Girls Talk

Oh, shut up about it, already: The entitlement and the unconscious racial elitism and everything else that's wrong with the kids these days, namely Lena Dunham.  You go write some scenes that are as smart and funny and surprising and button-pushing as Dunham did in this past Sunday night's episode of Girls and get your material produced, and then we can talk. 

Love her or hate her, Dunham was inarguably articulate in responding to her critics re: the "all white girls in an all white world" issue on NPR with Terri Gross last week, noting that she takes such criticism seriously, but was writing what she knows (e.g. being half-WASP, half-Jewish, her foursome is made up of two of each) and that she isn't yet honestly equipped to write an ethnic leading role with the specificity and accuracy that it would require (the second season, apparently, will take on this issue, and without simply plugging in a token person of color).

Once the dust has settled from the backlash and the back-biting (the snarky poster above is maybe the best of it), perhaps we'll be able to acknowledge that at 25, Lena Dunham is one of the most talented comedy/romantic comedy writers who's presently working this turf.  And given what's been an upsetting paucity of active female writer/directors in the industry until relatively recently (with the stats still appallingly low), I for one am happy to give the Girls auteur her props.

Essentially a serial ensemble rom-com in form, like hundreds of such TV sitcoms, Girls is pushing its envelope on a weekly basis, with its characterization work admirably complex, and its dialogue absolutely first tier.  While it's not solving all the world's sitcom problems in a single episode, it is sneaking boldly into territory that formerly hasn't been exposed in your average bear's romantic comedy.  It investigates the mess of contemporary sex and sexual identity and gender dynamics with a refreshingly clear-eyed honesty that allows its characters to have their angst while making LOL fun of them.

The dialogue is eminently quotable; Jessa having sex with an ex-boyfriend who's supposedly over her, to prove "I cannot be smoted" evoked a "wish I'd written that" response in me (There are actually too many good lines in Episode 4 to cite a favorite, but the comments on this "Guys on Girls" post highlight many of the best).  Meanwhile, some of the subtler work is purely cinematic and theatrical: I loved the silent dawning epiphany on the face of Marnie (Allison Williams) as she realizes, mid-fuck, that she really does have to dump her boyfriend.

All of this puts me in mind of a Jezebel post that a Living RomCom reader sent me last week, bemoaning the lack of decent roles for rom-com actresses past their perky prime.  It's not that "the romantic comedy is dead" (a dumb trope that's replaced the hoary "is the theater dead?" query of past decades), but that a very specific paradigm for a very specific kind of chick flick may have finally run its cultural course.

You know the one: It stars Kate or Reese or J-Lo or someone like them, and it's about a 20-something with career issues who's out to land a man, and you didn't go to see it because you'd already seen it and been bored with it too many times over the past two decades.  The codified-to-fossilization status of this particular movie is what's dated it, not any failure of mainstream audience interest in a good date night pic.  If you don't believe me, go look at the box office/DVD figures for Bridesmaids.

The boundary-push of Girls is in keeping with the sensibilities that have made the small screen where a lot of the action is nowadays, event-movies like The Avengers aside.  And if the somewhat older rom-com women want to get in on the action, they might look to the likes of Dunham, Liz Meriwether, Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman, Issa Rae, Amy Poehler and these other top female comedy writers (and these) to give them a new take on a viable rom-com vehicle.

If the 2000s was Revenge of the Boy-Man for romantic comedy (The Apatow Decade), the teens is looking like Game On For the Girls.  And it's certainly made my watch a lot more interesting.

Comments

[JustMe]

At first I really, really wanted to hate this show. I really did. But I can't.

Jealousy and bitchy competition was coursing through my veins during the first episode, and I was satisfied when it ended and I though, "eh. Not impressed." But as I kept (begrudgingly) watching, I realized that despite the faint whiff of immaturity and dashes of whitewashing (as well as a very underpopulated and quiet NYC) - Leah Dunham managed to do something we have yet to see onscreen: she's a female Woody Allen who neither apologizes for who she is and how she looks, with a cast of female friends who have distinctly strong opinions and bad habits.

Girls doesn't apologize; and I like this. I like that Leah isn't afraid of unflattering angles or awkward comedy. She's kind of fearless, and she's been given the okay to be fearless by male producers and showrunners.

This is big. It's inspiring. And it's just enough to make me a fan.

[kristen]

I don't have HBO and can't see "Girls," but I wanted "Tiny Furniture" recently and found it kind of cute. While it's true I can in almost no way relate to the lifestyle of a privileged Manhattan kid, who cares? It's a chance to learn about what privileged Manhattan kids are thinking. (Anyway, that never stopped me from obsessing over "Metropolitan" as a high school senior in middle class New England.)

This backlash against Ms. Dunham to me seems to be caused by her being a woman and young... and successful. It's very gracious of her to respond so calmly and just do her thing. If she's mature enough to realize that people are simply jealous and that reporters are simply looking to manufacture controversy where the is none, then she's going to survive and continue to produce good work.

[kristen]

oops that's "watched" 'Tiny Furniture," not "wanted," though actually if someone gave me tiny furniture I would play with it.

[Boydsteph1]

Very nice, Billy. Amazing that someone so young can execute such talent. I originally found the main character to be a little like Woody Allen, but then I hate it when people compare an accomplished woman with a man. So I'll just say she translates the neurotic pulse of youth culture with great humor.

[Neil]

I think all the controversy has less to do with the show than the publicity about the show. From what I gather, the show was presented as the voice of a new generation, which ruffled the feathers of those not in this group, because while the writing and direction is fearless, the casting is fairly traditional. Just like we can't go back to the traditional romantic comedy, I don't think we can go back to the all-white world of television anymore because it doesn't connect to reality, even in Manhattan. We expect our media to be diverse, almost as a public service.

[mernitman]

JustMe: The "no apologies" thing is really inspiring. One of Lena Dunham's idols is Louis C.K. - and his material is of the same fearless stripe. I think he's the monster comedic genius of our moment.

Kristen: She really does seem to have her head together in that regard - the NPR interview is a model of well-reasoned response and equilibrium in the face of... All That.

Steph: "Translates the neurotic pulse of youth culture with great humor" - Yes! Great blurb, actually.

Neil: Totally. Though it's kind of funny to guess at the actual percentage of the US population represented by this "we." As many have pointed out, the bulk of mainstream network TV programming (see "Two and a Half Men," et al) is hideously skewed white, but no one says boo about it.

[Bill Sebring]

In a nutshell:

"You go write some scenes that are as smart and funny and surprising and button-pushing as Dunham did... and get your material produced, and then we can talk."

[Kris John]

Yup, the media change, we can just sitback and relax and enjoy this new stuff here.

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http://theguitarverse.com

[dave]

Um, are you kidding?

Dude, in general, I love Lena Dunham, loved TINY FURNITURE, much of the backlash is based on jealousy.

I don't care about the nepotism, I don't care that all the leads are white.

However, when every single mention of a minority character is tinged with hate, that's a problem. When you say the comments about Asian girls and now Indian girls, that's frustrated, not-so-attractive New York speak for "I can't get a guy, and I'm ticked that they're dating women of color." Especially when one of your writers is on record for likening our President to feces. (Taking a crap is Obama dropping the kids off at The White House.)

Seriously -- Every she mentions a woman of color, it's a chance to slag them. That's not cool when it's happening again and again.

[mernitman]

Um, Dave? I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't heard the "every time she mentions a woman of color, it's a chance to slag them" stuff, nor am I familiar with the "feces" comment. Can you provide a more specific reference point - link, quote, whatever, so I can understand what it is that you're citing? Honestly in the dark here.