Admission and New Girl
Sep. 19th, 2014 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerA few days ago I found the movie Admission reposing on a cart in the library. "A Tina Fey comedy that nobody told me about!" thought I. "I wonder why that is?"
Reader, it is because Admission is terrible. It is so terrible I couldn't get through to the end, so I suppose it's possible that it gets better later on, but it was awkward and not-funny and featured Tina Fey's character trying to find meaning in her imploding life by reconnecting with the son she gave up for adoption nearly two decades ago.
Maybe he is happy without you and you'll only mess up his life by seeking him out, forgettable character played by Tina Fey! Maybe you should leave him alone instead of awkwardly following him around on his Princeton visit and awkwardly buying him a toothbrush!
There must be people who find awkward humor funny, but it always makes me feel terribly embarrassed for the characters. Like, just stop, you're only hurting yourself.
***
On the other hand, maybe it's just awkward humor awkwardly done that I don't like - awkward humor that isn't actually funny? Then I feel bad for the actors as well as the characters, especially when they're actors who I know can do excellent comedy, because I know that the actors must have realized at some point that it just wasn't working, but they were nonetheless stuck in this train wreck.
Because I love New Girl (and season 3 is finally on Netflix! HOORAY), and the fact that these characters are the most awkward people alive is pretty central to the show. But they are hilarious with it, and I always have the impression that the actors are having an amazing time.
I've been waiting for season 3 to get on Netflix with some trepidation because I bailed on the season back when it was airing because I found Schmidt's cheating schmuckiness in those episodes so aggravating. (Also, I still don't know what they were thinking with that plotline where Winston schemes about killing a cat. Just. What? He doesn't actually do it. BUT STILL. WHAT?)
But it turns out that all this is way less annoying when you can watch the episodes back to back, and therefore see Schmidt get his comeuppance in a matter of hours, rather than having to wait weeks, weeks to see someone smash a pie in his face.
This thought has me waffling about whether or not to watch season 4 as it airs. On the one hand, I totally can! Because my parents have a TV, with cable! One the other hand, possibly New Girl is a pleasure better enjoyed in large doses? Maybe watching it as it airs will just fill me with frustration with all the characters.
But then again, I could discuss it with people! As it airs! And read their fic! This would be so novel and exciting!
Sadly I don't think I'll be able to write New Girl fic: I've never successfully written sitcom fic. I've seen a lot of theories over the years as to why sitcoms produce so much less fic than dramas, but I think a big reason is that it's just so darn hard to produce anything that sounds recognizably like the show. You can't just get by on one or two good lines in the fic. It needs to be all great lines.
Reader, it is because Admission is terrible. It is so terrible I couldn't get through to the end, so I suppose it's possible that it gets better later on, but it was awkward and not-funny and featured Tina Fey's character trying to find meaning in her imploding life by reconnecting with the son she gave up for adoption nearly two decades ago.
Maybe he is happy without you and you'll only mess up his life by seeking him out, forgettable character played by Tina Fey! Maybe you should leave him alone instead of awkwardly following him around on his Princeton visit and awkwardly buying him a toothbrush!
There must be people who find awkward humor funny, but it always makes me feel terribly embarrassed for the characters. Like, just stop, you're only hurting yourself.
***
On the other hand, maybe it's just awkward humor awkwardly done that I don't like - awkward humor that isn't actually funny? Then I feel bad for the actors as well as the characters, especially when they're actors who I know can do excellent comedy, because I know that the actors must have realized at some point that it just wasn't working, but they were nonetheless stuck in this train wreck.
Because I love New Girl (and season 3 is finally on Netflix! HOORAY), and the fact that these characters are the most awkward people alive is pretty central to the show. But they are hilarious with it, and I always have the impression that the actors are having an amazing time.
I've been waiting for season 3 to get on Netflix with some trepidation because I bailed on the season back when it was airing because I found Schmidt's cheating schmuckiness in those episodes so aggravating. (Also, I still don't know what they were thinking with that plotline where Winston schemes about killing a cat. Just. What? He doesn't actually do it. BUT STILL. WHAT?)
But it turns out that all this is way less annoying when you can watch the episodes back to back, and therefore see Schmidt get his comeuppance in a matter of hours, rather than having to wait weeks, weeks to see someone smash a pie in his face.
This thought has me waffling about whether or not to watch season 4 as it airs. On the one hand, I totally can! Because my parents have a TV, with cable! One the other hand, possibly New Girl is a pleasure better enjoyed in large doses? Maybe watching it as it airs will just fill me with frustration with all the characters.
But then again, I could discuss it with people! As it airs! And read their fic! This would be so novel and exciting!
Sadly I don't think I'll be able to write New Girl fic: I've never successfully written sitcom fic. I've seen a lot of theories over the years as to why sitcoms produce so much less fic than dramas, but I think a big reason is that it's just so darn hard to produce anything that sounds recognizably like the show. You can't just get by on one or two good lines in the fic. It needs to be all great lines.
