“Catch-22” Mini-Series Fails to Capture Novel’s Magic

Some time after George Clooney’s nostalgic, offbeat dark comedy Suburbicon(2017) flamed out at the box office and critics argued over whether it was merely a smoldering fire hazard or a massive five-alarm dumpster fire, Hulu decided to greenlight Clooney for another nostalgic, offbeat dark comedy. It’s hard to imagine Hulu found comfort in the source material: Joseph Heller’s 1961 picaresque war novel, Catch-22, already the progenitor of one box office disappointment back in 1970. Heller’s book swings madly from absurdism to hyperrealism and plays notes of comedy and tragedy against each other with nimble dexterity, a difficult feat on paper and so far an inimitable challenge for those who have attempted to adapt Heller’s work, Clooney and company included.

Catch-22 would appear a fitting canvas for Clooney and showrunner David Michôd (War Machine) to let their irreverent impulses run wild, but, instead, the mini-series comes across hobbled and tame. The culprit behind all this unwanted strait-lacing is perhaps fellow showrunner Luke Davies, who counts Lion (2016) and Beautiful Boy (2018) among his writing credits. Like his other projects, this adaptation of Catch-22 leans heavily into the drama, but this time it comes at the expense of everything that makes Heller’s classic novel worthwhile. Davies’ even-keeled dramaturgy unruffles all the wrong…