Bunheads. I cannot believe I watched an entire season of a show named Bunheads. It’s not that I don’t appreciate a fast, witty show that drops pop-culture allusions like so many Kardashian beaux. Hell, I regularly suck at the teat of Happy Endings. It’s not that I don’t find mythically perfect small towns charming. I think Northern Exposure is one of the greatest series ever made. It’s not that I don’t prefer equal doses of sobering reality with my comedy. See my love for Parenthood, Louie, Girls and Shameless. My shock is purely related to the name of the series (Good God, it's awful) and the show’s setting, a ballet studio.
I would never have thought that I would have watched and liked a show about ballerinas and their wacky teachers. I actively go out of my way to not watch any of the dance shows. While it's true the terpsichore was my first calling, I have zero desire to watch people talk about, rehearse or even just dance in film or television. I know dancers; I admire the discipline; I marvel at a live performance done well. The edited nature of filmed dance dissipates the magic.
I wasn’t even the least intrigued that it came from the pen of Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of the much-loved Gilmore Girls. I have never seen a complete episode of Gilmore Girls. I understand its core concepts, tropes, plots and characters, and know them well enough to understand allusions in other works. That’s enough for me.
The trailer for Bunheads that ran in movie theatres this May piqued my interest, but it was The Kid’s ensuing enthrallment of the series that really pulled me in. She loves Bunheads. She thinks Michelle is hysterical. She finds the dance sequences thrilling. She worries about Sasha. She empathizes with Boo. Every Monday (or Tuesday depending on bedtime) we sit on the couch and laugh and talk to the characters out loud.
We have watched many series together, but Bunheads is something special for us now. We started by watching The Simpsons together: her patience for cartoon violence is much more than mine; my appreciation of deep cultural commentary is much more than hers. The Simpsons did provide a strong foundation for our mutual love of quick, pop-culture-laden comedy. Of our extended family, only she and I appreciate the twisted genius that is Bob’s Burgers.
Last fall we started watching our first live action serials together: Terra Nova and Once Upon a Time. Terra Nova collected digital dust on the DVR when the dinosaurs stopped appearing on a regular basis and was eventually deleted unwatched last Christmas. Once Upon a Time is a show where I appreciate the visual appeal and she appreciates the twists on our common mythologies. She would get confused, thinking all of the blonde girls were Cinderella and sometimes not placing the same actor in both Storybrooke and Fairy Tale Land. I would get confused by giant plot holes and unconvincing narrative drive. That said we are both looking forward to it starting up again this fall.
On a whim we decided to give Bunheads a shot. We are both thrilled to have done so.
From the pilot forward, we have been tickled by the performance of Sutton Foster as Michelle. Her gawkiness and quick comic timing reminds us both of her former babysitter, The Star To Be. Foster has a naturalness not seen in many other actresses her age. There have been constant comparisons to Lauren Graham’s Lorelai Gilmore, and I can’t speak to that. I can speak to Foster’s technical skill and polish that makes even the fastest of the Sherman-Palladino dialogue easily understandable. The fact that Foster is an accomplished Broadway star is also used to great effect here. Her musical showcases are some of my favorite beats in the series.
I’ve even grown to appreciate the dance sequences in the show. Almost always used to further the storytelling, the dances are ably administered by a company of young dancers and ably led by the four main Bunheads. The genius of these are not their inclusion but their execution of concept. Early on the dances, choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, were sometimes the only things in the show that were working. The early focus was too heavy on Foster's Michelle and Kelly Bishop's Fanny, and the situation that brought them together was fraught with tonal difficulties and pacing issues. The girls were being used as props and the dances were their only feature. Later as the show hit a proper balance, the dances became more integrated and hit a zenith in the summer season finale on Monday night. In it, we were treated to a long, single shot of a Fred and Ginger number in a crowded bar that was the perfect culmination of a budding young love story. The Kid and I were both enthralled, but for her this had long been the case.
Bunheads is the first show where she feels truly connected even invested in the lives of the characters. Four weeks ago, she said, “I’m worried about Sasha. What’s she gonna do?” Sasha, the most tightly wound, and driven of the four bunheaded students at the center of the show was acting out and had no place to turn. This plot had been slowly building over the last few weeks. Her home life was a shambles and her steely veneer, expertly applied in both the writing and the performance of Julia Goldani Telles, was cracking all around her. That The Kid picked up on the continuity and developed true empathy was astonishing to me, especially given that Sasha was the "mean one". Then in Monday's finale, as Boo (an effervescent Kaitlyn Jenkins) took the mic to hysterically profess her love to the stunted Carl in the crowded bar, The Kid let out a knowing and giggling, "Poor Boo..." before Jenkins started the speech. That she had developed context was equally astonishing.
Bunheads is far from a perfect show, but it is improving. The awkward tone set in the final moments of the pilot has eased into a fun banter between the primary adults. The kids who were once indistinguishable are becoming fully fleshed and empathetic. The fictional town of Paradise and secondary cast still seems large and unruly (Ellen Greene has appeared in a few episodes but I couldn't tell you her character's name) but it has become a warm and welcome place to visit each week. At The Homefront, we eagerly await our return trip there this winter.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder