Wellmania

I'll start this by saying that I'm a huge fan of Celeste Barber and her parodies of models. Her irreverent humour is brilliant.

I was excited to see that she was starring in this series and couldn't wait to binge it. I have to say that I almost stopped watching after a couple of episodes. I found the main character played by Celeste was so unlikeable and self-centred. She didn't seem to care much about anyone around her.

But I persevered. I saw the series out and am still in two minds about it. I loved the character played by Miranda Otto and thought she played the role beautifully.

Series 2? Hmmm....

On my wife's suggestion, I watched the show. Normally, in a show where the main character is so self destructive, e.g. "You Better Call Saul," I dislike the slow evolution into chaos, and, as another reviewer put it, "cringe moments." Saying that, there are some small redeeming qualities to the main character as she, very slowly, emerges from this vortex. Perhaps, the show is unpredictable in that we expect the process to be faster, but perhaps we also know from real life that such process will be all life consuming for someone as "damaged" as her. We also should know from real life that family and friends are also caught in this vortex. If you read this far, I would say, stick with it, it is not a comedy as "full of laughs;" it is a comedy of life happening in a moment for this person and we are just there to view the ride.

It might seem like a FleaBag b side to start but stick with it. This show has substance and craft and characters that get under your skin. I didn't like it, ready to ditch it, then loved it. Celeste is fantastic. It's far far better than at first appears. This is long form storytelling, do not trust anyone that dumped it early because they haven't even entered act 2. From episode 5 we start to understand her trauma, and although it's story craft by numbers it's crafted exquisitely well, and performed beautifully. Stylistically it's fantastic, the flashbacks work so well, always maintaining the emotional impact we are after. Blah. Watch it. Stick with it.

I watched this hungover, and it was perfect for a hangover day on the couch. I have to admit I didn't laugh, the jokes were kinda cheap cringey ones, but I did enjoy the show. The acting was well done and I like the short episodes.

One thing I really liked is it wasn't too predictable. Every time I thought "oh this is about to happen" it actually wouldn't happen. I was pleasantly surprised!

I really like the premise for the show, and I love Celeste. She isn't afraid to make fun of herself.

As for the characters, not many of them are very likeable but that's ok, it's more realistic that way.

If there was a season 2 I'd watch it. I even shed a tear or two!

The first time I tried watching Wellmania, I couldn't even make it through the first episode. I found the main actress annoying and her character, an Australian born New York food writer Liv Healy, even more annoying and obnoxious. It looked like the whole thing was going to be a trainwreck going nowhere good. Then I realized that the actress, Celeste Barber, was the same person, who created those hilarious videos mocking social media posers, and decided to give it another try. It turned out I stopped just as the show was about to come together. And Liv Healy grew on me. In the beginning she tried to tell the American consulate official (and us) that she "really is a lovely person", but was utterly unconvincing. But as she was forced to slow down from her "fly from New York to Australia for the weekend" lifestyle, she gave herself a chance to reveal, gradually, that she is just that. Smart, talented. And driven by fear of screwing up her life. Her fear is far from unfounded. She appears to have no filter and no impulse control, leading to screwups pretty much daily. And the last episode reveals that she's nursing a trauma of a screwup from her early teens that was so terrible, I felt the show was ill equipped to deal with it.

I really liked Liv's brother Gareth, played wonderfully by Lachlan Buchanan. He got the show's most enjoyable story arc. But Liv's best friend from childhood, now an uptight investigative reporter Amy Kwan (JJ Fong), whose 40th birthday was what brought Liv back to Australia, seemed over the top. And is it too much to ask for the show's set up to be something that can actually happen? Liv gets stuck in Australia after her green card is stolen and then revoked "until she can pass the physical exam", sending her on a literal "get well soon" mission. I found it hard to believe that one's green card can be revoked for health reasons, so I actually googled it. All I found was that maybe, if a person contracts something contagious. But not for passing out at the consulate and having high blood pressure. But oh well, in the end, it was a fun, unpredictable, heartwarming ride.