[ad_1]
TV ratingAll our TV reports in one place. There is a moment in the first half of Death for me, a kind of black thriller by Liz Feldman, which perfectly sums up the dynamics between the two actors played by Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini and also indicates the type of format that would best serve these veteran television actors. Jen (Applegate) and Judy (Cardellini) are two middle-aged women who have become good friends after seeking refuge in a grief counseling group, albeit for very different reasons. Their bond is growing so fast that they are fighting their first big fight a few days after their meeting, which leads one of the other group members to refer to Jen and Judy as being "Kate & Allie" .
C +
With
Christina Applegate, Linda Cardellini, Max Jenkins, Luke Roessler, James Marsden, Sam McCarthy, Ed Asner, Valerie Mahaffey
first
Friday May 3rd on Netflix
Format
Black thriller comedy half an hour; each of the 10 episodes of season 1 viewed
Certainly, this reference to a pair of similarly moored women that many people have watched become a family found on television in the 1980s will have no connection to everyone. Death for meThe television viewers. But if you remember the CBS sitcom, wink at Kate and Allie The dynamic between Jen and Judy is even clearer. Like the eponymous duo performed by Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin, Jen and Judy also deal with what will come afterwards, namely the divorce and / or the death of a spouse. . The two sets of co-directors also have excellent chemistry; Applegate and Cardellini establish an instant connection, which helps to justify Jen's otherwise disconcerting decision to let Judy move into the studio of her guest house / late husband after meeting for a week. The more Jen and Judy drink, nibble, get angry and take care of Jen's children together, the more you would like them to move into Cougar Town and wander with Jules, Ellie and Laurie, who are just as dysfunctional, instead of trying to find empathy and friendship amidst the latest mysteries of television.
It's hard to summarize the plot of Death for me Without giving details under embargo, so let's stick to the characters' rhythms and grand traits: the series begins with Jen, an Orange County real estate agent with a posh portfolio of homes, and his two sons ( played by Sam McCarthy and Luke Roessler) in mourning after Jen's husband, Ted, killed in a hit and run. We learn a lot about Jen from her brief exchange with a caring neighbor who puts down a "take on a Mexican lasagna" (with raisins, for whatever reason); she refuses to euphemize death, which suggests that she is a right shooter, but as the season unfolds, she avoids some uncomfortable truths. But Jen also takes on her role as the new main guardian of her sons – her late husband was a homemaker – seriously, so she is looking for help for grief therapy. There she meets Judy, a free spirit whose whole existence is her own antithesis: all the flowers, incense and tchotchkes of Jen's minimalism in California.
They have led very different lives. Judy is an artist who works in a retirement home. Her problems of infertility (solved with sensitivity and sincerity) push her to join the mourning group where she meets and immediately tries to become her friend. At first, Jen is shocked by Judy's openness, but she soon finds herself making the most of her insomnia fed by the losses by talking to her new friend about everything from her marriage to her life. The facts of life at Lilith Fair. They share bottles of wine with confidences and support each other through upsetting developments and separations. In the end, their friendship is tested by more than the inconveniences of everyday life, but the resulting intrigue is more intrusive than suspensive.
Even within this framework, some highlights have been highlighted, but this is mostly in characterization and performance. What a boost Death for me the cast is slightly above average – Applegate and Cardellini are both at the top of their game. Long before losing her husband to a carefree chauffeur, Jen had anger issues that would give Lewis Black a relaxed air, and Applegate proves once again that she is just as comfortable spitting fire that she offers a hilarious reaction. Meanwhile, Cardellini transcends the addiction that usually comes from being the "rascal" in an odd couple, bringing both pathetic and verve to the role of Judy. Together, they make Jen and Judy contenders among the most memorable female duets in television or film, couples such as Kate and Allie, Thelma and Louise, Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern.
But Death for meThe stars also take us into what remains a relatively unexplored path, one that follows middle-aged women and treats mostly romantic entanglements and male friends and peers as breaks or detours. Ted 's death is undeniably traumatic for Jen (and her sons, even though they are often relegated to the background), and it is the catalyst for much of the action of Season 1, but the most inspired and resonant moments come from the rise of Jen and Judy. friendship. Their references to popular culture serve as age markers as well as points of entry for viewers looking for communicable but rarely seen women on television: middle-aged women, especially those whose primary focus is neither family nor career. Jen and Judy remain drifting until they meet, then again when they learn more about them. There is an inherent intrigue, yes; more importantly, there is a link. Jen and Judy do not complement each other, but complement each other. They have a lot of trouble doing that, which is why Death for me more convincing than his well teased and deployed turns. There is a winning comedy in the sense of The girls of the gold and a poignant story of the middle ages as Better things hidden in Death for me; The real mystery is why they are not at the center of the series.
[ad_2]
Source link