April: One Marvelous Day At a Good Time, Captain Girls
Dear Hannah,
Apparently I’m going into my 25th year (or, wait, yesterday I turned 25, so now this is my 26th year) as a much weepier person?? Everything is making me tear up! From the trailer for the upcoming Mindy Kaling/Emma Thompson gig Late Night to the dang CAT TRAINER INTERVIEW we referenced in the preview!
Weepiness is actually the perfect springboard to talk about One Day At A Time, because I think I got teary in basically...every???? episode during the most recent season??
Some background for those of you unfamiliar, or skeptical, as I once was!! ODAAT is an updated reboot of the 1970’s Norman Lear sitcom of the same name. This iteration centers a Cuban-American family and joyfully, thoughtfully, and hilariously follows the characters through life changes, struggles, and celebrations. It’s a multi-cam, studio audience sitcom that makes art out of a genre that’s often castigated as a machine for cheap laughs and shallow storytelling. ODAAT masterfully uses the conventions of the genre, like simple sets and the live audience-facilitated laugh track [read this piece about what it’s like to attend a taping and feel as jealous as I did of the writer!!], to create a rare kind of intimacy with those of us watching through a screen. There’s a moment in the season 2 finale (you’ll know it when you see it!) when you can literally FEEL the studio audience holding their breath during a climactic moment and the relief in their reactions when it’s resolved.
But the mastery of genre is far from the most important thing about this show! Representation is a core value of the show, and it’s executed in a way that’s thoughtful and committed. The characters speak candidly with each other--and by extension, with the audience--about their experiences navigating racial and cultural identity, sexual orientation and gender identity, mental health, love, religion, disappointment, and just in general what it looks like when your life throws you a series of curveballs.
Rita Moreno is 88. EIGHTY-EIGHT.
Like I said at the beginning of the segment, I got teary in just about every episode during the most recent season, and then when I went back and did a rewatch of seasons 1 and 2 I found myself tearing up during THOSE too! Which is...odd for me. Maybe it’s becoming less odd for me [I almost cried during the climactic scene in Us?? and not just because I was terrified??] but in general I tend to veer away from shows that try to pull on my heartstrings. I usually give shows that I really like one (1) make-me-cry episode per season and I get exhausted/annoyed by shows that make a play for my tears every time. (Looking at you, This Is Us.) But I’ve found that I’m willing to grant ODAAT as many make-me-cry cards as they’re willing to use, and I’m still puzzling through why. Maybe because it’s balanced with such an amazing sense of humor that you know you’ve never been thrown quite in the deep end, at least not without a life jacket. The emotional scenes are occasionally devastatingly honest, but the gentleness and generosity with which they’re written and acted echoes the refrain the characters are frequently saying to each other: “I got you.”
Also, to bring it to the realm of thirst for a moment: TODD GRINNELL AS SCHNEIDER.
Just look at that tall drink of tors--WATER. I MEANT WATER.
I don’t really have a smooth transition here into Captain Marvel, so let’s start with what I loved, namely: Brie Larson.
Her roguish charm was a delight, especially in a landscape in which female action heroes are almost always hardened, gruff, and self-serious. One of the reasons 2017’s Wonder Woman was such a delight was that her character also broke this mold with her powerful earnestness, and I appreciated that Carol Danvers/Vers got to be goofy and smirky and interesting in a different way than Diana. She had massive chemistry with every single character on screen, and I’m excited to see her have massive chemistry with every character in the rest of the MCU, most particularly Tessa Thomspon’s Valkyrie.
[UM!!]
Her charm was so ebullient that she managed to maintain it even while sharing scenes with a cardboard cutout Jude Law. [after a 5 minute scroll through his IMDb, I have determined that Jude Law’s only good roles are in The Holiday and Spy. do not @ me.] As bored as I was by everything involving Jude Law’s character [I honestly don’t even remember his name], I realized while I was writing this that he [regrettably] plays a fairly significant part in a theme that wasn’t quite fully realized.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Check back in when you see Samuel L. Jackson and a cat.
“Not quite fully realized” actually sums up...a lot of my feelings about the plot. I think it was the Pop Culture Happy Hour episode [or maybe Overinvested...probably both] on the movie that described it as feeling very like a studio-directed movie, rather than a director-directed movie (like, say, Thor: Ragnarok or Black Panther). It felt like Marvel Studios had a lot of backstory and ideas they wanted to cram in, but couldn’t quite calibrate a plot to carry it all cohesively. They’ve also tried to put a lot on the fact that this is their first female-led superhero movie, maybe in an attempt to keep us from rolling our eyes at how damn LONG it’s taken to get here.
That being said, I think the movie gets a few key things right in terms of ~the female experience~ [which is certainly not universal or objective!] that are more subtle than even the already-iconic scene in which a man tells Carol to smile and she responds by stealing his motorcycle. It’s the fact of Carol and Maria Rambeau bonding so strongly not just because they like each other but because of the necessity of solidarity in a male-dominated field. It’s the fact that, in retrospect, we should have known Jude Law’s character was rotten the minute he told Carol to stop “trying to be funny.” It’s that character’s paternalistic, condescending “mentorship” of Carol that demands she ignore her emotions and intuition and continually “prove herself” to him. Jesus, it gets creepier the more I think about it, especially in contrast with Fury’s genuine respect and admiration for her abilities and expertise.
Unfortunately, one of the places the storytelling falls flat is that it doesn’t have [or take] the time to flesh out the mentorship between Carol and her former mentor, Dr. Lawson. It’s a lot of telling vs. showing about why Dr. Lawson meant so much to Carol; obviously yes, it means a lot to see and be taken under wing by someone you identify with, and it’s important that Dr. Lawson was the one to give Maria and Carol opportunities they weren’t getting from the Air Force, but the movie doesn’t really give us a chance to watch and be affected by that playing out.
And then there’s...the refugee subplot. Throughout the first ⅔ of the movie, we’re lead to understand that Carol and the rest of the Kree are waging a just war against the Skrulls--a shapeshifting species on a mission to take over the universe. The twist is that the Skrulls are actually refugees denied a home by the Kree. It’s a pretty heavy-handed metaphor, which normally wouldn’t bother me [literally all sci-fi/fantasy is metaphor, that’s what the genre IS], but the movie doesn’t do its due diligence to take the message beyond “refugees = good.” To her credit, once Carol realizes the true state of things, she aligns herself with the oppressed, but that’s kind of baseline for what you’d want from a superhero. We’re never given a chance to unpack the insidiousness of the Kree’s motivations, or rhetoric and selective access to information that lead Carol to believe in their cause. Especially following Black Panther, in which T’Challa genuinely reckons with the choices his country has made and the consequences of those choices, the metaphor in Captain Marvel feels flat.
Unequivocally good, however? Samuel L. Jackson, especially every scene with Goose:
Speaking of “cats,” and other things that aren’t what they appear...Good Girls! [wow that joke works on SO many levels, omg]
Good Girls was one of those shows I’d been “meaning to get around to” ever since it came out, largely because when I saw the cast I had one of those moments when I looked at the three leads and thought “FINALLY.”
2018 was, if nothing else, a GREAT year for Ladies Who Crime, from Ocean’s 8 to A Simple Favor to Widows, but starting first of all with the opening scene of this NBC dramedy: these three women striding into a grocery store and proceeding to rob it. In flashback, we find out that all of them are facing dire circumstances. From left to right: Annie [Mae Whitman] is about to lose custody of her preteen child to her wealthy co-parent and his wife and can’t afford a lawyer or a working car. Ruby [Retta] and her husband are desperately trying to figure out how they’re going to finance their daughter’s medical needs. And Beth’s [Christina Hendricks] husband just had an affair with his secretary and tanked their family’s finances, revealing how fed up she is, not just with her husband, but with how bored with her life she is.
So obviously...TIME FOR CRIMES. And of course, as their following entanglement with a money laundering gang proves…“just one crime” was probably unrealistic from the start.
In short, I think this is a good show with a lot of room to grow into greatness. But when I have I ever kept it short?
One of the issues the show has, and I think is still figuring out how to balance and work through, is the fact that Beth’s stakes are just objectively lower than Ruby and Annie’s. Her house is briefly on the line in the pilot, but that’s wrapped up pretty quickly, and throughout the rest of the show her main conflict is mostly comprised of her constant [and ANNOYING] waffling back and forth between whether she wants to Do Crimes. I think the show wants her to have this kind of Ocean’s 8 vibe:
and maybe they’ll get there in the second season, but she spent a lot of this season dragging the other two into situations and then trying to backtrack when it’s too late, leaving the more necessity driven Ruby or Annie to resolve what she started.
Speaking of crimes, it might actually BE a crime that this is the first TV show in which Retta is a LEAD?? She seamlessly moves between dramatic and comedic acting, often doing both at the same time, and I especially cherished every moment that focused on Ruby’s family. The rapport between her and her husband was truly *chef’s kiss* and I wanted an entire spinoff that was just about them. Mae Whitman’s acting also KILLS ME; I had to stop watching Parenthood for a number of reasons, but one of them was that every scene in which she and Lauren Graham’s character fought or cried or hugged wrecked me too deeply to make it past the first season. [Sidebar, their real life friendship is?? so cute???]
The more the show went on, the more impressed I was by the mounting complexity of the plot and the way it held several twisted threads together. It wasn’t afraid to build an arc slowly [as slowly as you can in a 10 episode series], and did a great job of showcasing the way each character’s actions rippled outwards across the story. There was at least one “oh SHIT” moment each episode, but they all felt completely earned, and it was a lot of fun to watch the show successfully juggle the many different plot points.
Also--obviously I can’t pass this by--I’m excited to see how the relationship(s) between the three women grow and change. Their life of crime demands a lot of trust and support among them, but it’s clear that those things were already fundamentally ingrained in their lives before they robbed a grocery store. Outside of their crimes, they speak casually about picking each other’s kids up from school or bringing a meal to whoever needs it most. The show has a great nose for the unique ways in which the life of a 21st century mom is made difficult by factors like (but definitely not limited to) capitalism and gendered violence [we did a tw in the preview that I’ll include again here: the pilot includes a scene of attempted sexual assault] and I’m interested to see if the show digs deeper into the some of the structural things impacting these characters’ lives.
I’ll leave you with a cheers: to warmer weather, to friendship, to turning 25, and to our third (!) newsletter together,
Kelsey
Dear Kelsey,
SURPRISE I’M HIJACKING THE BEGINNING OF MY LETTER TO WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You are a brilliant ray of sunshine and it’s a privilege to know you. On this big wide internet we somehow managed to find each other, and I feel so lucky that the odds were in our favor. You are thoughtful and kind and opinionated, which is the best combo! You are the Liz Lemon to my Leslie Knope and in our 40s someone will make a movie where we pretend to be sisters and finally learn how to party.
Us, making this newsletter.
In honor of your birthday, I’ve scavenged up some of my favorite texts I’ve received from you:
1. When we were naming this newsletter:
2. Pretty sure this one was entirely unprompted, but also deeply relatable:
3. Spontaneous reflections on the double-edged sword of internet fame:
Now that I’ve sufficiently embarrassed you, let’s talk about one of your greatest television loves: One Day at a Time. You chose a gif from one of my favorite moments from the show, which is from the very first episode of the first season. As Penelope grieves aloud the end of her marriage and the loneliness of single motherhood, she yearns for a partner who could hold her and say, “I got you.” After she says this, her mother Lydia opens her arms, embraces Penelope, and whispers, “I got you.” Kelsey, I had to pause the episode because I cried so hard. How dare they create such a tender and vulnerable moment and share it with us on screen??? How many of us have ached for someone we love to come alongside us in our grief and stick by us in our time of need?
Posting it again because, well, you get it. *sniffle*
Every season of ODAAT manages to bring this amount of tenderness and reality to our screens. This show gives us so many examples of people who love one another enough that they are willing to risk having their worldviews changed by that love. Elena’s relationship with her father is a tenuous one throughout each season, making both a fascinating commentary on Latino masculinity and its relationship to homophobia and touching gently on the hurt many LGBTQ kids experience from a parent’s rejection. In spite of this, the many other adult figures in Elena’s life express unconditional love and support, most notably Penelope in her advocacy for her daughter. The unassuming progressive politics of this show sets a standard for all others like it on how to incorporate progressive ideology without needing to parade it around. There is no self-congratulatory attitude here, just sincerity—exactly like Elena herself.
You and I have already talked at length about the magic Rita Moreno brings to this show, but it’s worth restating here: Rita Moreno is an acting goddess. Moreno manages to portray equal parts fierceness and vulnerability to her role as Abuelita. When I knew she was their “star” cast member, I worried that she would run the show. Her presence on-screen is formidable to be sure, but it is possibly Justina Machado’s performance on this show that is the most underrated. Machado is the yin to Moreno’s yang. This really shows in the episodes centered around their relationship—they can both hold their own, and their screen chemistry is the foundation of this show IMO. And also OH MY GOD TODD GRINNELL. Why am I so thirsty???? (Apparently we’re not the only ones though—a quick google search tells me that quite a few people have been googling him shirtless!) I know he’s supposed to be the performatively woke clueless-Bernie bro-handyman, but he is so endearing to me and also SO HOT. Phew.
Is it the way he leans against the door frame? The 6ft build? The hair? The glasses??? God help me.
This is one show I’m not ready to part with. While there’s still a slim chance it could get picked up by another network, after several weeks with no news it seems fairly unlikely. Adios, One Day at a Time. Thank you for giving us another picture of how to do family.
Speaking of other hot people! Let’s talk about Captain Marvel!
I laughed and cried my way through Wonder Woman, so when they announced Captain Marvel I was fully prepared to be very touched by the experience. Truthfully, I left the theater feeling a bit underwhelmed.
First things first: Brie Larson is a delight. This is no surprise. Her warmth and playfulness show through even in the garbled mess that is the plot of this movie. You used the phrase “powerful earnestness”, which I love for her. The best moments of this movie are her shenanigans with Samuel L. Jackson and the “cat” who becomes their mascot, which is when her playfulness really shows through. My only regret about Vers is that we never really get to see her as pilot for the U.S. military—while I find the military industrial complex incredibly problematic, I have never been able to shirk my deep-seated attraction to soldiers.
You did a very thorough job of Jude Law and the clouded plot about emotional abuse and standing up for yourself—both excellent subthemes in theory, but did not actually come to fruition in this movie. (There are also some Very Good Takes that would disagree with me on this!) I won’t repeat much of that here except to endorse your take—it was pretty unsatisfactory. Larson deserved an antagonist that could keep up with her acting chops, not the sexy marshmallow peep we commonly refer to as Jude Law. However, I do think she has a rival in Josh Brolin, which will make Avengers: Endgame a fascinating conclusion to the series. (Spoilers ahead, avert your eyes and scroll down to Brie Larson getting beat up by an old lady!)
Let’s talk about this refugee plot, because I have some Thoughts. I have no problem with refugees as a plot point—particularly since we’re about to experience Endgame, where our villain is essentially an overpopulation theorist with a taste for eugenics—but with a white American woman as our lead, the story needs to meet some criteria for self-awareness in order to hit home. Ryan Coogler does this wonderfully through the searingly introspective truth T’Challa is faced with in Black Panther (introduced by his girlfriend and his nemesis no less) about his passive complicity in the oppression of Black people around the world. While I applaud Captain Marvel’s attempt to reach for depth, it falls short by failing to address Danvers’ parallel complicity to T’Challa’s in unintentionally participating (in Danvers’ case, actively participating) in the oppression of another group of people. Danvers’ self-interrogation never occurs; without a second thought she switches teams to bring justice in the galaxy. In this theoretical universe, wouldn’t she have been indoctrinated with racist ideology about the Kree? Wouldn’t it take more than simply seeing one refugee camp in one spaceship to undo those foundational beliefs about their people? Where is the unlearning taking place? It doesn’t. This makes the ending so much less satisfying—there’s no tension for her between the people she wanted to belong to and the nagging suspicion that they might have been in the wrong.
Speaking of people who may have been in the wrong, THE GRAND FINALE OF THIS LETTER WHICH I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT—Good Girls.
When I first learned that Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, and Retta were all starring in a crime comedy, it seemed too good to be true. All three played deeply underrated supporting roles in major TV shows. I wanted to watch it immediately, but because no one was talking about it I assumed it wasn’t streaming online. So imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered the first two seasons on Netflix several months later!
In many ways, I see Good Girls as the anti-hero to The Good Place. Both wrestle with the same questions: What does it mean to be good? What is our responsibility to one another? While The Good Place has chosen to tackle these questions from a more individualistic perspective, Good Girls chooses a more pragmatic and nihilistic outlook. Good Girls adds, which role is being more important—a good mother or a good citizen? In our current society, are these in conflict with one another? The Good Place emphasizes that there’s no way for bureaucracy to bring about goodness; Good Girls takes this a step further and argues that in this stage of late capitalism, where we are dehumanized by the state and our men walk obliviously through their lives, the only way to be good women and mothers is to do whatever it takes to care for our children. Ruby (Retta), Annie (Whitman), and Beth (Hendricks) are put in positions where they must resort to crime in order to help themselves and their families survive.
How will the show handle the shifting stakes for Beth from external to personal? I’m not sure. Beth as an emerging crime boss will be fascinating character development. I also feel weird about the fact that I kind of ship Beth and Rio, their drug lord??? They have weirdly intense chemistry and I think I’m here for it. I’m definitely most invested in Ruby’s current family unit—her chemistry with her husband (played by Reno Wilson) is a highlight of the non-crime scenes. This show manages to stay grounded in real women’s challenges with surviving our capitalist hellscape while also taking us out to some of the wildest implications of these problems.
We may never become crime-creating anti-heroes, but we sure write a damn fun newsletter. Until the next time,
Hannah