‘Nine Perfect Strangers’: Melissa McCarthy’s Husband Ben Falcone Plays the Real Villain in Frances’ Story
The Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers revolves around a wellness resort called Tranquillum House. The resort’s owner, Masha, gathers nine diverse guests for a 10-day wellness retreat. Masha promises to make her guests feel better by the end of their journey, but everything is not what it seems. Masha takes wellness too far, resorting to methods like microdosing her guests with psilocybin without their consent. Her methods are not ethical, but fans still aren’t sure if Masha is a villain or a very unorthodox person who really does want to help.
One thing is for sure, the guests at Tranquillum have all dealt with personal demons. Melissa McCarthy stars as Frances Welty, a romance writer who fell for an internet scam before arriving at Tranquillum. McCarthy’s real-life husband, Ben Falcone, plays the man who scammed her on the series. Falcone’s character Paul Drabble is one of the cruelest characters on the show.
Frances falls for an internet scam in ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’
In Nine Perfect Strangers, Frances is a famous romance writer going through a bit of a crisis. Before arriving at Tranquillum, she finds out that her publisher rejected her most recent novel. A scathing review was also written about Frances’ books. On top of all that, she fell for a crushing internet scam.
Frances began dating a man named Paul online. She quickly fell for Paul and began to see a future with him. Paul even warmed Frances up to the idea of the pair raising his 12-years-old son Ari together. Then, Paul told Frances that Ari had been in a car accident. He asked her to send him money to help out with Ari’s medical bills. Of course, Frances complied, and the moment Paul received the money, he disappeared.
Ben Falcone plays Paul Drabble
Falcone guest-stars as Paul in several episodes of Nine Perfect Strangers. Interestingly, Falcone is McCarthy’s real-life husband. This isn’t the first time that Falcone and McCarthy have worked together onscreen. Falcone directed and played a small role in the film Thunder Force, which McCarthy starred in. Falcone also directed another film starring McCarthy called Superintelligence.
Paul is Frances’ antagonist in ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’
Nine Perfect Strangers has kept fans guessing whether Masha is a benevolent or evil character. However, no one has to guess when it comes to Paul. He is a personal antagonist for Frances. The episode “Brave New World” shows just how broken up Frances is over Paul scamming her. She is incredibly distraught that he made her think she would be a mother just to take that hope away.
The book reveals that Frances is not even the first person who Paul scammed. He similarly tricked multiple other women just like Frances. His scams were even more devastating to some of these women who were not as financially well off as Frances. Paul is the real villain in Frances’s life, and hopefully, Tranquillum will help her find peace.
RELATED: Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone Got into a Fight Over Grapes
Related post url:
