The formula for a group of girls just hanging out is familiar enough that there’s even a show called “Girls.” This show is more about wit than exploring the feminine mystique but it comfortably straddles both lines. The show cleverly avoids the “Sex and the City” traps of women being defined by where they are in relationships by having the lead character (Kat Dennings who spent several years screaming out loud for something better to do on “2 Broke Girls”) in recovery mode from a long-term relationship for the first few episodes. Dennins’ character, Jules, just got out of a relationship with Jeremy (Connor Hines) who never seemed like a keeper from the first minute we see him.
Her being with him in the first place suggests that she might have never had broad horizons, which is a good jumping-off point from which this show can spring. A magical talking cat (this show breaks the fourth wall reminiscent of “Man Seeking Woman” but only as an occasional gag and not the entire premise of the show) suggests that Jules needs to connect with her female friends so Jules decides to re-spark her relationship with former bestie Madison (Brenda Song) who IIRC introduces her to Stella (Shay Mitchell). Sadly, Stella and Madison are both sophisticated women who are up to date with the latest app. With only four characters taking up most of the screen time (a couple love interests, Jules’ would-be sister-in-law, and Jeremy, and two coworkers are also in the picture) it is one of the biggest flaws of the show that Stella and Madison have little to tell them apart at this stage.
Fortunately, the fourth leg of this quartet is Izzy (Esther Povitsky playing the exact same role as “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) who wants to fit in so badly that she steals her coworkers’ names. Izzy is, without a doubt, the big scene stealer with her unhinged anxiousness. Just wait until Izzy gets caught up in a pretend three-way for just a few seconds to see how wonderful she is.
The show has that classic everything-comes-crashing-down-at-the-end comedy structure and sometimes (when the fancy dinner party gets derailed by a stripper, for example) it works but the level of punch isn’t consistent in a way that gives me confidence in the writer’s ability to nail such complex plots that shows like “It’s Always Sunny”, “30 Rock” or “Seinfeld” can consistently land. Some might say it’s early in the show’s run and shows often get funnier over time as character beats develop, but the show is already starting out with strong characters and character beats don’t fix plot mechanics.
On the whole, the show is about women being of value to one another and what they bring to friendships. If the Bechdel test ever was an accurate measure or effective use of encouraging a fresh female perspective to sitcomdom, this might very well be it.
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