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#musicals #dark #comedy #Instep
Acting: Rachel Bloom, Vincent Rodriguez III, Santino Fontana, Donna Lynn Champlin, Pat Gardner, Willa LovellCreated by: Rachel Bloom and Elaine Brosh McKennaTagline: never walk go
Don’t judge a television show by its title — that’s a lesson the networks have taught us time and time again. Several promising series have suffered because they failed to attract viewers, at least in part because someone thought it would be a good idea to give them a title that was either slow (Complications, Better Off Ted), soft (Go On, The Neighbors), vaguely irrelevant (Terriers, Cougar Town), or downright bad (Don’t Trust B in Apartment 23, Selfie, Trophy Wife, and many, many others).
Similarly, the name of the CW’s latest comedy drama, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , seems to have been chosen by someone who is under the impression that titles should actively serve as audience repellants. Without context, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is more likely to turn people off, and the series itself seems to be aware of that. “That’s a sexist term,” the main character croons to the show’s theme song, “She’s the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” chorus. “The situation is more critical than that!”
And it is. Because once you get past the cringe-worthy title, you’re faced with a delightfully great, charmingly zany musical comedy with tons of potential. The series follows the story of Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom), a single woman who is smart, strong and successful. Also very upset, and possibly in the middle of a nervous breakdown.
A chance encounter with her ex-boyfriend Josh Chen (Vincent Rodriguez III)—a boy she met at a summer camp a decade ago when they were teenagers—makes Rebecca realize that her life has changed. Not happy and needs a change. In an attempt to find happiness, she quits her job at a Manhattan law firm and moves to West Covina, California, “the pride of the Inland Empire”, just two hours from the beach! Oh and this happens to be where the excitement resides.
As she tries to get closer to Josh, she befriends his friend, bartender Greg (Santino Fontana), only to discover that Josh is actually dating a stunning woman, Valencia (Gabrielle Ruiz). . Rebecca’s new co-worker Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) soon learns of her obsession with Josh, and begins to try to help her win back her lost love.
The action usually takes the most absurd route. The show offers an interesting character study, which offsets the underlying darkness of its premise with often wry humor while having a lot of fun in the process. The cast periodically breaks into upbeat Broadway-style musical numbers that are amusingly funny and often disturbingly catchy. The show is consistently self-aware and mostly finds the right balance between embracing and lampooning its tropes and stereotypes. Each character is well cast, and the series is a great showcase for the extremely talented Rachel Bloom who is fantastic in the lead role.
But as with most projects, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is definitely not for everyone. Some viewers will not enjoy both its darkness and its joy. It’s dangerous to make the main character so quirky, and Bloom is so good at portraying the unhinged Rebecca that the result is almost disturbing. It’s clear that Rebecca has serious issues and is chasing a fantasy in an attempt to recapture a moment of happiness from her past in the midst of crushing depression. Also, sometimes some of the show’s less engaging arcs are given more attention than they deserve, leaving you to feel that the series could have been better off as a half-hour comedy (which was originally intended when it was produced for Showtime) rather than in an hour-long format.
Ultimately, not all viewers will enjoy Bloom’s quirky brand of humor, and if the idea of an offbeat, campy, over-the-top musical comedy doesn’t appeal to you, then Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is not for you. But those who like a fresh, fun escapade that’s fast and has a lot of musical fun along the way will be pleasantly surprised by this new, often weird comedy.
