Lodge 49

It's a free-wheeling good time with a good heart and some good laughs.

Where’s the hit man? The crime boss? The heist? That’s where most shows take their weirdness; we’ve been trained to expect a bigger hook. Lodge 49, on the other hand, remains utterly human in scope and ambition--funny and meandering.

An hour-long comedy, rich with dramatic complication and depth of feeling, it is not without crises and conflicts; but it is also not weighed down with murders or monsters.

The real draws are the atmosphere (enhanced by a shimmering soundtrack of surf-rock obscurities and faux-retro contemporary tracks), the deadpan humor and the chemistry among an ace cast. Falling into Lodge 49 is like hanging out at an oddball dive bar that you ignored the instinct to keep walking past.

A touching, and at times darkly comic, exploration of nothing less than the meaning of loss and the meaning of life.

Lodge 49 is a lovely little show, wonderfully written with a deep, capable cast (David Pasquesi is another standout) and a welcome sense of quirky optimism and dark humor. It uses Long Beach and the ocean itself as characters; it confronts age, philosophy, dreams (both failed and yet to be realized), capitalism, hope and whimsy in ways that few series tackle.

Despite the show's topical, poignant portrayals of economic anxiety, however, it remains an airy affair: The workaday drama at Liz's restaurant unfolds as dark comedy, and the lodge offers Ernie and his fellow Lynx a fanciful escape from reality.

Fun, congenial and lighthearted but also smart and--when least expected--a little bit profound.

The shaggy-doggedness of the story line is impressive given the paucity of plot. As if striving to keep calm enough to meditate, Lodge 49 achieves a freakishly leisurely pace. It’s slow to develop and quick to linger on sadness and frustration. There’s a warmth in all this dawdling, as if its ingratiating characters are extending fellowship.

Like its protagonist, the series keeps finding beauty and splendor in the mundane. And there’s tremendous warmth in the bond between Ernie and this kid, and among all the Lodge members. Again, it’s slow. It’s strange bordering on self-indulgent.

Full of weirdness and wonder, Lodge 49 is an odd place to visit, but if you're looking for a true original, you may just want to stay there. [6 - 19 Aug 2018, p.10]