Article first published as SELFIE Review on Seat42F.
ABC’s
SELFIE is equal parts straight-up remake of My Fair Lady and a
commentary on the current social media landscape. It is the story of a
mess of a girl, obsessed with her online followers and ‘friends,’ and an
uptight guy who wants to show her how to be what he deems ‘a real
person.’ The two clash in predictable ways, and one assumes that
eventually both will learn much from the other, whether they become
romantically entangled or not (my money is on the former).
Karen
Gillian (Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy, NTSF:SD:SUV) plays Eliza
Dooley, the lead female at the center of SELFIE. Although from the UK,
the actress takes an affected valley girl-esque accent that is super
annoying at the start, though surely not the character’s real voice.
Gillian is terrific with line delivery and sincerity, eliciting glimmers
of sympathy for a person that should not be at all likeable, especially
when you feel her pain and see the origin of her persona. While Eliza
is awful in most of the pilot, she will grow into someone viewers can
get behind, and has already started to do so.
John
Cho (Sleepy Hollow, Harold & Kumar, American Pie) matches Gillian
beat for beat as stuffy Henry, who takes on the task of remaking Eliza.
He is successful and smart, but too judgmental to be truly likeable,
either, even if he’s quite a bit more ‘normal’ than Eliza. He’s almost a
bully to her at times, and one can tell that his obsession with fixing
her is much more about the satisfying challenge it presents to him than
helping the girl herself. In this way, Henry and Eliza are near-equals
in the growth they need to undergo, and more similar than is immediately
obvious.
The lead actors are
terrific. The pilot is plagued by an uneven script, but they sell their
parts, making sure the characters seem complex even if the language
coming out of their mouths isn’t clever. They have immediate chemistry
that seems fresh, and they are primarily the reason I plan to set a
season pass for SELFIE, as surely it will improve over time.
Not
that the pilot is bad. The opening is gross and a huge turn off, but as
the story unfolds, it gets better and better. As a fan of the Audrey
Hepburn / Rex Harrison film that is quite similar, I think the writers
do a decent job of not only retelling the tale, but updating it for the
modern age. It’s an interesting spin on an old classic.
The
social commentary presented in the series is a reason to watch.
Everyone knows at least one person that will remind them of Eliza, even
if Eliza is exaggerated to nearly cartoonish proportions. We have become
a people obsessed with being online, and Eliza could be the fate of
many a girl in the next generation, those who grow up with devices in
their hands at all times. Henry isn’t the best spokesman for the
opposition, but his lambasting of Eliza’s habits speak to those who wish
to keep human contact alive, and hopefully, while the internet is
certainly not a trend, our ignorance of everyday life in favor of it
will be. Having Eliza and Henry work at a pharmaceutical company is also
ripe with as-yet-unexplored satirical possibilities.
SELFIE
is buoyed by an excellent supporting cast which includes Da’Vine Joy
Randolph (The Angriest Man in Brooklyn) as cheerful receptionist
Charmonique, David Harewood (Homeland) as eccentric boss Sam, and Allyn
Rachel (Weeds) as Eliza’s nerdy neighbor, Bryn. Each helps with the
humor of the piece, and has moments to shine in the first episode, being
well used.
This show is also
genuinely funny. From instrumental jokes to sassy one-liners to a
rhyming rap, it exudes a charm that will amuse many. I laughed out loud a
few times, even on my second viewing, and may very well tune in again
on premiere night.
Overall, SELFIE
isn’t the best new sitcom of the season, but its cast and premise gives
it a lot of potential that is barely scratched in the first installment.
I have confidence that it will hew to its strengths, minimizing the
elements that grate, as it goes on. For that reason, I recommend tuning
in when SELFIE premieres Tuesday, September 30th at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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