The Golden Globes will, on occasion, cause me to reassess my opinions on some shows I haven't given enough attention. So after HBO's Girls earned two awards, including Best Actress for writer-director-performer Lena Dunham, I decided I had to at least look at the show I had rather brusquely dismissed last season. Fortunately, Season 2 began the same night.
Unfortunately, I'm not entirely certain I get what I'm seeing. The cast is talented (in addition to Dunham and the daughter of David Mamet, it also features Andrew Runnels, Chris O'Dowd, and Donald Glover in smaller roles), but I'm not sure what it's supposed to be about. It was billed as this generations Sex & The City, an argument which doesn't incline me to be generous to it, as I didn't really like the original. Perhaps, like with the previous show, I'm the wrong gender as well as generation to appreciate it. I haven't yet gotten a good grasp of who the characters are supposed to be, nor exactly what it is they're supposed to be doing. They talk and engage about things, as well as hop in and out of bed with other people, but I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to feel. How am I supposed to relate to Hannah's bizarre relationship with Adam, who she has been watching over while he recovers from a broken leg, writes a bizarre album that strays into stalking territory, and seems to be determined to win her over even though she claims to have moved on? Hannah had an equally weird scene where she dealt with the fact that her current boyfriend, a black Republican, didn't like the essay she'd written, had a bizarre lecture about politics, then seemed to break up with her after which she asked whether he was sexually frustrated.
This show, like far too many on HBO, seems to be one that somehow gains inexplicable appeal without engaging emotionally (True Blood and Game of Thrones are two other examples.) Am I missing something here? There is some entertainment value here, and I did laugh more than a few times in both episodes I watched, but I never got the feeling of this transcending the medium like some shows seem to do with a base. I'm going to give it the full season before making up my mind, but I'm not sure why this show gets nominated for Best Comedy and more deserving shows likes Parks and Recreation and Community do not.
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