The Descendants

The Descendants has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available in Australia on Disney Plus, and in the UK on Disney Plus. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. 3,092 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. George Clooney sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Disney Plus.

The Descendants arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Sharp writing and a well-matched ensemble are what separate The Descendants from the crowd. With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune. The chemistry George Clooney and Shailene Woodley bring to it does a lot of the heavy lifting. It hit screens in 2011. The timing in The Descendants is precise enough that even the throwaway lines land on a second watch. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Comedy fans looking for a reliably funny watch will find it in The Descendants. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. George Clooney anchors an ensemble with real chemistry. Genuinely funny, consistently, across the whole run.