Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin’s friendship follows the classic comedy trope of the odd couple — Dunn is a bisexual, polyamorous, self-proclaimed slutty, aggressive feminist, while Raskin is the definition of heteronormative, monogamous, prude, and OCD — and yet, the two women are the best of friends. Not long ago, the women were working for Buzzfeed Video, but they recently left when their own YouTube channel, Just Between Us, started picking up popularity. The channel is equal parts comedy and social activism. Each woman takes her own quirks almost to the point of caricature, but at its heart, the show raises awareness for, and gives voices to people of minority sexualities, people with mental health issues, and women — all of whom do not have a voice in traditional media.
On Mondays, Raskin and Dunn release a dating, etc. advice video in which they answer a question from a viewer. Past videos have ranged in topic from the serious "What is Consent?" to the silly “Why is Gaby Prettier Than Allison?” These videos take on a more improvisational tone and show the women having a largely unscripted discussion about the topic at hand. Raskin and Dunn’s natural personality disagreements come out during these videos in their very different answers to questions. While Dunn encourages people to destroy the patriarchy and have lots of sex, Raskin just wants to settle down, get married and live a tidy life. The dating advice is not intended to be serious or the main focus of the show, and is more of a jumping off point for Raskin and Dunn to have an entertaining argument. As the about section of the channel states, “you will learn nothing” from their advice, but you sure will have fun.
On Thursdays, Raskin and Dunn release a comedy sketch. These sketches are more scripted and have more variety in content. One sketch, “What Should I Wear? ” is a parody of how society judges women based on their clothing choices. In this video, Raskin is getting ready for a date. She tries on different outfits, and with each one she tells Dunn the oddly elaborate and specific story she wants the outfit to tell. Then, at the end of the video, viewers see what Dunn’s clothing says about her. Another sketch, “Double Brunch,” shows the women on a series of double date brunches with different partners. Each double date is humorously terrible for a different reason, and the video ends with Raskin and Dunn temporarily giving up on dating and just having brunch with each other. This video shows the women in action, playing out the dating mores they discuss on their dating advice shows.
Raskin and Dunn are witty, hilarious, and original. If you enjoy Buzzfeed Video, or like watching shows with strong female best friend duos (such as Broad City), you should check out Just Between Us, because you would probably love Raskin and Dunn’s unique chemistry!
