Just over five years ago in May 2020, a streaming service known as HBO Max was launched with a fanfare. His first original series for adults was Love lifeWhere Anna Kendrick plays around twenty years whose journey through the traps of standard love should lead her to “that” or at least to an adult and fulfilling relationship. The review that you are on the point of reading was initially published on May 27, 2020, but we republished it today in honor of the arrival of this very underestimated program on Netflix.
Love life: Spread or jump it?
Opening shot: While we see plans of various couples in intimate situations, we hear a narrator (Lesley Manville) say “our love life can easily be reduced to data”. She continues by explaining that when the average person meets the love of his life, they have been in 7 relationships, a combination of long -term, short -term and one night stands.
The essentials: “However, behind these figures is a much larger story,” explains the narrator, as we are presented to Darby Carter (Anna Kendrick). Her parents divorced at the age of four, and she was closed in both directions between the respective houses of her parents for so long that she felt that she was still staying in hotels, having links with people. She moved to New York to frequent the university and had fun but “slightly empty” the planes for a while, but now she is looking for something more, “where you wear what you wear because you are who you are.”
We take her story in 2012, when she was fresh out of the university, living in a non -realistic West Village loft with her roommates Sara Yang (Zoë Chao) and Mallory Moore (Sasha Compère), as well as the constant presence of Sara’s boyfriend, Jim (Peter Vack). Sara brings her to a karaoke party for Jim’s colleagues in Politico, where she meets Augie Jeong (Jin Ha), a beautiful hipster journalist with a Knicks cap. They immediately struck and sleep together the first night. But she has the impression that the connection she had with Augie could lead to something, to the point where she says to her boss Bradley (scoot McNairy) and her fiancée Kate (Maureen Sebastian), that he will be the more one at their marriage.
However, she needs days to get back into contact with her, through which she tortures. Sara knows that Darby should not make this first text, while Mallory thinks that these rules are old -fashioned. As Augie returns to him, however, their relationship begins to take off, to the point where they already use the bathroom in the presence of the other after only a few weeks. She even starts looking at the Knicks with him, because Linsanity is in full swing. I feel like I start the type of real relationship she wants.
But just when things become great, Augigs drop a bomb: Politico asked him to participate in the track of the presidential campaign and finally to settle in Washington to cover Obama if he is re -elected, and he is reluctant to do the long thing. His last night in New York is marriage and, while he tries to stay in the moment, Darby chooses a fight in a futile effort to facilitate their separation. But they end up recovering together, knowing that it is the best that it is for them as an adult, and are sad when Augigs get on the bus to start its new mission.
Our socket: Love life is designed to be an anthology that traces the relationships of a different subject each season. Created by Sam Boyd (Paul Feig, Bridget Bedard, Jesse Henderson and Kendrick are the other executive producers), it is a bit strange to launch a capital service such as HBO Max. Other recent streaming launches have used original programs to launch its service – Apple used The morning showDisney used The MandalorianQuibi used… Well, let’s jump quibi. But Love life is an observable romantic comedy, although predictable, which is distinguished through its performances and the fact that it treats love in a more realistic way that we have seen it in similar series. But Splashy, this is not the case.
This is certainly the best we have seen from Kendrick for some time, probably since his role nominated in Oscars in In the air 11 years ago. All these years of Perfect pitch And Trolls The franchises made us forget that it has considerable acting skills, with the ability to channel subtle emotions through its facial expressions (which we have made are Julia Louis-Dreyfus-Esque) and vocal inflections.
She plays Darby like someone who may not think she is good enough to deserve love, but she is not pathetic either. Even when she does immature and embarrassing things, as in episode 2 when she dates a newly divorced Bradley and gets drunk in the wake of her father, she does so realistically. In many ways, Darby is simply not ready to be an adult, like most of the millennials of his situation have achieved. Her relationships, whether with her former boss, or this adventure that she calls “Danny two phones”, or even her mother Claudia (Hope Davis), succeeds in normal and fails in a normal way. Darby’s journey to “do things correctly” is like the same thing that many of us have done in their twenties, and it’s refreshing.
We also see Sara’s difficulties with adulthood, although it is in a stable relationship with Jim. He wants to go to the upper level, but she does not do so, because she is not yet ready to grow. But when her friends start to understand the adult and she cannot, her conflict is austere and Chao does an excellent job with this conflict.
So, as we said, the program is very observable; In fact, my wife and I put the first 8 episodes during the holiday weekend. But it is by no means a series of events, despite the presence of Kendrick, and we do not know why this sympathetic but light spectacle is the one that launches the original slate scripted for adults from HBO Max.
Sex and skin: We see a certain nudity of Augie, but Darby is covered. There is a slight nudity in the series as a whole, and we see sexual movements turned in a creative way, but there is relatively little skin.
Separation sheet: While Darby walks in the street after seeing Augie Off, we see an older version of her, obviously very pregnant. “Darby does not know it yet, but her person is there. Maybe they have already met them. Maybe they haven’t done it. But they are alive in this city and research too,” said the narrator. “All this will happen for her. But not in the way she thinks. “
Dormant star: Chao is the choice here, for the reasons we mention above, but also because she is not only the “best friend” but could have her own show. Maybe season 2, if there is one, will be about Sara.
Most pilot line: As much as we love Lesley Manville, the use of the narrator is a little too intrusive, especially at the beginning. I prefer to see what is going on rather than having explained it.
Our call: Distrust it. Love life is a very good show that has great performances, starting with a turning point worthy of the Emmy of Kendrick. But it’s certainly not going to impress you, and it looks like a soft way for HBO Max to throw.
Joel Keller writes on food, entertainment, parenthood and technology, but he does not laugh: he is a drug addict. His writing appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, Vanityfair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, Rollingstone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.
Flow Love life On HBO Max
