomery and her victim, Betty Gore. Jessica Biel plays Montgomery, who seemingly had it all – a loving husband with a good job, a daughter and a son, a nice house in the brand new suburbs – so why did she kill her friend from church with an ax?

Cast:

The cast includes Jessica Biel, Timothy Simons, Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber, Raúl Esparza, and Justin Timberlake (though he isn’t listed on the initial Hulu credits). Of course, like most series that are based on a true story, I had to find the photos of the real people to see how the casting did.

My Thoughts on Candy on Hulu:

As soon as I saw that Candy stars Jessica Biel, I knew it would be good. She’s been one of my favorite actresses since her 7th Heaven days. Melanie Lynskey, who plays Betty Gore is also a favorite of mine.

Casting NAILED it! Not only appearance-wise but every single actor/actress in Candy really did a beautiful job of transforming into their character. The acting was phenomenal. After seeing Jessica Biel in The Sinner, I knew she had it in her to play this role and she didn’t disappoint!

By the second episode, I felt it dragging just a bit. Enough so that it took me a while to finish that second episode and then a couple of weeks to commit to finishing the series, though I knew I would eventually. I found myself either not being able to watch because one of my daughters was in the room, or I would just find something else to watch instead.

However, last night, I was wide awake at 4 am and decided it was time to finish the mini-series. Now that I’ve watched it all, I can tell you that it’s absolutely worth it and I wish I had done it sooner. The final episode is where they finally share Candy’s side of the story. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it (aside from the part where they actually show her killing Betty Gore with the ax — the sounds got a little gory for me — no pun intended).

I love a good ending and the last few seconds of Candy (where they update you on where they are now) made the whole show for me. You’ll understand once you watch.

I give Candy on Hulu 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Fun Facts:

Both Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey’s husbands have roles in the series. Justin Timberlake and Jason Ritter play police officers.

Candy Montgomery’s case also serves as the inspiration for the HBO event series Love and Death (2022), which will star Elizabeth Olsen as Candy and Lily Rabe as Betty Gore. I’ll definitely be watching this one and will report back with my thoughts and comparisons.

Have you seen Candy yet? Let me know what you thought about it in the comments below. If you loved this review, make sure you check out our brand new no spoiler review site: www.nospoilerreview.com!

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