Q. Seriously man, you think Peacock’s “Girls5eva” is a good show? The gags are sophomoric and the overall story line is as pathetic as the concept. The only thing that would make it worse would be a laugh track!
GIRLS5NEVA
A. I hear you, because, like many sitcoms, “Girls5eva” is frivolous. It’s an easy parody of show business and the greed machine that creates fads, and most of the jokes giddily — and, yes, repetitively — mock the superficiality of that world. There’s no deep undercurrent of meaning at play, and little of the political substance (“All in the Family,” “Veep,” “30 Rock”), character development (“Parks and Recreation”), romantic exploration (“Insecure”), or racial commentary (“Atlanta”) that has elevated so many other comedies. It’s just a bunch of gags about the wiles of pop culture.
Advertisement
I hear you, also, because humor is so subjective. I can’t really justify it in words, but I laughed out loud a number of times during each episode. Often it was just the pure stupidity of the group’s songs — the way they were only just a shade more ditzy than real-life girl-or-boy-group lyrics. And often it was the almost preternatural narcissism of the character named Wickie, who is played to perfection by Renée Elise Goldsberry. Bottom line, there’s no reasoning when it comes to comedy; when someone forces me to watch a clip while they explain to me how great it is, I generally shut down.
Your e-mail raises a good point, which is that there are different kinds of reviews. I do frequently write a review that is a kind of argument for loving or admiring a show. But I also write reviews, like the one on “Girls5eva,” with the intention of saying that I like the show but you may not. I try to make it clear that my positivity may be more about my subjective tastes than anything else. I’ve done that explicitly with twisted shows such as “What We Do in the Shadows” and Amy Sedaris’ “Strangers With Candy,” and I’ve done that more quietly by using coded language that implies that my quirks are affecting my judgment. In other words, I’m telling the reader that, while I liked “Girls5eva” and will eagerly watch more, it’s probably not going to become a classic.
Advertisement
MATTHEW GILBERT
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.
May 18, 2021 at 12:24AM
https://ift.tt/3wf0GVG
‘Girls5eva’ is funny? A reader finds that laughable - The Boston Globe
https://ift.tt/3eOfySK
Funny
No comments:
Post a Comment