One of Australia’s most treasured film critics Margaret Pomeranz has slammed MAFS in a blistering review, calling it a “groundbreaking social experiment in which mentally fragile halfwits marry toxic fame tarts”.

Margaret, who alongside David Stratton made up one-half of ABC’s popular At the Movies program, shared her thoughts on Married At First Sight on The Weekly With Charlie Pickering.

“Romantic hapless singles marry a stranger, picked by experts from a dazzling array of psychopaths and D-minus duds with apparent stench disorders,” the 77-year-old said about the premise of the show.

She went on to criticise the participants in her scathing review.

“The participants don’t disappoint, representing a smorgasbord of only the highest quality horse meat garnished with the finest of red flags,” she added.

“Couples then live as newlyweds learning all the profound and intricate ways in which they are wildly incompatible.”

Next, Margaret came for the show’s experts, John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla.

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“A panel of experts observes, offering sage wisdom on how the couples can wholesomely develop and enhance their new relationships,” she said before a segment of Alessandra talking about anal sex played out.

“But as the sham marriages between mentally defective lemons inevitably crumble, it’s the experts who shine, feigning emotions in performances worthy of an Olivier,” she said, referring to The Laurence Olivier Awards, which are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre and are equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television.

“One might argue that watching ill-suited strangers in an environment designed for their psychological destruction may seem repulsive,” she said.

“But there’s a compelling brutality here, and as the nation’s highest rating program, one can’t help but salute the show’s producers, stars and fans as they gallantly approach the flaming corpse of broadcast TV and elegantly urinate on its ashes. May God have mercy on us all.”

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