The third season of Girls started January 12th signaling the end of a long and barren December with very little new TV programming. The first two episodes were shown back to back on HBO and I was pleased to note that series creator and conventional wisdom proclaimed “voice of her generation”, Lena Dunham had decided to put the com back in sitcom. If her current career as actress, director,The third season of Girls started January 12th signaling the end of a long and barren December with very little new TV programming. The first two episodes were shown back to back on HBO and I was pleased to note that series creator and conventional wisdom proclaimed “voice of her generation”, Lena Dunham had decided to put the com back in sitcom. If her current career as actress, director, writer and pop icon ever goes south her plan B could be overpaid sitcom writer. She could improve most of the crap on the networks while standing on her head in her pajamas in her bedroom.
Girls tries, and succeeds at, filling the void between the teenage idiocy of “90210” and the pretentious old ladies club that was “Sex and the City”. Girls, while hardly aimed at the Old Man demographic is still relatable to most US viewers. It’s about 75% sex and getting laid and 25% about friends, acquaintances and miscellaneous people who drift in and out of one’s life. The added feature Girls brings to the table is that the millennials have pretty much figured out that “jobs” are for suckers so we have four educated women in so called menial jobs trying to figure out life while the clock relentlessly runs out on theirs. Marnie, the former art gallery assistant now waitressing, Jessa, the former nanny now just out of rehab, Shosh, the professional virgin and student, and Dunham as Hannah, the office drone, barista and struggling writer. Adam Driver plays the male lead, Adam, and I have no idea what he does to support himself but he gets a whole lot of sex without having to “putt a ring on it”. They’re all relatively poor so that “jobs are for suckers” thing doesn’t seem to be working out.
The show is controversial and most critics either love it or hate it. Personally I’m in the love zone. Many criticize the lack of ethnic and racial diversity and others think a show about entitled urban white kids is irrelevant. My favorite controversy is “Why is Dunham naked all the time?” She has an average female American body and when she’s dressed up like for work or a night out most guys would consider her hot but she’s not what we’re used to. Think rail thin super models with giant cans or Carla Gugino. The photography seems to use a lot of uncomplimentary angles for what reason I do not know. It takes a little getting used to but after a while it’s just part of the show. Ironically Dunham was also criticized for being airbrushed to beauty on a recent cover of Vogue so I guess sometimes you really can’t win. In my mind Lena Dunham is the person on the cover of Vogue. Recently at some kind of show roundtable for reporters Dunham was asked why she’s naked on the show all the time and the co - creators got all defensive and bat **** crazy. That seemed like a valid question to me and one which I think every guy who watches would like to know. I think she talked about it on the Howard Stern Show if anyone wants to try to find it on You Tube.
One criticism I have is of the Adam character who is Hannah’s on off abusive boyfriend with a sensitive side when he’s not being rude or abusive. I think he’s a composite of several guys in Dunham’s past life so he’s kind of not believable. I guess he communicates what Dunham wants to say, he’s OK just not spot on. The other males in the show are plastic stereotypes but that’s ok since the show is not about them.
I’m old school so I wouldn’t call Girls a sitcom at least not in the tradition of The Honeymooners, Cheers, or Seinfeld. There is some Louie though but the difference is Louie C. K. is a professional comedian and Dunham is a professional writer. I think much of Girls is sad which is disturbing but that is not a criticism and Lena Dunham put Girls on the map as one of the better shows of the cable era and I think it will stand the test of time.
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