I don’t know what it is about HBO’s Girls that as much as I don’t want to follow the show, I end up watching it, season after season. Is it just me feeling like this?
Girls started off as a really funny comedy, about some unashamedly spoilt characters with awkward sex lives and undefined yet high ambitions. All of their attempts at growing up seem to be repeatedly sabotaged by the characters themselves. The show seemed to tick every box: fake friendships, ugly breakups, low paid jobs, dodgy internships, and unsurprisingly, some great wardrobes. I never minded Hannah’s (Dunham’s character) repeated nude scenes, even finding them refreshing amongst the daily “perfect” bodies Hollywood throws at us.
Then at the same time, after the first season, I began to grow unsure about the show, even dropping it for a while after that twisted sex scene in season 2, involving Adam and his then girlfriend Natalia.
You can argue that the characters in Girls are pretty shallow, that the lifestyles they represent are impossible in reality. However, you could say the same about Sex & The City and Carrie I-write-one-column-and-live-like-a-celebrity Bradshaw, or many other portraits of life in the Big Apple. You can argue that Lena Dunham is not only overrated, but very well connected through her own family and the families of the other cast members. On season 2 the show seemed to not want to be a comedy anymore by turning pretty dark, whether by raising the debate on sexual abuse or by portraying extremely broken characters. However, as its fourth season began this week, there I was, watching the show, laughing again.
I’m still fascinated by Jessa’s long hair and her natural ability for not giving a sh*t. I still want to see Marnie make half the effort for something, then fail miserably, then let herself be picked up again. I want to see Adam and Hannah together and Shoshana still entertains me with her fast paced monologues.
At the same time, I really hate that it is impossible to live like Jessa and survive in NYC unless you have rich parents. It irks me that Adam can be abusive and how he seems to be excused, being the romantic hero for our heroine. I hate how Hannah’s character takes over the entire show most of the time and that Marnie seems to be the token pretty face with very little else to offer. Shoshana…if there was ever a character that resembled a charicature, that’s Zosia Mamet’s character.
Alas, here I am, writing about the show and waiting impatiently for the next one to be aired. Because Lena Dunham is doing something right, it seems. I just haven’t figured out what it is yet.
Picture: HBO
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