One of our names begins with T and the other with A – we’re a magical combo representing the front and the back, the best of both worlds, the humps and the lumps. We’re women with similar life paths, who came to Los Angeles ages ago and earned our stripes looking for love among the Hollywood hipsters. We are here to share what we’ve learned with you, with the charm of Southern gals and the smarts of city vixens.
A has dated so many LA guys that she couldn’t come close to naming them all, and sometimes doesn’t recognize them in public.
T has managed not to kill her boyfriend, somehow.
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Proud to say we’ve been re-tweeted by New York Times television critic Neil Genzlinger on this one.
The T Side:
In years past I haven’t been such a TV glutton, but due to the numbers of women in leads for the fall season, I tuned in. I’m regretting it. It’s really unfortunate that I have to say these new characters don’t speak to me, and I don’t want them speaking for me. It’s wonderful that there seem to be more women working in the medium, although there’s evidence that our voices are diminishing on the small screen. I know A and I are within the target demographic for shows like Whitney and New Girl, but sorry, these protagonists are just not doing it for me.
New Girl – Jess’s female best friend can’t help her out of a post-breakup funk, but three men somehow do so by babying her? She’s also a grown woman about to go over the hill. I’d rather re-group with my female buddies and go find a rebound without dude intervention. If I was so turned off by a cheating man, I wouldn’t go spend time with “douche-bags” who acknowledge what they are by putting money in a jar every time they pull some douche-baggery? Why would I want to be around, much less live with a needy dude who whines about his ex, some over testosterone-y guy, or a player whose only initial interest in me as a person is my proximity to models? I’d need and want my girlfriends, not three, count ’em, three strange men. Stopped watching after episode one. Grown women shouldn’t be adorable like a three year old is, or “adorkable”. They should be beautiful and capable- maybe bapable.
Whitney – is this chick using this show to expose her ass? Episode 1: nurse outfit. Episode 2: slut outfit. Ok, great, but what kind of nearly 30-year-old woman has pretend first dates with her live-in? Not me. Whitney’s two female friends are throw-away characters – totally static. My female friends are boisterous and alive. The only funny part in the premiere was when Whitney’s boyfriend hit his head and passed out. Nonetheless, I gave episode two a chance and it made me and my boyfriend want to go jump off a cliff. We haven’t watched it since.
The one show I don’t want to like, but do, is Two Broke Girls. Maybe it’s because I lived in New York City and worked in restaurants once upon a time, but it’s more that these women (Caroline and Max) stick up for each other and don’t help each other indulge in dumb-ass-ery. You root for them to get what they want and deserve because they can use their brains and persevere, damn it. As much as she tries to play the sarcastic smart-ass, Whitney didn’t go to business school like Caroline. And Jess clearly doesn’t have an ounce of the street smarts that Max does.
*Update. Sadly as the season has dragged on, 2BrokeGirls became 2BanalGirls with the bad race jokes and the veering off with Max’s love life, leaving Caroline side lined.
Not drinking the kool-aid. Well, that’s me. Here’s what A has to say on the subject –
The A Side:
T is right that as smart, stylish young women we are the marketing department’s dream demographic for these shows. When their ads started popping up around LA, I was immediately attracted to the seemingly relatable characters. Two Broke Girls? That could’ve been me a few short years ago. Whitney? Me a few years out (I don’t believe for a second she’s 29). New Girl? Me right about now. Like T, I’m not a prime time kinda gal but I watched the first few episodes of these shows because I was excited that they were written for and about girls like me.
But if this is what I look like once production wraps, I’d rather be Gossip Girl than New Girl. Jess is set up as a “good person,” a sweetheart of an elementary school teacher who’ll do anything for a friend. Great, I can relate. So why does she also have to be a spineless, clueless, socially-inappropriate train-wreck? New Girl’s writers clearly dreamed this part up just for Zooey Deschanel, the most “adorkable” of them all and the reigning queen of the Manic Pixie Dream Girls. Her career has been centered on the premise that being spaced-out, wide-eyed and “quirky” is irresistibly attractive. Fair enough, almost every guy I date is in love with her. But if I acted like she does in New Girl (and most of her other roles), I’d get kicked to the curb and then blocked on Facebook. Last I checked – when I was 10 – sobbing while watching Dirty Dancing on repeat doesn’t actually get you what you want.
While Whitney’s premise is good (strong, sarcastic woman has realistic modern relationship with male equal), the execution is way off. In every episode, Whitney’s attempts to be “real” are really just annoying and childish (not to mention unfunny). Try giving your live-in boyfriend “the silent treatment” for a few days without the benefit of a live studio audience to chuckle at your mishaps and see how that goes over.
Not that sitcoms have ever accurately reflected reality – but if you’re going to market “real girls” to real real girls, give us a little more credit.
This coming holiday week, we’ll tell you about something scarier than Manic Pixie Dream Girls – hooking up on Halloween. We’re also gearing up for T&A Do The UK. The UK is not a dance, it’s The United Kingdom.
