I remember sitting in front of my computer sometime last fall, blankly staring at the screen after one of those midseason finales that leave you wondering: what did I do with my life before this show?
Fortunately, Hulu had a few answers for me and promptly suggested a show called Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. My first thought? It sounds like a sexist, Hollywood romcom where the ex-girlfriend wins back her boy after a series of totally unrealistic issues. All of this from just reading the title.
Regardless I decided to give the show a try and watch the pilot.
Seventeen episodes and 25 songs later, this article was born.
You see, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is actually talking about everything that is taboo, or has been misshapen by the media and it is WONDERFUL.
Most notably they have a wonderfully diverse cast, of awkward and real humans who too often find themselves unable to express their feelings by talking, and so they break into song.
When was the last time you heard a song about being "In a Sexy French Depression" or about "Getting Bi"? There is a song for your double D's now, and the next time a guy gives you a UTI, they better sing a song about it.
It is not only the songs, though, but the show has also gotten up close and real about:
-Parent-child relationships: Rebecca the main character has serious trust issues with her mom. And not the kind that is solved after a two-hour film and she realize her mom loves her. There is healing to take place, and the fact that the show recognizes that wounds don't just disappear are amazing.
-Which leads us to... addictions: Most clearly, anti-depressants. Rebecca takes a cocktail of pills to help her be "happy", but when she moves to West Covina, she dumps her pills in the sink. Sure, she realizes soon enough that she needs her pills, but at least she is a step closer to understanding why.
-Money: OK so TYPICAL cliche plot twist somehow someone is in financial trouble, and it is solved by a friend or magically disappears because it is non-essential to the plot. On the show we see something that more than one of us might relate to: Greg, a bartender who wants to go to law school, is bartending to pay his dad's hospital bills. Rebecca herself runs into money trouble, and it requires sacrifices to fix it.
-Sex: Yes I said it. The thing is that in movies sex is like this big sensual thing, and actresses have amazing bodies and for some reason they are always wearing lingerie. Sex in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Chinese food, a mess of blankets, word games, awkward human bodies colliding... UTIs.
-The show doesn't dumb it down for you: with terms such as "sex releases oxytocin" or "A UTI is an inflammation of the urethra, caused by excessive amounts of vigorous sexual activity." let's face it: your sex-ed teacher didn't say it, your bio teacher maybe said it, now they are saying on TV, this time, you will probably listen.
So perhaps you should consider binge watching this, forgetting what you know about stereotypes and giving West Covina a try.
