For the few of you who haven’t been blessed by the virtual presence of the Gallagher family and all of their shenanigans, the title is pretty self-explanatory of the series Shameless. The Gallagher family consists of six kids, with the oldest, Fiona Gallagher, the twenty-one-year-old high school drop out, acting as the primary caregiver. Frank Gallagher, their selfish, alcoholic father, is out doing everything but raising his family while Monica, their mentally ill mother is out of the picture. Despite this families continuous encounter of unfortunate events, Fiona is willing to do anything it takes to support and raise her siblings in every way she knows how
Who would have ever thought a motion picture could be so crude, violent, and perverted yet so emotionally abstract all at once. Between the graphics of intimate sex scenes and bloody beatings to the intensely passionate relationships among the characters, we can’t help ourselves from letting the ground breaking “dramedy” steal our hearts. Whoever thinks it’s impossible to finish seven full seasons of a series within three weeks, is very wrong.
Despite the fact that every character in this show lacks moral integrity to some extent, it’s genuinely hard not to fall in love with them and their relationships with one another. While it’s also hard to fathom the things these characters are capable of doing to survive, one can’t help feeling compassion for them at times.
While this show can definitely trigger the "feels," it's also capable of making you laugh so hard your stomach hurts. Although some of the funniest things that happen on Shameless are completely reprehensible, you can’t help but crack up. Between Debbie acting like a forty-year old at age twelve, to Sheila's crazy antics, this show will have you rolling on the ground laughing.
Personally, I grew up in a fairly normal household with a fairly normal lifestyle. While my family is far from perfect, my parent’s didn’t typically steal the family savings to go buy cocaine. So between the excessive inappropriate sexual relationships, use of hard drugs, normality of murder and violence; I can’t really relate to most of the things the characters go through in this show. But with that being said, I have never felt so emotionally invested and connected to the characters and relationships that make up this show. Throughout six long, emotionally heavy, seasons, each character and their relationships with each other grow significantly. A combination of the great acting and vivid scenes make each episode feel so genuinely real.
Showtime's Shameless is despicable yet admirable, and definitely worth the time commitment of watching every single hour long episode.
