“Nine Perfect Strangers” Review: Nicole Kidman Checks In With A “Big Little Lies” Mini-Reunion As “The White Lotus” Checks Out

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In a way, the show is unfortunate enough to be presented so close to “The White Lotus,” another limited series built around the dynamic between vacationers and staff at an upscale resort. The differences are large enough to accommodate the two, although the listings are a reminder that, in advanced television, truly original sounding concepts are fewer and more widely spaced.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle the show faces is one of expectations, as it falls short of the aforementioned series. Simple Vanity involves a group of guests (nine, in this case) arriving at an exclusive health and wellness retreat, which promises them a transformational experience in just 10 days.

The establishment’s enigmatic manager, Masha (Kidman), pulls the strings, whose motives and tactics are just as difficult to decipher as the origins of her accent. The strangers could hardly sound more different, but in a low voice, it is noted that Masha essentially throws out each group, suggesting higher logic at work – or worse, a bizarre experiment of rats in a maze.

Nicole Kidman and Samara Weaving in Hulu drama

Every visitor holds some sort of secret, from the author (Melissa McCarthy) to the reporter (Luke Evans), from the divorcee with anger issues (Regina Hall) to the former athlete (Bobby Cannavale), the four solo participants. . Add a family (Michael Shannon, Asher Keddie, Grace Van Patten) mourning the death of their son / brother, and a couple (Samara Weaving, Melvin Gregg) whose outward beauty masks hidden insecurities.

The guests in varying degrees reject the diet that Masha has in store for them, a mixture of new-age advice and deprivation, ostensibly conceived as a spiritual, psychic and physical cleansing. Still, the small staff at first think the latest comers might be particularly flammable, raising questions about whether owners can control the wheels they’ve set in motion.

The most basic thread connecting this show to “White Lotus” is the problems of the rich, and the not-so-subtle message that having a lot is clearly not the same as having everything when it comes to happiness.

As the plot slowly moves forward, the writing makes up for that by playing meaty material for the cast of this adult summer camp, which is no small feat in this kind of exercise.

In the balance, “Nine Perfect Strangers” doesn’t reach perfection, but it’s both quite odd and reasonably compelling. It doesn’t match the compulsive binge that “Big Little Lies” or “White Lotus” provided, but as the TV version of Summer Getaways goes, it’s not a bad trip.

“Nine Perfect Strangers” premieres August 18 on Hulu.

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