A trip up the Metro-North has long been an act of refuge for New Yorkers. But in “Video Games”, an all Jessa-Hannah production in which we meet Jessa’s louse of a father and not much else happens – was Lena Dunham riding the rails to get away from her own looming storylines?
A Girl on Girls: You’re Just Babies Holding Hands (S2/E6 “Boys”)
It’s difficult to return to Girls knowing that last week was probably a high point. I’m aware at the start of “Boys” that I will have to deal with the entire cast to make up for the spare group of actors that were in “One Man’s Trash.” But at least we begin this week with John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Itch, Shortbus) offering Hannah an e-book deal. Mitchell is the publisher of Hannah’s very favorite Pumped Mag, […]
A Guy on Girls: Bros Did Bond, Publishers Fawned, and the Borough Beyond! (S2/E6, “Boys”)
John Cameron Mitchell could perform Noh theater to Ke$ha on a loop and still be delightful to watch. He was great here doing his vamping about the East River having frozen over, and feeling so out of the loop that he didn’t even know what pistachios were. Even his “high/low” book division in which Toni Morrison writes about Target and Tom Wolfe muses on his colostomy bag felt strangely conceivable. But what in the world was that scene?
A Girl on Girls: I Thought I Was a Gummy Worm (S2/E5 “One Man’s Trash”)
This week’s installment of Girls is probably the most categorical bottle episode in the series thus far. We get a few minutes with Ray in the beginning, but really this half an hour is about Hannah and her experience with Dr. Joshua (guest star Patrick Wilson) in his beautifully restored Brooklyn brownstone. On one hand, the pared down cast (Dunham, Wilson, Karpovsky) lets us really focus on Dunham’s acting chops, and on the other hand, it puts a lot of […]
A Guy on Girls: Affluence Epitome, Hannah’s Domme Proclivity, and Hyperactive Epiphany! (S2/E5 “One Man’s Trash”)
You knew Lena Dunham was doubling down on that which earns Girls dissenting reviews from the opening shot of last night’s show, upon seeing her latest beige Onesie rocked higher and tighter than a NASA crew cut. “One Man’s Trash” has already elicited strong reactions of love and lava spewing unlove. Todd VanDerWerff at the A.V. Club gave the ep an “A” rating, while an abject pan from Dave Haglund and Daniel Engber of Slate asked, “Was that the worst […]
Guy on Girls: Shilling Gourmet Condiments, Gross Parental Opulence, and Breaking Up Incompetence! (S2/E4, “It’s a Shame About Ray”)
The internet recapping game, being a new and feral animal, is ever-evolving. Last night, the ever-loving Super Bowl rolled into town. You’d be a true blue nerd to have watched this week’s episode of Girls live in favor of at least feigning an interest in America’s national holiday. There’s probably a way in which HBO would have made more money premiering Nooni Rapace in the titular role of Seen You Around: The Jesse Camp Story, or whatever the network’s latest […]
A Girl on Girls: Maybe I Don’t Care About Being Polite (S2/E3 “Bad Friend”)
Like I said last week, Girls excels when it has the courage to pare down the cast and really engage with specific cast members. This week we have even fewer players, including plenty of time with my imaginary boyfriend Andrew Rannells in his role as Elijah. “Bad Friend” uses a mostly split narrative—we are with Hannah, and then we are with Marnie. Yes, we briefly see Jessa and Shosh manning what looks like a killer stoop sale, but that’s all […]
A Guy on Girls: Cocaine Technique, Oblique Critique, and the Return of Duncan Sheik! (S2/E3, “Bad Friend”)
This week marked a departure from last week’s climax, in which Adam behaved like a sociopathic toddler before being hauled off in cuffs for an unpaid urination citation. The insanity of that moment was not in him as some potential murderer. The true fear and horror in that moment is watching someone be told that they are no longer desired. How do you cleanse the palate and issue hearty doses of mirth? Four blessed words: guest star Jon Glaser.