Post-Valentine's LOVE

Article first published as LOVE Review on Seat42F.

Valentine’s Day may be over, but LOVE is just getting started, with a ten-episode freshman season premiering on Netflix this month (and a second one already ordered). LOVE is in the modern genre of quirky relationship dramedy, with two main characters who are a little more neurotic and flawed than the average person, but still manage to feel somewhat authentic in their negativities. Given the heft of those involved in the production and the familiar faces that pop up, at least familiar to those into this niche product, one knows LOVE is going to be good before one even starts it.

Created by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year-Old Virgin), Lesley Arfin (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and Paul Rust (Comedy Bang! Bang!), the show stars Rust and Gillian Jacobs (Community) as Gus and Mickey, respectively. Gus is a huge nerd who ‘fakes’ nice (meaning is nice even when he shouldn’t or doesn’t feel like being) with women because that’s how he thinks he’s supposed to be, which leads to his breakup at the start. Mickey does a few too many drugs and is a little too irresponsible, though she manages to hold a job and live in a house, so isn’t too screwed up, especially once she cuts loose her dead-end boyfriend. Can they find love with one another?

The premise is slightly off. If Mickey were as flighty as she comes across, there is no way she’d be as stable as she is. And if Gus were as timid as he appears to be, he wouldn’t be living as well as he is. But I suppose one should overlook the overabundance of income and free time the characters have because it’s a conceit most TV shows and movies use in order to get to the story they want to tell without those distractions.

Focus instead on the two characters themselves. While uncomfortably awkward, they are brilliantly played with complexity and layers. There is a humanity to both that makes the audience root for them, even when they aren’t worthy of our affection. They don’t always do exactly what we expect them to do, but they do act in ways authentic to the established personalities. They are always entertaining to watch, and often witty and charming. This is the makings of a show easy to get into.

Will Gus and Mickey get into each other? The pilot of LOVE finds them in completely different places, and they could not be more incompatible. It’s logical to see the attraction they have for one another when they eventually meet (which takes awhile, the show satisfyingly setting them up as individuals before putting them together). But just because someone is attracted to another person doesn’t mean that they should be together.

Their relationship most reminds me of the lead couple in FX’s You’re the Worst. Those characters make it work, though, because they have enough commonalities to go together. Gus and Mickey don’t have much of anything to start from. Sure, they might hang out and get along OK, but they have totally different frames of reference, and while their opposing views can help the other to grow, I don’t see them ever finding enough middle ground to build a stable union on.

That’s OK, though. In movies and television, love doesn’t have to be perfect, and we don’t need to see what the couple looks like after ten years of marriage. It’s enough to follow them on their current personal journeys and witness how they impact one another in them. Should the writers choose to put them together, that would probably feel good, too, though it certainly isn’t necessary. The title of the show may be LOVE, but that’s not the most important thing going on.

LOVE’s first season is available now exclusively on Netflix.

Girls just wanna have fun

HBO's newest series is Girls. Produced by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), and created by series star Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), Girls follows the exploits of twenty-something females in New York. But Sex and the City this is not. These girls are cash poor, less focused on men, and much more realistic. In fact, when one of the characters relates herself and her cousin to Sex and the City characters, it comes across as cheesy and dumb. This is the gritty, more authentic version of Sex and the City, or at least an example of where those girls might have been before they found successful careers.

Hannah (Dunham) begins the "Pilot" by learning that her parents will be cutting her off financially. This is terrible news, because Hannah works an unpaid internship and is writing a memoir (yes, at her age!) that might just be the "voice of a generation," or so she says while high on opium. Thus, left with no source of income, Hannah has to quit her internship and seek actual employment. She is offended and angry, begging for just two more years of support. Her parents decline.

Hannah is the voice of a generation, in that many young people today count on their parents to pay for everything. Those who come from well-to-do families might get that, and have the resources to begin life as an author or working on another creative project. Most of us, though, have to work hard, sometimes multiple jobs, to take care of ourselves, and shove our ambitions into projects accomplished during scant free-time. Hannah isn't exactly likeable in this regard, but she is a familiar character, as every young person knows plenty like her, who expect, rather than are grateful, to be taken care of.

Luckily, that isn't all there is to Hannah. She's feisty, and she's a free spirit. She is determined, and viewers are definitely left with the impression she will overcome these stumbling blocks. She is funny and honest. She has casual-ish sex with a struggling actor named Adam (Adam Driver, You Don't Know Jack). All of these combine to make her a good character, despite the whiny qualities that come out when dealing with her parents. And really, who doesn't revert to childish behaviors a bit when dealing with the adults who raised you?

Hannah is surrounded by other interesting, seemingly layered, people. Hannah's gorgeous roommate, Marnie (Allison Williams, Will & Kate: Before Happily Ever After), is in a relationship with Charles (Christopher Abbott). She feels smothered by him, but won't break it off. Again, everyone knows a girl like that. Marnie's British friend, Jessa (Jemima Kirke, Tiny Furniture), just blows into town in the "Pilot," and is someone who lives in the clouds. Surely, though, she has some grasp on reality, and just pretends not to, or she wouldn't have survived thus far. Perhaps it's a coping mechanism? Lastly, Jessa crashes with younger cousin Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet, Mad Men, United States of Tara), who naively believes her life can be explained by Sex and the City. It's annoying, but she'll mature soon enough.

The "Pilot" leaves one feeling like Girls is more than the sum of its parts. What this review contains is a sketch of what the show is about, but it's impossible to convey in words the quirky charm that comes across on screen. The success of Girls is all about tone, subtlety, nuance, and irony. It has that certain something not easily pinpointed. It will surely resonate with the generation it portrays.

Watch Girls Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO.

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Getting intimate with Aziz Ansari

     Comedian Aziz Ansari has come a long way in a short amount of time.  Most people had never heard of him when he created, wrote, produced, and starred in the MTV series Human Giant in 2007.  Shortly thereafter, he briefly joined the cast of Scrubs last year as the intern Ed, part of a new class that mostly did not take hold, although he left by choice.  Now he stars in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation as Tom Haverford and has several movies under his belt, including I Love You, Man and Funny People.  He also has a three film deal with Judd Apatow and Universal Pictures.

     This past week, Aziz premiered a new Comedy Central special entitled Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, and it is clear to anyone who tuned in how he has achieved what he has.  Whether he was griping about misleading threat count labels on sheets, or punking his little cousin, Harrison, on facebook, Aziz led the jokes through surprisingly, original, and hilarious twists and turns.  He was especially funny as he relayed a story of giving blowjobs for concert tickets and an annoying roommate.  In fact, there were practically no flops in the entire hour and fifteen minute special.  His tales of hanging out with Kanye and R. Kelly were equally entertaining, and while he didn't do much in the way of impressions, he definitely painted the picture effectively.  Not only was the audience on television in stitches, but my wife and I were as well, watching from our couch at home.  If you aren't aware who Aziz is, this is a great way to get to sample his humor.

     The only low point to the special was the last two segments, featuring Aziz as his character Raaaaaaaandy from the movie Funny People.  Apparently he created the obnoxious sex-aholic specifically for the film, and it gained much popularity with internet shorts promoting it.  In fact, a Raaaaaaaandy movie is currently in development.  Basically, Raaaaaaaandy's jokes are similar to Aziz's, but the character is way too overconfident, and kind of a jerk.  I found this segment not nearly as funny, and wished that the special had ended when Aziz said goodnight just before the commercial break.

     The DVD and CD of the special come out today, and are on sale now.  The special is next airing on Comedy Central this Friday evening at 8pm.