Okay, here's the truth: I am not usually a fan of romantic comedies. I think, most of the time, they're really stupid, with characters following terrible advice from well-meaning friends, making questionable choices, and doing things that anyone can predict will end up an hour later (in our time, anyway) in an explosive fight, leaving me cringing and running out the room from an overload of second-hand embarrassment and horror.
So yeah, I don't really have good experiences for rom-coms, and usually avoided them when given the chance.
It does make one wonder why I decided to try this new romantic comedy that one day, showed up on Netflix, beckoning for me to try. Maybe it was because it was based on a book by David Leviathan, whose book Every Day I had a great experience reading. But it was really because of the synopsis that actually intrigued me: a boy and a girl exchanging their secrets and thoughts and dares in a red notebook and doing dares all across New York City--or at least, an alternate universe where New York is free of any mention of COVID-19, which is a place I hope to see once more.
And also, because I thought it was a French show. But that was only because I left the Netflix on a French language setting while watching another brilliant show I was watching, Arcane, but that's for another story.
Anyway, the show intrigued me, and I decided right then and there, that I would try it.
And for the first six to seven episodes, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!!
Caption: Here is Lily, played by Midori Francis, in a cute teal sweater dress wrapped in green Christmas-tree tinsel that she improvised herself! Link: external-content.duckduckgo.com
Like, honestly! For the first time in a while, I was watching a rom-com that did not suck. It was free of any cringe, and it was just...awesome. We get to see a girl named Lily, played by Midori Francis, be this lovable sweet angel of a girl who exceeds warmth and joy, shining enough light in New York City to light up a Christmas tree (I sort of mean that literally). Her character, especially given the fact that she's Asian, was soooo refreshing for me, since the only portrayals I saw of Asian people in live-action movies and TV shows, with the exception of Alina Starkov in Shadow and Bone, were either the villains, smart nerds that are socially awkward, side characters...
Overall, they're portrayed characters that were just simply...weird.
For once, I thought, watching Crazy Rich Asians for the nth time with a family member, watching Rachel Chu ruin her boyfriend's family's mood in Singapore by talking about her dead father (again!) without even reading the room to check if that's appropriate, I would love an Asian main character that's actually depicted as a normal person.
Which is why I loved Lily so much, for her portrayal and for her character. Her race is never seen as a big deal, which leaves her room to shine as a bubbly character on her own. She loves making her own clothes (and Muppets), likes pies with cheese on top, caroling with her close circle of mutual adult friends who would fight for her, struggles with loneliness and has a good relationship with her gay older brother, Langston, and eventually, stands up to her middle-school bully for ostracizing her. Her wealthy grandaunt Lillian is a hoot, and she commands every scene she's in with such gravitas and grace. And her grandfather, while overprotective, is not annoying, and seems to want to keep her safe from bad influences and people, while also having reasonable blind spots over some important things.
Honestly, Lily felt real. And I'm glad I got to know her.
Caption: Dash, played by Austin Adams. Link: external-content.duckduckgo.com
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Dash! He's such a cute guy, and... pretty social for a loner. He has a supportive best friend named Boomer who works in a pizza parlor and becomes the couple's cupid and secret agent for much of the show, keeping secrets for both of them in this "sting operation". And he is close to a gossip named Priya, who finds out really quickly that he is most definitely not in Sweden for the holidays. And knows two guys who run an underground club band that rises up against oppressors at the seventh night of Hannukah.
He's also a snarky guy who's constantly disappointed about how things are, as opposed to how things should be. He's pissed off about his parents' divorce (which they announced on his last best Christmas for a while), his father's string of new girlfriends, hates parties and social gatherings in general, and had a year ago broke up with his girlfriend Sofia when she stated that she was moving to Brazil. I know that makes him sound unlikeable, but somehow, he just became the one of most relatable characters onscreen. I guess it's because his snark has a charm to it, and when he is being "rude" or sarcastic, he does have a point. And not to mention he's such a nerd who is truly fascinated with words and books and New York City. And really needed a hug.
Dash is also a guy who's caring, who would return a boot to a girl he never met and inspire her to break out of her bubble and try new things; who would eat pie with cheese on top for a dare; go to Santaland; and imagine going back in time to take down the boy who made her life miserable back when she was in middle school. And, in the last episode, would go to a packed Jonas Brothers concert just to apologize to his friends when he lashed out on Christmas.
And also, when he needed them...
Yeah, despite the rosy compliments I can give about this show, I have a few bones to pick with this rom-com. Remember when I said I liked the first six-to-seven episodes?
Because after that, this glowing new show suddenly reveals itself to be a conventional, run-of-the-mill, cringey, romantic comedy. With Dash and Lily making a series of bad decisions that lead to an awful fight with them yelling in the backseat of a cab, with one of them drunk, and both upset and heartbroken.
Still, it was in a way that made sense. They were both chasing fantasies that they had of each other, putting each other up on pedestals that eventually, they were going to fall off from. This was something Dash brings up in his next-to-last letter to her in the notebook, which Lily agrees with in her last letter, and honestly, it should have ended there.
This was also something his ex-girlfriend Sofia, when she suddenly came back to New York, pointed out in him several times throughout the show. And despite the fact that she tried to get back with Dash, I don't really hate or dislike her at all. I guess it was because it wasn't to spite Lily or had much of anything to do with Lily at all. She was trying to get back to something--or someone--who is familiar to her. And in the end, she advised Dash not to try to be this fantasy “knight” to “rescue” Lily, but to come to her as himself. With a table filled with all the delicious treats and memos of their dares in NYC.
Also, I felt like Boomer was more like a token best friend that one would find in any show, and really felt like a side character, dropping everything, including a Jonas Brothers' concert, just to help his friend once more with his romantic problems. But he had friends who supported him, and was not afraid to call him out on his behavior. And he got together with Sofia in the end. Which is pleasant.
Also, while it only took two dares for Lily to reveal her name, it took SEVERAL dares for Dash to reveal his. It was something that ticked me off throughout much of the show. Why couldn't you just reveal your name already, I keep asking him. Why keep dangling it just out of Lily's reach like a carrot?
It may be because he didn't want to get heartbroken again. Which happened anyway. So, still a bad move on his part.
Additionally, while it is passed off as cute that Lily could only befriend adults and not people her age, and that she's lonesome around people her age, it actually terrified me. I mean, the whole notebook idea only worked with us is because Dash responded. What would happen if a guy much older than Lily responded to her dares? Then what? I just wished she wrote something like "If you're not the same age as me, put the book back on the shelf."
Anyway, with all that being said, I still had fun watching the show. I think Dash and Lily had amazing chemistry together, both on and off the red notebook, and do bring out the best in each other. In a five-star rating, I’d give it 3.75 stars.
