HBO's Girls

[Acsenray]

Anyone watching this? It got a lot of hype and I have to say I'm not too impressed with Lena Dunham's character, her acting, or her story line.

But the three other girls are cracking me the hell up. I love those characters and their performances, especially Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna, the wide-eyed innocent. I can't believe she's David Mamet's daughter. She's fantastic.

Allison Williams as Mamie the uptight one is my second favorite, but I also like Jemima Kirke as Jessa, the British free spirit.

[shy guy]

I've seen the first two episodes. I'm pretty sure I'm in the target audience for this show, and I think it sucks. Incredibly boring and populated with unlikeable, and, unforgivably, unfunny characters.

[Snarky_Kong]

They hype for this show baffles me. I've seen the 3 episodes waiting for something to click, but mostly it's me and my friends calling all the characters assholes.

[ZipperJJ]

I'm in the target audience, or maybe a little older (33 YO single woman) and...I dunno, I really WANT to like it. Mostly because the lead character is "fat" yeah I'm shallow. And some of the stuff they talk about or do has happened to me.

But it hasn't "clicked" with me yet.

[Peanut Gallery]

It sucks, but to be fair I am not the target audience, I just give anything HBO a try on principle. I watched half the first episode, and was turned off enough to go looking for bad reviews, which I knew would be the most entertaining thing produced by the show. It was begging to be ripped on. To my pleasant surprise, I found a perfectly suitable review by none other than Kenny Fuckin Powers. sorta...

link

Gawker is making a point of shredding it episode by episode. It was worth watching just enough of Girls to appreciate another level of humor in Eastbound and Down (of which I am proud to be the target audience).

[msmith537]

I stumbled across one episode. To be honest, I'm pretty much sick of the whole "angsty young adults struggling in New York with their quarter life crisis" thing in film and tv.

[Athena]

I'm gonna be different here - I love the show. I think it feels real, and it reminds me a LOT of me and my friends in our early/mid 20s. I like that it shows how weird and dysfunctional relationships often are during that age period. I also like that the people look like real people.

[Acsenray]

Real people? Well the main character's gross boyfriend is ... Gross. So I guess that's real.

I just found out that all four of the principal actors have famous parents. And one of those famous parents is NBC's Brian Williams.

[Tarwater]

I'm close enough to the demographic that it should appeal to me. The only difference being that I'm a guy, but yeah.

I think it's total garbage. There's almost nothing redeeming about any of it. The third episode is the only thing that rises to a level I would consider calling okay.

The critical praise I've seen for the show has more or less amounted to, "It's so REAL and GENUINE and it's LITERALLY JUST LIKE MY LIFE!" which I guess has become the hallmark for good fiction. I feel like the critics who have been lavishing it with praise -- and that's seriously no exaggeration, they've practically fallen to their knees in worship of the show -- are going to look back in ten years and feel an almost obliterating embarrassment at the whole thing.

And it's not that I think the whole "privileged twentysomething children discover that life is hard" isn't worth exploring, but it should be done in a way that reveals something human and essential at the core of the characters. Which is to say that it should be more of an exploration and less of a video diary.

[LVBoPeep]

I agree most of the characters are assholes, especially the main character. I find it pretty funny though, and I'm about 15 years past the age where I should identify with them. I do like the Shoshanna character and although she is unlikeable, Hannah's relationship with her boyfriend brings back reflections on stupid (not quite as stupid) mistakes I made myself when I was that age.

[planetcory]

It's getting a lot of heat for its lack of diversity. Which, ironically, is why I love it. (I'm black.) I find her isolated, privileged world hilariously fascinating.

I think the writing's pretty smart or maybe just up my alley. The humor's nicely understated. I dunno, I really like it. It seem like one of those 'love it' or 'hate it' shows with little middle ground, though.

[Acsenray]

I just realized that Zosia Mamet is Joyce on Mad Men. Wow. Those characters feel like they're about 10 years apart in age.

[silenus]

It's got titties, so I'll watch it with the sound off.

[bouv]

I saw the first two episodes, and didn't care for it. It felt like the characters are satires of themselves.

The main character is a giant piece of shit. OMG, she has to get a job?! But the economy is tough, especially for such a creative person like her who has to work in a creative field! The fact that she is completely dismissive of getting any kind of entry-level retail/McD's job because it's "beneath her" is so frustrating...look, bitch, I worked for three years at a shit job in a shit economy before I was able to finally get hired for something in my field, so can you! Get the fuck over yourself! Oh, and she thinks she's "fat"...right...she's not even TV fat, and has a cute face. The worst things you can say about her is that she's "frumpy," and that's more an attitude thing than a physical one.

The British girl is laughable in how cliched she is. Oh, she's such a "unique, special snowflake free spirit! You can't hold her down, man, and don't you try!" I mean...am I supposed to like a character that has her parents pay for her to live no more than a couple months in all sorts of crazy locations? Oh, but men, she was, like, in the Bush in Australia, and the ghetto of Prague, man, so she, like, totally understands the REAL underclass...man, and, like, you're all too hung up on your consumerism...man. And there was a little bit about how she's too cool to text people (and has her own *~special word~* for it,) and is even so cool she blows off her own abortion to drink in a dive bar and fuck some random guy who walked in...because that random guy is too cool to even have a cell phone at all!

And the virgin...holy Hell, she is one big pot of annoying. She's like a bad woman's magazine made into a person...spouting BS about "dream boards," and comparing all the women to Sex and the City characters, spouting crap from a dating advice book that she literally carries around with here everywhere she goes. And surprise, surprise, beneath that veneer she admits she's a virgin because all of the media she's seen has built it up so much she's afraid she'd suck at it, or something...never mind the fact that there is no way in Hell a girl in her 20's could keep the fact that's a virgin secret from her best friends. I think they'd catch on.

The last girl is actually the only one that seems normal, and not a raging psycho.

[planetcory]

Originally Posted by bouv

I saw the first two episodes, and didn't care for it. It felt like the characters are satires of themselves.

The main character is a giant piece of shit. OMG, she has to get a job?! But the economy is tough, especially for such a creative person like her who has to work in a creative field! The fact that she is completely dismissive of getting any kind of entry-level retail/McD's job because it's "beneath her" is so frustrating...look, bitch, I worked for three years at a shit job in a shit economy before I was able to finally get hired for something in my field, so can you! Get the fuck over yourself! Oh, and she thinks she's "fat"...right...she's not even TV fat, and has a cute face. The worst things you can say about her is that she's "frumpy," and that's more an attitude thing than a physical one.

The British girl is laughable in how cliched she is. Oh, she's such a "unique, special snowflake free spirit! You can't hold her down, man, and don't you try!" I mean...am I supposed to like a character that has her parents pay for her to live no more than a couple months in all sorts of crazy locations? Oh, but men, she was, like, in the Bush in Australia, and the ghetto of Prague, man, so she, like, totally understands the REAL underclass...man, and, like, you're all too hung up on your consumerism...man. And there was a little bit about how she's too cool to text people (and has her own *~special word~* for it,) and is even so cool she blows off her own abortion to drink in a dive bar and fuck some random guy who walked in...because that random guy is too cool to even have a cell phone at all!

And the virgin...holy Hell, she is one big pot of annoying. She's like a bad woman's magazine made into a person...spouting BS about "dream boards," and comparing all the women to Sex and the City characters, spouting crap from a dating advice book that she literally carries around with here everywhere she goes. And surprise, surprise, beneath that veneer she admits she's a virgin because all of the media she's seen has built it up so much she's afraid she'd suck at it, or something...never mind the fact that there is no way in Hell a girl in her 20's could keep the fact that's a virgin secret from her best friends. I think they'd catch on.

The last girl is actually the only one that seems normal, and not a raging psycho.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I don't think this is the kind of show where you're supposed to 'like' the characters.

(Not comparing it in terms of quality or tone but) I look at it as more like Seinfeld. I think Schadenfreude is a very big part of the point.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by planetcory

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I don't think this is the kind of show where you're supposed to 'like' the characters.

I agree with this - the characters on the whole aren't likable. But I'm OK with that; that's part of the reason why the show seems real to me. I can look back at me and my friends at that age and it's amazing how horribly unlikable we were at times. It's a confusing time of life, you're not a kid anymore, but you don't really have a lot of adult skills either, and the result is you do stupid, unlikable things a lot.

[Tom Tildrum]

It's like Friends, except where you hate all the characters.

I guess I just mean it's like Friends.

[bouv]

Originally Posted by planetcory

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I don't think this is the kind of show where you're supposed to 'like' the characters.

(Not comparing it in terms of quality or tone but) I look at it as more like Seinfeld. I think Schadenfreude is a very big part of the point.

I enjoy shows where the characters are unlikeable (I think Always Sunny in Philadelphia takes the cake for this category,) but that's not just it. I guess it's ok if the characters are douches if they show is also funny...I chuckled a few times during "Girls," but no big laughs...I mean, it is supposed to be a comedy, right? I guess it might just be a 30-minute drama, but if so, it's rather light on the drama, too...when the two worse things that happen is the main character has to get a job, and another character almost gets an abortion, but then they do a cop out and she doesn't even need one anyway, there's not much conflict.

[Quimby]

I thought the first episode was just okay but episodes 2 and 3 were much better. I like it. I don't know of anyone who is saying it is"Just like my life!" what I have heard is it has a distinctive voice and an interesting point of view and I agree with both of those things.

I am not sure I like it as much as some of the critics also I would agree the show isn't for everyone and there are legitimate reasons not to like it but I think some of backlash is mean spirited and general internet hostility.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Saw the third episode and it was strike three. I tried, but it's too arch and self-satisfied to make it worth the obnoxious upper-class Gen Y carnival of angst.

[Acsenray]

HPV actually earned crying? And a big "adventurous woman" dancing to a significant soundtrack at the end?

[Vinyl Turnip]

Yeah, that's when I knew it was over. "Now ist der time on GIRLS ven ve DANCE!"

[Bob Ducca]

I like this show quite a lot.

[DigitalC]

I gave it three episodes for being an HBO show, which has never disappointed me. Flawless record ruined.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

I've watched one episode and found it reasonably watchable, though I'm well out of the target demographic. It may be cliche but the contrast between Dunham's character's struggle and the opulent lifestyle of her parents is something I'm sure many twenty-somethings can relate to. True, the character seems to be a would-be writer without talent or prospects, and most likely didn't graduate with an employable degree--but then many recent grads with "employable" degrees are struggling as well.

[Bob Ducca]

How can you not love the interview scene with Mike Birbiglia in episode 2? It's all fun and games until you call your interviewer a date rapist.

[Acsenray]

Yes, Birbiglia was great. I kept waiting for one of his lines...

"I knoowwwww. ... What you should have said ... "

[Quimby]

Originally Posted by Vinyl Turnip

Yeah, that's when I knew it was over. "Now ist der time on GIRLS ven ve DANCE!"

It's funny because I loved that ending. Nothing really changed but she decided she wasn't going to let it bother her. All those problems are still there but right now she was going to dance and let go. The joy was infectious; I actually smiled.

Different strokes I guess.

[shy guy]

Originally Posted by bouv

I enjoy shows where the characters are unlikeable (I think Always Sunny in Philadelphia takes the cake for this category,) but that's not just it.

Yeah, that's the thing. I said basically exactly that to someone about the show the other day. I like Always Sunny and Seinfeld a lot, so I'm no stranger to shows with unlikeable characters. Hell, I watch reality shows.

I think part of it is that I think Girls doesn't really work unless you relate with or like the characters, and the show seems like it wants you to sympathize with them. I don't, for reasons that bouv nailed perfectly. The thing is, if you're not supposed to like the characters, then I don't really get the show, because they're not interesting enough to watch for other reasons.

Part of it may be that the Seinfeld and Sunny characters are cartoonishly evil, whereas the Girls characters are utterly noxious in ways that are unfortunately familiar to me from real life.

[planetcory]

Originally Posted by Quimby

It's funny because I loved that ending. Nothing really changed but she decided she wasn't going to let it bother her. All those problems are still there but right now she was going to dance and let go. The joy was infectious; I actually smiled.

Different strokes I guess.

Eh. It was pretty cliche. Didn't bother me much, though.

[Acsenray]

Originally Posted by Quimby

It's funny because I loved that ending. Nothing really changed but she decided she wasn't going to let it bother her. All those problems are still there but right now she was going to dance and let go. The joy was infectious; I actually smiled.

It just seemed like a tired cliche to me. And it sort of emphasized the whole over-the-top drama.

[ripopgome]

I love this show. You're supposed to think they're all shallow assholes. They're privileged white kids in Manhattan in their 20s. What else are you supposed to think?

I think the writing's pretty brilliant, but maybe I'm also not the target demo (40yo male). I find the show amusing as all get out because the characters are such complete idiots.

That line from the last ep, "the first time i fuck you, you might be scared. because i'm a man and i know how to DO things."... i looked at my wife and said, "sounds like something I would say"

[Krokodil]

Adam, the dickhead boyfriend, is the most compelling character. I actually found myself saying "Let's play the Quiet Game" to a drunk, chatty co-worker.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

Adam, the dickhead boyfriend, is the most compelling character. I actually found myself saying "Let's play the Quiet Game" to a drunk, chatty co-worker.

That was a great line.

And boy, I can think of about 3 guys I knew who were JUST like that guy in their late teens/early twenties. Most of them grew out of it.

Face it, most of us were selfish assholes in that age period. It just goes with the territory.

[Meltdown]

The first two episodes were kind of meh for me, but the third episode clicked. I'm not sure what it was, but -- maybe I've just gotten used to the characters, but I laughed quite a bit in episode 3. The whole thing with her going to see her ex, and finding out he's gay -- I know we've seen that before, but the way it was written and played was just spot on. ("Is it the scarf?" "The scarf isn't helping, but no...").

I certainly laughed more during that episode than I did during Veep, which I watched right beforehand.

And I liked the dancing at the end as well.

[Evil Captor]

I watched the premier episode, didn't do much for me, though the clumsy sex of the lead character and her boyfriend was kind of charming, if that's the right word for it. The boyfriend had all these ideas about sex should go and she rolled with it, even though he was really kinda bad at it because he didn't understand the importance of communicating and connecting with her, and maybe she didn't understand about connecting with him, either. It added some authenticity to the characters. But the rest of it was not all that funny, perhaps because I am not the target demographic.

I do like planetcory's idea of the show as a glimpse into an isolated, privileged world, but I think the writing needs to get a lot sharper and more to the point before it gets to hilarious. But it could be that I am so far from the target demographic that the humor just does not register for me.

[Athena]

Is it supposed to be hilarious? I can see why people wouldn't like it if they thought it was supposed to be rip-roaring funny.

I see it more as an introspective drama kind of thing with a weird/sometimes funny edge. Not at all a comedy.

[Acsenray]

"Hannah's Diary" was an improvement. I'm still really enjoying Zosia Mamet. Every moment with her on the screen is gold. And I loved the final concert.

[Biggirl]

I am also out of the demo but I'm liking it. I've seen only the second and last episodes and I liked them well enough. I really enjoyed the last one with the main character's touchy-titfeely boss and her Bronx and Brooklyn co-workers.

If you're expecting a laugh riot you will be sorely disappointed. It's too pointed to be a sit-com yet too ridiculous to be a dramedy. That could be it's problem.

I have two questions for those who have seen all of the episodes: Are all four girls cut off trust fund babies? And did the British one ever get her abortion?

[Spoke]

Originally Posted by Acsenray

I just found out that all four of the principal actors have famous parents.

Maybe that explains the comically over-the-top hype for this show.

In fairness, though, I like it better than its Veep lead-in. It's a decent show, just not THE GREATEST THING EVER!!!

[Acsenray]

Originally Posted by Biggirl

I have two questions for those who have seen all of the episodes: Are all four girls cut off trust fund babies? And did the British one ever get her abortion?

I don't think they're trust fund babies. Lena Dunham's character's parents are academics and they recently cut her off. Zosia Mamet's character is still in college and is being supported by her parents. Williams's character hasn't mentioned being "cut off." She apparently has a job, but has some support from her parents (like half her Blackberry bill). I'm not sure about the British girl. It seems that their parents are fairly well off, but not the fabulously wealthy kind who would have trust funds set up for their kids.

The British girl got her period on the day she was scheduled to have an abortion, so aparently it was a false alarm.

[Biggirl]

Thanks.

[Craz3d117]

A lot of people have pointed out how the main characters are all assholes. I'm not seeing this however, could someone maybe go into more detail on how they are assholes? I mean, sure, the characters are all very flawed. That's the point. Who wants to see a drama about 4 people who all have their shit together? Some people have also said how they can't relate to these characters because their parents are supporting them. Again, I believe this is the point. They're all pretty financially sound yet still have all this crap they have to deal with, and they don't deal with it rather well because, again, they're flawed and only human. Also, lack of diversity? There's only 7 real characters in the show, and they all live in Manhattan, how much diversity do you want?

What I get from this show is that it's basically a satire of Sex and the City. I think they made that pretty clear from the first episode. It basically just adds some real personality to the characters and some reasonable dillemas.

[Maserschmidt]

Originally Posted by Craz3d117

What I get from this show is that it's basically a satire of Sex and the City. I think they made that pretty clear from the first episode. It basically just adds some real personality to the characters and some reasonable dillemas.

This...they even allude to it, essentially, in episode one.

I'm enjoying it, if only because Lena what's her name seems realistic to me. Annoying, but realistic.

[Ellis Dee]

Originally Posted by Spoke

Maybe that explains the comically over-the-top hype for this show.

I think much of the hype is due to the lead character being plain and chubby.

[VarlosZ]

Originally Posted by ripopgome

That line from the last ep, "the first time i fuck you, you might be scared. because i'm a man and i know how to DO things."... i looked at my wife and said, "sounds like something I would say"

I was wondering if I could get some feedback on this from the ladies. Could that sort of talk tend to be sexy for women, as the character in the show finds it? Obviously it could be inappropriate and creepy in the wrong context, from the wrong person, but, how would that kind of talk be viewed in a mutually flirty conversation? Would it need to be done exceptionally deftly from someone very desirable, or might it work well enough so long as it was done not poorly, by someone potentially acceptable?

Preferences will differ, naturally, but I'd like to get as much input as anyone cares to offer.

[pulykamell]

I'm not the target audience (male, mid-30s), but I watched all five episodes last night after hearing Lena Dunham's interview with Terry Gross on NPR.

My impression? It's slowly getting better. My main complaints are not that the characters are unlikable; it's that the characters have mostly been one-dimensional caricatures and the writing has largely lacked any subtlety. There are a few nice moments that make it worth watching (like I actually liked the "I don't want a boyfriend" speech, and the interview scene with the date rape joke was amusing) but I mostly have been annoyed by the lazy character writing of the first few episodes, particularly of the globe-trotting British girl and Shoshanna, both characters of which I couldn't write more cliche-ridden versions of if I tried.

That said, the characters are starting to grow into their skins and gain dimensionality. I'll keep watching the show, but it's not must-see TV.

[Vinyl Turnip]

So why (with the exception of the lead's "boyfriend," who apparently doesn't own a shirt) do all the ostensibly straight male characters seem sorta gay? Is it an in-joke, or a Manhattan thing, or...

The uh (sorry, can't remember their names) chick's boyfriend who cut off all his hair seems awfully fey, as did the jackass with the porkpie hat from the most recent episode (and what the hell was up with the British chick dressing up like a zombie geisha?)

Yeah, I said strike three but I'm still watching this damned thing. Shut up.

[Bob Ducca]

None of the guy characters seem gay to me. They just seem like young urbanites. I see people like them all the time around Chicago (especially around the building I work in, which also headquarters Groupon).

[Snarky_Kong]

Originally Posted by Craz3d117

A lot of people have pointed out how the main characters are all assholes. I'm not seeing this however, could someone maybe go into more detail on how they are assholes?

The entire first episode is the main character being a raging cunt. She whines about actually having to work for a living the entire time. She is writing a memoir! She attempts to steal from her parents after they take care of her while she's on drugs and then steals from someone in a much much worse situation than herself immediately after.