"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend (TV Episode 2020) - "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend (TV Episode 2020) - User Reviews - IMDb
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8/10
One of the better interactive stories
jwwalrath-227-8548716 May 2020
This follow-up special to the comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is one of those interactive programs that have been popping up on Netflix. This was a pretty fun experience.

First off, like the original show there are a ton of very funny lines. Also like the show, I felt there were a fair amount of types of jokes that the writers were more into than the audience is. (All the bits about Titus (Tituss Burgess) being lazy get old).

Though not the first to interactive stories, this special has it's own spin. Given Kimmy's emotionally stunted nature, this special specifically pays homage to the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories. Now, the amount of basic storylines you can go through only goes so far. (Unless you're a completionist, you'll probably go through 1-3 viewings.) However, the writers seem to realize this. The same scenes can alter in lines or be extended based on choices. The viewer is even rewarded for choosing the same options twice. Also like CYOA, there are dead ends that are often some of the cleverest bits and provide some fun moments of the characters talking directly to the audience.

The cast remains strong. The special manages to include all the regularly recurring characters. Ellie Kemper continues to do an excellent job as Kimmy. She has such range being able to switch from childish to serious perfectly. Jon Hamm returns as the evil Richard Wayne Gary Wayne and continues to kill it. I feel guilty liking the performance, because the character has done such terrible, deplorable things but almost every line of his is gold. Daniel Radcliffe appears in this as Kimmy's fiance, and having a great sense of comedy he fits in perfectly. He works really well off of Kemper. (Although, I felt Radcliffe was a subject of too many obvious, broad British jokes.)

The special looks great, continuing the show's brightly colored and lit aesthetic.

Overall, I recommend this. However, if you're one of those people who may have felt the show dropped in quality after season 1, be forewarned that this does feel like that part of the show.
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Interactive fun!
ts-000012 May 2020
Won't spoil anything,but was a great experience. Played it several times & choose differently,to see what happens. Wish more tv or movies,gave this viewing option. Give this a chance! Great cast,story(ies) & more!
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8/10
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy VS The Reverend"- A mildly entertaining plus-sized episode elevated by its unique interactive gimmick. Warning: Spoilers
You thought you had heard the last of Kimmy Schmidt? Well, think again! Tina Fey's beloved cult-comedy hit is back with a new interactive special-"Kimmy VS The Reverend!"

Picking up some time after the series finale, the new special finds Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) quickly approaching her wedding day with British Prince Frederick, played by a fantastically cast Daniel Radcliffe. However, Kimmy soon comes to learn that the nefarious Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm) has had a second, secret bunker all along, and that there is another group of captive "mole women" out there, waiting to be rescued. And so, Kimmy must set out to save the day along with her best friend Titus! (Tituss Burgess) At the same time, Titus' manager Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) tries to keep him secured in a role in an upcoming action picture, while Lillian (Carol Kane) opts to throw a bachelorette party for the absent Kimmy with hilarious results.

"Kimmy VS The Reverend" is a delightful little coda to the series, thanks in large part to its implementation of the interactive gimmick. Every so often, the viewer will be given a choice between two or more options, which will have an impact on the narrative in some way. Some are small and merely create minor cosmetic differences in specific scenes, while other decisions are larger in scope, and can entirely effect the outcome of the story. If you're familiar with choose-your-own-adventure books, you'll feel right at home, because the special very much plays out like one. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for easter-eggs! While I won't spoil any, there are some very clever hidden scenes to unlock if you make the correct choices. I've been wondering for quite some time why Netflix hasn't been exploiting their potential for interactive entertainment more than it has. It seems like a complete no-brainer. So it's nice to see the format applied to one of the site's most unique sitcoms.

The writing is generally quite solid, even though I would argue that it's lacking in the big laughs that typically defined the original series. The special made me grin on several occasions and got a few decent chuckles out of me... but I never really got any of the big belly-laughs I had come to expect from "Kimmy Schmidt." It's more charming than amusing, I'd say. But I could forgive that, because it makes up for it with the interactive gimmick, which kept me thoroughly invested.

And as always, the cast is a complete delight. Kemper slips right back into Kimmy's shoes like no time had passed at all, and Burgess is excellent as always. But the biggest surprise was Radcliffe in his guest-role as Kimmy's fiancé Frederick. He fits right in with the rest of the cast, and has a great chemistry with virtually everyone. It's a shame this was his only appearance in the series, because I'd love to see more of his character.

"Kimmy VS The Reverend" may not be the best, nor the funniest episode of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." But it's certainly one of the most memorable thanks to its interactivity and branching storyline. If you're a fan of the series, this is definitely something to check out! I'm giving it an 8 out of 10! As Kimmy would say, it's "hashbrown, awesome!"
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8/10
Reverend And The Choice Makers
southdavid15 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I liked the Kimmy Schmidt series. I felt that it started really well but then didn't quite maintain those standards as it ran on. So I'm happy to say that I felt this show (on the run through I had anyway) was back to its best.

Just days before her marriage to Prince Frederick (Daniel Radcliffe), Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) discovers a choose-your-own-adventure book in her bunker backpack, that doesn't appear to belong to her or any of the other mole women. Trying to find out who the book belongs to leads Kimmy to visit Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm) in prison, where Kimmy inadvertently discovers that there was another bunker of women, as yet undiscovered. From there, she and (in my story) Titus (Tituss Burgess) head out to find the bunker.

Taking its cues from Black Mirror's "Bandersnatch" episode, this special is an interactive episode where you use a game controller to select options to make the story progress. Occasionally you run up against an immediate wrong choice, at which point you get an "ending" of sorts - then the story rewinds and either automatically chooses the other option, or allows you to pick again. Some of these seem relatively innocuous but then, in retrospect, if feels like one of the options (whether to choose Kimmy's adventure partner as Titus or Jacqueline would have a major effect on the episode.) I haven't been back to it yet to explore the other options and see what genuine differences can be made and what other endings are available. I made it to the end credits after roughly 90 minutes that were genuinely laugh out loud funny - I assume that it was the extra writing time that really helped pull the episode quality back up. There's also a movement away from contemporising the humour, talking about what was current at the time of writing, so only one scene about the Fyre festival feels dated - as that time in the zeitgeist has come and gone.

The best thing I can say is that from a show I was contented had ended when it did; I now what to see more of again. Kimmy Christmas special anyone?
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10/10
One Fudging awesome adventure!
Brycemesser13 May 2020
This is Kimmy Schmidt at its best. No matter what option you choose you usually always get a laugh and besides the choices, it's a really good movie that adds onto Kimmy and her friends' lives without ruining anything set up in the series. I absolutely loved it and I've already watched it more than once!
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10/10
I'm now satisfied with the ending
booksnbooks-123387 July 2020
This is how you close a franchise. I mean, a lot of shows have those emotional "the end"'s. We know it's goodbye but it shouldn't always be emotional. You should be happy that you watched the series from the beginning to the very end.
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3/10
Not the right format for this show
desrocchi29 August 2020
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt heavily relies on its unending chain of gags, that's what makes it shine: it does not leave you with an empty second.

This interactive format that stops the whole sharades and forces you to wait, sometimes go back, see the same thing a second time, wait again for the choice and repeat, completely destroys the basis of the show.

The story is on the weak side, but I think without the whole choice gimmick could have been enjoyable.
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10/10
The Most fun!!!
hungry_nirupam12 May 2020
Ok, listen up I don't really like choose your own adventures. Bandersnatch wasn't what it cracked up to be but gotta say this new Kimmy movie is so damn funny!! Every choice we take, good or bad, is HILARIOUS and good thing is we don't really have to repeat stuff again and again! It's done right!

Glad to see the core four back! I love all of them but gotta give a shoutout to Jane Krakowski because I love her so much! The guest actors are pretty funny too!

Story wise, it actually adds to the main series so that's great.

GO ON HAVE FUN NOW!!!!
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5/10
What's the point of interactive if the choices don't really matter
boeriulivia9 August 2020
As the title says what is the point of having multiple choices if you don't actually have that much influence story anyway? You might just as well have shown me a movie without the whole dragging of the story by choosing the "wrong" things. It tried, for me personally it failed. Maybe I didn't try enough choices to actually enjoy it, but after finishing it I didn't really feel like trying again.
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10/10
A Fun Interactive Movie That Lets You Control Kimmy's Big Adventure!!!
Pumpkin_Man22 May 2020
I was browsing Netflix a few days ago, and I wanted to try watching an 'interactive' movie because it sounded fun, so I gave this a watch. At the time, I had never seen the series, so I didn't really know the characters or Kimmy's backstory, but I completely binge-watched all 4 seasons of Kimmy after finishing the movie. This was a really fun way to meet Kimmy for the first time. I got to control her actions, who goes on the adventure with her, what her friends do in her absence, and much more.

Years ago, Kimmy Schmidt was taken by Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne, who told her and three other women that the world was ending, and put them in a bunker for 15 years. Now, after Kimmy has broken out and living her best life with her new friends, she's getting married to Prince Frederick (played by Daniel Radcliffe) On the way home, she discovers a book in her talking back-pack. She's led to believe that there may have been another girl that the Reverend has 'tooken' and goes on an adventure with Titus to find them and save them. If you love Kimmy Schmidt, and interactive movies, I highly recommend UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT: KIMMY VS. THE REVEREND!!!
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4/10
Oh dear
RachelMary214 September 2020
So I haven't seen any Kimmy for a while, I got bored after the first series. There was a lot to like about it but I found myself disinterested and finding the silliness a bit much. I had hoped that the whole interactive thing might make it a bit more interesting. Nope. It was just the characters being silly some more. And I was bored. And what's the point of all the interacting if you end up having to keep going back and then end up having to watch even more of it?! I think the characters in Kimmy are great and it's loud and colourful yeah yeah yeah but it's just not something I find very entertaining.
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7/10
A delightful treat!
Sir_AmirSyarif14 May 2020
'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' interactive special, 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend,' is delightful, hilarious, and provides a wonderful end to the series. (And yes it's much, much better than Netflix's 'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.')
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3/10
Disappointing
imdejong11 August 2020
The choices either lead to a do-over or are irrelevant to the storyline (nothing changes). Moreover, although I really enjoyed the series, the movie itself is not that funny at all. Not a single chuckle.
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4/10
My First Interactive Experience
av20096 June 2020
I loved the original Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt series, so I was excited to try this as my first interactive title. Sadly, I was let down. For me, it was way too time-consuming! It seemed to take forever to reach the "You Win" ending. Maybe the interactive experience just isn't for me. I loved seeing the original cast and I'm glad others enjoyed the adventure, but in my opinion this missed the mark. Still, thanks for bringing Kimmy and the gang back one more time.
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4/10
Love the series, but this movie is STALE...
badscene20 May 2020
Like 2 year old cheese.

The plot of this movie is so paper thin, its obvious that little-to-no effort was spent developing it. "What's it about?" you ask?

Kimmy finds a paperback book in her backpack that doesn't belong to her and decides she needs to figure out where it came from so badly, she has to set off on a cross country odyssey before she can marry Daniel Radcliffe, whose character is just kind of inserted here as a love interest despite playing no role in the series.

Firstly, their relationship didn't work for me at all. As a couple their chemistry was lacking, their backstory was weak and all divulged via dialogue, and Ellie Kemper looks more believable as Radcliffe's mother than his fiancee. I'd much rather have seen Kimmy end up with Dong, or one of her series romances.

The choose your own adventure stuff is fine, gimmicky, but entertaining enough. It does tend to shine best when Tidus is involved.

The biggest problem for me here was that this is a series that thrives on its ensemble cast, my favorites being Tidus, Jane Krakowski and Carol Cane as crazy Lillian. Rather than developing a plot that allows this to be a vehicle for the terrific ensemble and reunion that fans want to see, the plot has Kimmy set off with Tidus and everyone else is left alone with their own running gag of a subplot, rehashing old character jokes that already felt stale by the final season. In short, I'd much rather have seen them all together then apart, and I feel this "movie" suffers for it.

I'd say its on par with the Sex and The City movie. It really didn't need to exist, but someone decided it did. This was not a loveletter to a beloved series, so much as a highlight reel for the issues plaguing a series which was running on fumes for its final season. Nor was it used as an opportunity to offer closure to its fans. Mickey is nowhere to be found and its never made clear whether him and Tidus are together. Kimmy is marrying a random new character we as an audience have no reason to care about. We don't know what's going on in anybody's life. It all just seems... well, kinda pointless.

I did laugh a few times, mostly when Tidus hallucinates and starts eating dirt, but Lillian and Jacqueline get nothing good to work with here.

It's a shame...

I just binged the whole series for the third time a month ago before I even knew a movie was coming, so the timing couldn't have been better. I was really pretty psyched for this. Sadly, I can't recommend this as for me, it was nothing more than a wasted opportunity.
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9/10
Amazing surprise from Netflix
nukhetagar13 May 2020
What a surprise this was! Here is me, sitting at home in quarantine, hoping to find something that could entertain me. And all of a sudden, there it was: Kimmy vs the reverend. This 'movie' holds the charm that made Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt the sweet funny story that it was, and meshes it with the 'create your own story' technique that made Black Mirror: Bandersnatch one of the rare hits of Netflix in the last year. Amazing stuff! And having no clue that this was even in production made it all the more delicious. Watch this, you will not regret it
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1/10
Stupid no saving grace
brucekirkland-2987917 May 2020
The whole interactive part is a bust. If I wanted to make movies I'd have gone to film school. They try to be so cute they just come off as extras from a really bad Disney movie. I really don't have the energy nor language skills to describe how awful this move is. Stay away
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1/10
Very stupid
siminamolnar9 August 2020
Why the high ratings??? i don't get it....what's funny about this? it was simply stupid, unfunny, pointless....like a puppet show for kids 🤷‍♀️, The interactive part of it didn't make it more interesting for me at least. This is my personal opinion, but obviously other people like this....
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3/10
The worst ending to a great show
fedecarrara8 August 2020
This has nothing to do with the show. Really bad script, the jokes are not funny at all. All the choices you can make are irrelevant to the story. Really sorry that such a great show get this awful end.
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3/10
Stupid. Unfunny.
roakie7225 May 2020
I loved the show but this was just pointless. Horrible script. The choose your own storyline was annoyingly childish.
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1/10
So obviously nice but just hate it
chris_rowe-881-16882013 August 2020
Ellie kemper is so obviously an annoyingly nice positive person, but she just comes across as cartoonish and fake due to her silly OTT mannerisms, even on YouTube and the office she's just too too much, she's clearly a smart beautiful woman who has done well but should've been told to just tone it all down, she becomes someone you just want to slap. She's not adorable,cute etc she's 33-40 in these roles, your not Peter Pan . Grow up woman
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7/10
It hits you.
daropaz20 July 2020
So lovely to See Kimmy again. Had hoped for a new season though.Unbreakable Kimmy Smith. Tv series. I rarely laugh out laod. So much crazy i had to rewiind to see if it was for real. I guess the bad reviews here, must be from people that havent seen the show U.B.K. This is funny 5 of 6. Ore like 9 of 10. People will hate ore love this movie.
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7/10
A fun "final" adventure!
tanstorck17 May 2020
I enjoyed the series and this interactive special in some ways works as a season 5 (since season 4 only came out about a year ago). The series had a mostly satisfying conclusion so having another story only a year later is a bit strange.

The interactive aspect of the special was very interesting. It did make watching somewhat stressful since the character's lives were in my hands. As I completed the special, there were several things left unresolved due to the choices I made. However, as I started to rewatch and make different choices, I felt that there would be no happy ending for all of the characters like the original series had.

As with the original series, the special is quite dark and some of the "jokes" take things a few steps (or leaps) too far.

I enjoyed seeing all of the characters again and there were several lines that were absolutely hilarious.

Now the rating...should I rate give it a 5? 1? 10? I'll choose 7.
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1/10
Why?
zaclambz31 May 2020
This has to be the stupidest and most cringy thing I've ever seen.
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10/10
Way better than bandercrap
mofobuss15 May 2020
Bandersnatch you had to fast forward through the repetitive parts when you explored the story from different options...at least that slight nuances every time you had to repeat a scene...john hamm was on point...titus is always titus...kimmy could've been funnier but I still love any kimmy story!
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