TV Series Review: Loot (Apple TV +, 2022)

This show is incredible. 

Loot is a show about Molly and her journey at her foundation after her husband leaves her.

This show, to me, feels like Ted Lasso. It's a feel-good show where you can see people grow and become their best selves. I literally love this show. It's great. It's also right up my alley since I've started watching tv shows about the tech industry.

Maya Rudolph plays Molly Wells who finds herself confused about her purpose in life after her rich, billionaire husband leaves her. She then discovers she owns a foundation and starts working there, trying to find her belonging in the world. Upon her entrance, she brings her whole team together to create a work family.

As soon as I finished the trailer for this show before it came out, I knew I would like this show. And I was right. I love the characters and the little separate duos they branch off with (Howard and Nicholas, Molly and Sofia, etc.). Also, the little love connection between Molly and Arthur is amazing to watch and root for. 

The story is also inspiring. A woman getting back on her feet after being in her husband's shadow for 20 years. I mean she helped him throughout his whole career but never received her credit after he blew up. She supported him through everything and got to reap the benefits but was never acknowledged, which I feel is what is most important to Molly. Not the money, but the knowledge that she did something that can help people, making her feel good. I mean we all feel like that right? After we do something helpful to someone? It boosts us up and makes us feel good. It's a great plot. Very much girlboss.

One moment that still has me thinking about it is when Molly talks about how billionaires are just providing distractions and not actually solving problems. I think that's very important to think about now in our reality (though the show is still our reality and not a fantasy) considering all the "eco-friendly" inventions and other nonsense marketing is pulling off. I don't remember the quote exactly but it's a memorable moment.

I can't lie though, Adam Scott is attractive in this show. Maybe not that much cause of the beard (did they shave it a weird way? Did it just grow a weird way?) but I still support and love Adam Scott. Not in the show though. He's a cheater. A favorite line from the show to describe his character is "Never give a nerd money."

Though I don't know how they'll do season two (or if it's even renewed), I'm excited to see Molly and the team figure out where to go after that ending (no spoilers).

Overall, the show is hilarious and wonderful to watch. I definitely recommend it!

Rating: 10/10

TV Series Review: Uncoupled S1 (Netflix, 2022)

 

***SPOILER ALERT***

Uncoupled follows Michael Lawson learning how to be single again after his longtime boyfriend breaks up with him with no explanation.

I don't really know how I feel about this show. I don't know if I would watch a season 2 of it. Maybe I would for Tisha Campbell cause she was very fun in the show along with Claire Lewis.  I mean I liked it, it kept me entertained. Obviously, I can't relate to it so maybe that's why I wouldn't watch a season 2. The setting of the show (New York) is nice. New York is a great place really. Who doesn't love the aesthetic of New York?

Every episode has a different love interest for Michael to learn from, whether it's how to use dating apps, 21st-century hookups, or actually dating and sharing your life.

The other 2 characters, Stanley and Billy are also fun to watch. Stanley is considered to be old and stuck to his ways. He doesn't go out on dates that often and is mainly focused on work. Billy is a local weatherman and a massive playboy. He's the one that coaches Michael on how to fit in on dating apps and how hookups work nowadays.

The show ends on a sort of cliffhanger, opening up the chance for a season 2. Stanely finds out he has cancer, Billy tries to tone down his antics and be there for his friends, Suzanne finds out the identity of her son's biological father (since she didn't remember who he was), and Colin (Michael's ex) reveals to Michael that he wants to get back together. 

Throughout the whole show it was mentioned that people usually get back together and it would be the same for Michael and Colin. So in the last episode, I was expecting that. It just looked like Colin wanted to go back to his old life, with old friends approaching him and actually talking to him instead of shunning him. I could tell that Colin wanted to go back to Michael for a secure life and that was why Colin broke up with him in the first place. 

Overall, it was a decent show, maybe not my favorite. The episodic stories were good, telling viewers about what modern-day dating is like for people over the age of 40. I think that's the whole purpose of the show. To show that people can go out and date again after all they've experienced in life. (marriage, kids, career, etc.)

Rating: 6.5/10

Movie Review: Wedding Season (Netflix, 2022)

Wedding Season is a movie about Asha trying to focus on her new economist job while her mother pressures her into a relationship. When her mother sets up a dating profile for her, she forces Asha to meet Ravi. Ravi is considered to be an eligible bachelor who graduated from MIT at 16 and runs a start-up. Asha devises a plan with him to attend 14 weddings in one summer as a fake couple to get rid of the gossiping aunties, their parents' standards, and dating profiles.

The trailer for the movie looked good and fun to watch. The movie mostly reflected on that initial thought. Netflix has a certain style about their movies, they don't exactly address everything at the end, like the perfect ending. Wedding season also follows that trend. 

When I first showed my mom the trailer, she said this was just a Bollywood film in English. She wasn't entirely wrong (especially at the end credits scene), but there was definitely that western feel to the movie. For example, this movie takes place in New Jersey (though it was filmed in Toronto. I could tell by Gerard St.) and the viewer can tell the main characters are westernized and not super knowledgeable about their culture and past. Asha's sister's fiance, Nick, shows more of an effort to learn about their culture than both of them.

The movie tries to destigmatize certain careers and interracial marriages to relate to this generation and to prove to the older generations that these things aren't bad and shouldn't be a problem. Ravi is considered a boy with a bad past, which isn't entirely true considering he still is doing what he was doing in his "past". One aunty in the movie kept saying he is a fraud, foreshadowing his work, past, and livelihood. Ravi's parents kept up the lie in hopes to find a good girl for him to marry. But in the end, it didn't matter since Ravi and his parents revealed the truth about his career and education.

They only showed about 3 weddings in full and the rest were sort of off-screen. The 3 weddings they showed were all interracial weddings. A Hindu girl and a Jewish man (along with their religions' priests), a Muslim man and a Hindu girl (which showed the stigma around the two religions co-existing by their parents rejecting the marriage and not attending), and the main character's sister's wedding, A Hindu girl and a White man (who was fully supportive of her culture, language, and most importantly to him at least, Bollywood). These weddings were special to watch in full because it shows how society is accepting of interracial relationships now. I liked seeing how they incorporated each of their partners' cultures into the wedding ceremonies.

I also loved the montage scene! The song choice was great (Tiptoeing by Hope Tala) and seeing them at each wedding, dancing, having fun, and being close to each other was great to watch! I don't have any bad thoughts about it and this scene might be the most memorable part of the movie for the 2 characters.  

They didn't really do great in the ending. It just kinda stopped when they finally got together. They didn't show if the characters got what they wanted in their independent lives and careers. I would've liked to see if Asha followed through in the next step of her career or if she just stayed where she was. My guess is she stayed where she was.

Overall, Wedding Season is a cute romcom and an alright time-passer. I didnt feel super excited for the characters like I usually do, but that still doesn't mean it's a bad movie. It's a great diverse movie. It's what we need after Purple Hearts (another Netflix movie. Good god the clips I've seen). It is a great way to show other people who are unaware of the challenges first-generation children deal with and explains many things about the stigmas we face in our communities. 

Rating: 8/10