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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Lucy Mangan

Alice and Steve review – Jemaine Clement and Nicola Walker’s icky comedy is dated and wrong

Alice and Steve sit on a wall by a river, talking and smiling
‘The project is doomed’ … Jemaine Clement as Steve and Nicola Walker as Alice in Alice and Steve. Photograph: Lara Cornell/Disney+

I’ll be honest with you – committed pessimist that I am, pseudo-incest was still not a square on my 2026 bingo card. But then along comes Alice and Steve to prove me wrong! It’s nice to find that life still has ways to surprise you.

The titular characters are best friends and have been since they met at university, 30-plus years ago. Alice (Nicola Walker) is on her second marriage, to a sweet, contented beta-male (Daniel, played by Joel Fry) to her alpha-woman; he is 10 years younger than she is. They have a teenage son, and have raised her daughter Izzy (Yali Topol Margalith) from childhood. Izzy is now 26 and just back home after breaking up with her boyfriend.

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