Thursday 28 January 2016

Crazy Ex Girlfriend Deserves A Second Date




Musicals are fun. Comedies are fun. So why not put both genres together and bring them to the small screen. Musical comedy! A new frontier! Well, ABC tried it last season with their so-so musical fantasy musical extravaganza Galavant, which made little impact with viewers. But. That hasn't stopped The CW, which is commonly known as the home for dramas, and most recently, sci-fi and comic book dramas, have taken a new musical hour long comedy, known appropriately as Crazy Ex-Girlfriend a chance to pop. But why isn't Crazy Ex-Girlfriend more popular? Or should I say, why aren't the dashing Galavant and the self-proclaimed Crazy Ex-Girlfriend warranting more second dates with viewers...

First of all, I'll let Crazy Ex-Girlfriend give you a little description of herself before we take the next step. Rebecca Bunch (played by series creator Rachel Bloom) is a single woman who still longs for her longtime soul mate Josh, who dumped her after their summer fling during summer camp in 2005. In 2015, after being inspired by a TV commercial for a butter spread, she restarts her pursuit of Josh after she spots him in New York City. When he tells her that he is moving to West Covina, California ("Just two hours from the beach, four hours in traffic"), Rebecca decides to move there too, hoping that it will give her a fresh start and bring her closer to Josh. Rebecca is hired by Darryl Whitefeather as a partner at his West Covina law firm, buys herself a house, and washes her pills down the sink. She quickly becomes friends with her co-worker Paula and apathetic neighbor Heather, while forming a complicated on-again-off-again relationship with Josh's friend Greg.

So there we have it. A fairly standard, romcom set up. Although, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a whole lot more than a relentless psycho ex (who Rachel may also be). Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a extravagant, outrageous and totally crazy roller coaster ride filled with oddball songs, quirky vignettes and YouTube style viral inspired videos, and a leading actress who becomes undisputedly   engrossed in her role. Rebecca Bloom IS Rebecca Bunch. I can't remember the last time I've seen a comic actress play crazy so well, in fact maybe a little too well. 

And at least one person must agree with me considering the fact Rachel Bloom one a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy, following in the footsteps of fellow critical but under-watched darling Jane The Virgin, which happened to score The CW their first major award win in the same category last year.

But in the context of the show, which of course is unbelievable, even in a post-Jane-The-Virgin-world, you can't help but become just as engrossed in the character. Although Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is not perfect by any means (not yet anyway) it certainly has enough creativeness and imagination to be on par with a show like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt with enough plucking, waxing and preening.

The CW seems to be dedicated to their Crazy Ex-Girlfriend after the show rebounded from premium cable channel Showtime and was quickly matched with a new partner. Despite the low ratings, The CW gave Crazy Ex-Girlfriend five back additional dates bringing the total episode order to 18. Following her Golden Globe win, Bloom exclaimed "The CW has supported us creatively every step of the way. All those things you hear about networks trying to stifle creativity - CW lets creators create and gives us freedom. I think the CW is fan f---ing tastic!"


Crazy Ex-Girlfriend may not be to everyone's tastes. It may be too crazy or weird for some folk, but the only way to enjoy this show is to give in to the craziness of a successful woman leaving her life behind for true/imaginary love! Give this eccentric but charming little show a chance at a first date, you may like it and decide to call it back next week. <3

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