Columnists

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

HBO's Girls: Vexed in the City

By: Brad Oswald

Posted: 04/19/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Four girlfriends. New York City. Sex. HBO.

No, we aren't watching reruns of Sex and the City. We're watching a show about young women who watch reruns of Sex and the City.

Despite the inevitable comparisons that have been drawn because of its setting, its attitude and its demographic mix, the new HBO comedy/drama Girls is actually nothing like the beloved Big Apple comedy whose title is constantly being mentioned in the same breath.

"This is about girls who aren't from New York," series creator, writer and star Lena Dunham said about Girls, which premiered last weekend at airs Sundays at 11:30 p.m. on HBO Canada. "They grew up watching Sex and the City, and thought they were going to live the dream. And now that they've arrived, it's something decidedly different."

If Sex and the City was a series about thirtysomething women who seemingly had it all but still wanted more, Girls is more concerned with women in their 20s who haven't yet quite figured out how to get any of it -- they barely have jobs, let alone careers or the money that accompanies them, and their social/sex lives would probably rank somewhere between desperate and desolate.

Dunham leads the pack as Hannah, a slightly overweight and serially self-loathing young female who's a few years out of college and is "working" as an unpaid intern at a publishing company and sponging off her parents while pursuing -- without much purpose or determination -- a dream of becoming a writer.

In last week's premiere, her college-professor parents paid a visit to New York, took Hannah out to dinner, and told her that effective immediately, the gravy train was no longer making regular trips to Gotham.

"We've been supporting you for two years, and that's enough," said her blunt-speaking mother. "No more money ... starting now."

Naturally, that creates some problems for Hannah, and for her roommate, Marnie (Allison Williams), who may be forced to let her boyfriend -- whom she loathes -- move in if Hannah can't come up with her share of the rent money."

Meanwhile, girl pal Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) has just welcomed globetrotting, Brit-accented cousin Jessa (Jemima Kirke), into her apartment, thereby solidifying the foursome of mismatched friends that drives Girls' storylines forward.

Dunham, a Soho-raised writer/film-maker who made waves on the film-festival circuit with her indie project Tiny Furniture, insists that there is something of a noble sense of purpose behind the seemingly directionless and self-indulgent behaviour of Girls's core quartet.

"I think we've all been really conscious of making sure that it's clear that they're trying their hardest," Dunham said in January, when Girls was previewed for TV critics during HBO's portion of the U.S. networks' semi-annual press tour in Los Angeles. "They make mistakes, but they are also working toward something. It's a two-steps-forward-one-step-back situation. They do need to grow up. That's what the show is about. It's about that sort of effort to change."

It's clear from the outset that Hannah is the one most in need of an attitude/approach overhaul. When she tells her boss she can no longer afford to work for free, he immediately counters with, "We're really going to miss your energy." And when she seeks comfort in the arms of the "boyfriend" who clearly views her as nothing but an occasional booty call, she receives nothing in terms of sympathy or support.

Dunham admitted that the character wasn't really too hard to write.

"She's closely based on my own experience of getting out of college and not having a sense of whether I would ever get to do the thing I wanted to do, and I was really miserable," she said. "I was working in a baby-clothes store and was just, like, really excited that I got free cookies in the afternoon. It was a really confusing, frustrating time, and I saw a lot of my friends going through the same thing, and it didn't feel like it was being reflected back at us.

"I've always been someone who feels better if I see what I'm going through in a movie -- then I'm like, 'OK, it's not the worst.' So I really wanted that for me and my friends."

With current youthful-rom-com king Judd Apatow (Bridesmaids, Knocked Up) aboard as one of the series' executive producers, Girls arrived in HBO's schedule riding a tidal wave of expectation and hype.

Dunham said she was a bit intimidated by the shift from low-budget indie film-making to major-network TV-series production, but her fears were quickly laid to rest by Girls' creative team.

"I was expecting to go in and be totally overwhelmed by this new machine and these new collaborators," she recalled, "and it actually felt as personal and understanding as making a movie with my mom and my sister. I just didn't have to buy the pizza."

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

ON TV

GIRLS

Starring Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke and Zosia Mamet

Sunday at 11:30 p.m.

HBO Canada

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 19, 2012 E7

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More Columnists

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

Have Your Say

Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?

Have Your Say

Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.