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| TV Rampage! |
Let’s look at some recent Netflix originals, shall we?
Gypsy
What
could be better than a psychosexual romp with such a great cast? Watching paint
dry, actually. Naomi Watts, a fine actress, plays a therapist who is bored with
her perfect life and loving husband (Billy Crudup), and decides to look up
exciting people in her patient’s lives. I made it through three episodes of ten
before slamming the door on this one. Firstly, her life is actually perfect. She
is rich, beautiful, has a fulfilling job. Any material object she desires is at
her fingertips. Her seven-year old daughter is going to be gay or transgender
(telegraphed so obviously it devolves into camp—is being a boy REALLY the only
thing a seven-year old would think about?), but other than that her life is
trouble and stress free. Of course she’s bored, she has everything! The character
violates all kinds of ethics has no moral compass or conscience. There is very
little story here, this is someone’s vanity project with themselves as the
audience.
From
its laughable PG-rated sex scenes to the glacial pace, Gypsy is TV for rich housewives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It’s
boring with an unlikable, morally challenged main character. I’d rather watch a
slide show of my great uncle’s vacation to Bronson, Missouri.
Rating:
** stars out of 5
GLOW
GLOW
is a ½-hour comedy based on the great ‘70s organization, Gorgeous Ladies of
Wrestling. The point-of-view character is Ruth Wilde, played by Alison Brie (Mad Men). Ruth is a down on her luck
actress, tired of playing background characters with stunning lines such as, “Your
wife is on line 1.”
Reluctantly,
Ruth joins the fledgling wrestling group Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, intended
to be a syndicated wrestling show. These first ten episodes tell the story of
the formation of the league and making the pilot of the syndicated show.
This
first season is incredibly well written and humorous. The characters,
relationships and situations are a riot and constantly urged viewers to think “I
wonder if this really happened?” One of the most interesting aspects of the show
is how each lady finds her wrestling persona. From the offensive black woman
known as “Welfare Queen” (“I eat like royalty on food stamps ... paid for by
the American taxpayer!”) to the Party Girl and Wolf Girl, the organization
capitalizes on the zeitgeist of 1970s America. Ruth’s struggle to find her
wrestling alter ego is challenging, but when she finally discovers it, the
character is perfect for Ruth, the actress playing her and the show.
I
can’t wholly recommend the show because of Ruth’s character. She’s hideous. She
sleeps with her best friend’s husband in the pilot (which sets up a season-long
dramatic arc), and makes another choice midway through the season which
portrays her as a horrible person, one whom I don’t want to support or watch.
It’s not so much what she does, but how cavalierly she does it. There’s no
regret or recrimination, her career and selfishness easily comes before
anything else. This stops her from being a sympathetic or likable character.
While
I can’t recommend the series, it was funny and entertaining, except for Ruth’s
character.
Rating:
** out of 5 stars
Small
Crimes
I
enjoy crime movies, but there has to be more to the story than a sociopathic thug
beyond redemption. Unfortunately that’s all there is to this Netflix misfire. Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones)
plays Joe Denton, a cop sentenced to prison for attempted murder. He is
released on parole and returns to his community, ostensibly to redeem himself. He
doesn’t. He immediately gets involved with the bad people who put him there and
continues his criminal career. At first he avoids causing any harm, more out of
a sense of not wanting to go back to prison than any thoughts of humanity or
doing the right thing. But eventually his actions damage his new nurse girlfriend
(the great Molly Parker) and his supportive parents.
Denton
is a one-man wrecking crew, steamrolling through the city and its inhabitants
to get what he wants. He is evil and beyond redemption. The only thing that
humanizes him is his wish to reconnect with his two daughters, a desire the
courts and his parents intelligently deny him. At the end of 90 minutes, Small Crimes has added nothing to the
world; no lessons, no hope, no insights into the human condition (other than
scorpions sting people, big news), and no entertainment value. Avoid this one. Again,
reprehensible characters are fine—but they have to be three-dimensional. Joe
Denton is not, despite a fine performance by Coster-Waldau.
Rating:
** out of 5 stars
It’s
almost comforting to know Netflix isn’t perfect. With its excellent track
record of continuing cancelled series (Longmire)
and high-quality original content (Stranger
Things, Orange is the New Black)
they seemed bulletproof for a while. But the more original material they
create, the more mistakes they will make. Welcome to real life, Netflix!
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