True confession. I
have a total girl crush on Lena Dunham.
I just think she’s so damn cool. Writer.
Director. Producer. (And can we talk about that $3.5M book deal?????). And while she says she doesn’t understand why
people keep saying she’s so “brave” for getting naked like all the damn time, I say good for
you you fraking ROCK, lady. I don’t even like to be naked
in the locker room at Bliss. So “brave”
or “okay with it” or whatever you want to call it, even though you didn't ask me, I'm going to tell you....you are one of the
coolest ladies out there.
Now you may wonder why it’s taken me so long to wax on about
Lena. What can I say? Once again I was late to the party. (I was so the late bloomer of the group.) But my Girls delay was not for lack of trying. I knew the
buzz around Girls was huge. I had multiple friends tell me how much it
reminded them of how we were in our early twenties. I knew it was for people
who moved to NYC thinking they’d live the-Carrie-Bradshaw-life, only to find
out that the lifestyle portrayed in SATC exists
for a very, very slim population. Truth
be told most of us are more likely to wake up in the world of Girls. And while I wouldn't mind a few spins in Carrie's closet and some time with Aiden before it all went to hell or with Berger before they made him a horribly insecure loser, I'd say the world of Girls isn't such a bad place to be...with the comfort of great friends and the knowledge that the 20s only happen once.
 |
| don't they look like great fun to hang out with??? |
Now reason #1 I missed out on the show is that I don’t have
HBO. Mostly because I think it’s a kind
of a waste of money to get it for one TV show and the same crappy movies on
repeat day after day. You get about 10
channels and I don’t even think HBO shows 3K
anymore! (Sidebar…this is the documentary about Derek Jeter working towards his
3000th career hit. I love a
great baseball story. But I can’t see
this one because I think HBO only ever showed it the month it came out and then
for some totally unknown reason have yet to release it on DVD a friggin year
and a half later, but that’s a whole other bucket of rage.)
So….Girls.
I kind of assumed it would hit Netflix sooner rather than
later. Turns out it was later. Then I was going to watch it at my friend’s
place but her OnDemand was all wonky and we wound up watching Princess Bride (as…..you…..wish…….).
But against all odds, a little star-aligning moment happened
for me. Girls was on the top of my Netflix since the 12/15 release date,
but I’d been getting the short end of the Netflix stick, as I had The West Wing in my #2 spot, a show I’ve
never seen but between my fascination with Scandal
(which is giving me a DC obsession) and the general desire to counter things
like RHOBH and Pretty Little Liars that
take up real estate on my TV schedule, I added it. And for some unknown reason someone else in
the area also wants to watch the show, so for the past three returns I’ve been
getting choice #3 which I’ve been too preoccupied to pay attention to and it’s
been something random/I’m-so-not-in-the-mood (that literal cult movie with
Elizabeth Olsen)/why-did-I-put-this-in-a-top-spot. It’s been a rough go. And then….stars….aligned and BAM! Girls was
in my mailbox one Wednesday night.
Two nights out later, I popped in the first five episodes on
a Saturday afternoon and by the time I got to episode three I was looking to
see how much it would cost to buy it on Barnes & Noble (I still had a 20%
off coupon burning a hole in my pocket). Or I could continue to try to be cool
and download the damn series from iTunes.
One AmEx gift certificate later and it’s mine. All mine.
(Laugh. Snicker. Giggle. Slightly evil laugh of happiness.).
I could spend days talking about how utterly phenomenal I
find this show to be. (Brilliant.
Honest. Funny as hell. Smart. ) How amazed I am by Lena Dunham. I’m equally amazed by how truly fearless I
think the writing is because there are some flat out horrifying moments in the
show which dare I say are hard for me to watch. Mostly because they are things
that I did. Or one of my friends
did. Or given the chance to be
transported back in time and into that given situation me or one of my
girlfriends would do it now.
That’s not to say we were “bad” so much (though visions of
hopping in a car…while drunk….with strangers because we couldn’t catch a cab to
save our lives just popped into my head.
Happened.). And while we did have
our share of OOC moments I can say, hands down, none of us accidentally smoked
crack at the best party ever and ran around the streets of Brooklyn (or Boston
if I’m keeping things accurate) without any bottoms on. Though again, transported back in time, I can
picture one of my friends doing this.
(But not me. I’m not a girl who
loses her pants.)
 |
| this is not reality.. |
The reality is what makes it truly horrifying because there
is so much in there that people probably think it made up, but the truth of it
is, this is what it’s like. There was
lots of hubbub about the sex in the first few episodes being too graphic or for
shock value, but c’mon people. Not all
sex in real life is like it is in The
Notebook….all romantic and dreamy and with dudes who look like Ryan
Gosling. (Not that I’d complain if it
was, mind you!). But a look at Girls is a glimpse through the looking
glass. And what a scary yet exhilarating hindsight of what the 20s looks like. (Shudder.
Laugh. Shudder some more. And shake my head because I totally get it.) And it’s an authentic look at what friendship
and life and relationships and mistakes and bad judgment and fear and growing
up and trying to be independent but still needing help and trying to be an
adult but still being a bit of a kid can look like.
So I’ll stop it there.
No episode details, I promise. I’m coming off a bit of a spoiler streak
(I managed to ruin Les Mis for two
people in under a week…though still not sure how it’s possible people don’t
know who dies in that. There’s a reason it’s
call Les Miserables), but I don’t
want to spoil anything for anyone who has yet to get on the Girls bus (because you too are being
taunted by Netflix and don’t want to pay the cable man more $$). There are so
many amazing one-liners. And Lena D. is not perfect and dolled up and sporting
great hair and make-up at all times. She
looks like a real girl. She sneaks
cupcakes. No one wears clothes or shoes
they can’t afford.
And maybe it’s because Lena Dunham’s Hannah is trying to be
a writer that I’m feeling so much of her.
A feeling that was full on secured, beyond a reasonable doubt in episode
5. Now let me first say (though I feel
I’ve said it before so this may not be a shocker) lines from shows or books or
movies that not only resonate….strike the proverbial cord…but are actually “I
said that”/”I do that” moments….freak me out every time. It happens often in the watching of 30 Rock, the reading of Emily
Giffin. And most recently Girls.
In Episode 5 (*no* spoilers), Hannah’s friend encourages to do
something “for the story”. This very
thing was a game or sorts that this guy friend and I used to play. “Do it for the story”. We fiercely encouraged each other to do “it”
(whatever "it" happened to be), so we’d have a good story to relay to the other
the next day. This was of course before
we entered the fifty shades of grey between friendship and relationship, so
encouraging each other to do scandalous, salacious things was all great for
sport. And sometimes truly did make for
a good story. I miss that. Sigh.
But that's a story for another day. Maybe a day when I find myself being brave enough to get naked. Emotionally naked, that is.
Go. Watch. Girls.
Need one more reason?
It has some truly, truly great music in it too. I’ve already put some of it display here.
This song comes during probably my most favorite scene
yet. All adventurous women do…..
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