“The Return” felt a bit like the audience was being punished for some forgotten crime. Without Jessa, Marnie and Zosia Mamet (sigh, Shoshanna) to keep us company, all we are left with is sad, awful Hannah. Much has been said about how Lena Dunham has deliberately made Hannah despicable, and if there was any doubt about this before last night, it is clear now that Hannah is indeed as terrible as Dunham can play her. If each decision the character […]
A Guy on “Girls”: Apatow’s Curve, Dominatrix Nerve, and Parents Throwing Swerve! (S1/E6, “The Return”)
As he gets older, Judd Apatow is becoming a knuckleballer. A pitcher who doesn’t have to throw dialogue at ninety-eight miles per hour, or maybe simply doesn’t want to get pigeonholed as that guy. This week he got comparable results by lobbing trickier stuff, surprising the viewer, and maximizing sentiment. It’s fun to watch him switch up his game.
A Guy on Girls: Observing Cousins Kissing, Cafe Grumpy, and Pizza Money for the Dissing! (S1/E5, “Hard Being Easy”)
We open moments after last week’s conclusion, still in the throws of post-diary discovery. Charlie (Christopher Abbott) throws a table after reminding us that he built it. This is a hallmark of what is to come: exposition that shows his character to be both brimming with Feng Shui and sporadically mental. The reaction of Hannah (Lena Dunham) to Marnie and Charlie’s spat – asking with shallow oblivion whether they would enjoy the journal entry as literature if it wasn’t about […]
A Girl on “Girls”: Modular Storage, Jerkin’, Cool Dad, and Oberlin Parties (S1/E5, “Hard Being Easy”)
In “Hard Being Easy,” we learn that the soft-hearted Charlie is a master of modular storage. I am pretty sure his apartment won Apartment Therapy’s Small Cool 2012 contest, regardless of the fact that his GIRLFRIEND SINCE 2007 (see: five years) HAS NEVER BEEN THERE. I didn’t buy that little detail, considering that not even the most cruel and uninterested girlfriend would eventually have visited her man’s apartment. Marnie never had to be near his place at night? Marnie never […]
A Girl on “Girls”: Bongo Rock, Cool Dads, Camp Ramah Reunions (S1/E4, “Hannah’s Diary”)
As much as it hurts to tear myself away from Questionable Goods’ recently released Greatest Hits album, I know that it is my duty to report on the new episode of Girls. We begin “Hannah’s Diary” with a dick pic from Adam. With the series being so polarizing among viewers, the dick pic is something of a panacea for the audience. Who among us hasn’t been suddenly violated by the arrival of an unsolicited dirty photo? Hannah, Marnie and […]
A Guy on “Girls”: Ghost Dad, Drum Pad, and the Scantily Clad! (S1/E4, “Hannah’s Diary”)
Can you even recall a time before this show existed? That being a month ago? For a place that’s supposed to be an information superhighway, life on the internet can feel long, our collective patience only waning. To write TV recaps is to volunteer to live the end of a thirteen-week Carnival cruise. And despite merely modest ratings, from the amount it’s discussed, you’d think this show had been on for years. Never again will I doubt our national […]
A Guy on “Girls”: Slapping Your Dog, Scaring Horses, and Spanking the Monkey (S1/E3, “All Adventurous Women Do”)
While show writer Leslie Arfin’s now infamous comment about Precious was ignorant and smugly dismissive, it does seem that Girls is in a unique position of defense that they wouldn’t be put in if their audience weren’t smarter than the average viewership. The show is in the clinch of appealing to sophisticated, educated urbanites who will (often rightly) tear it a new asshole.
A Girl On “Girls”: School Snacks and Robyn (S1/E3, “All Adventurous Women Do”)
This week’s episode of Girls, “All Adventurous Women Do,” was exponentially better than the last two. There were jokes! I had forgotten that Girls is a comedy, having been distracted by 1,000 articles about how Dunham is doing it wrong. But a strong beginning (Charlie references The Craft!) gave way to a solid half an hour about a young woman trying—and mostly failing—to make it in the big city.