Girlboss

I all fairness, this could have been a very good inspirational show. But it fails due to its connection to reality...

The big problem is that main character Sophia is a deeply troubled, "nasty" (this doesn't come from nowhere), and foremost very narcissistic character, which in my eyes makes her extremely unlikeable. This alone would not make the series bad, but it is the fact that obviously there isn't much psychological insight. (If you want to know how to do this: "My crazy ex-girlfriend" manages far better to present a questionable character then deconstructing her by means of real psychology, or a little more earnest Judd Apatow's "Love".). Instead, we get to see behavior that if it really inspired young girls would lead to hell on earth. If this girl were a young man, the whole series would be branded "glorifying a sociopathic entrepreneur".

Apart from that, I really liked everything else, the pacing, the music, the cinematography, so that's where some stars are earned. If you can abstract from the horrible personality of Sophia, you might enjoy it as one would enjoy watching "Scarface".

And as a side note: Reality caught up to the real "Sophia" - she went bankrupt due to her own hybris. So please don't try this at home.

I almost gave up on this after the first 2-3 episodes. It didn't seem to have any direction or purpose but I figured since they are only 30 minutes each I would play em in the background while I do other things just to see how she does. They've turned out to be entertaining and funny. If you stick around I think you'll like it.

This show is so much deeper than it first appears, the most important thing is to stick with it. It starts by presenting itself as another 'quirky' girl comedy and within the first episode shatters that illusion, while still going back to it on occasion. As the series progresses it gets closer and closer to reality, with problems and issues coming up, sometimes being resolved, sometimes not, just like life.

You know the feeling when you are walking down the street and you think you look cool and everything is great, and then five minutes later something happens or you remember something and you feel rubbish and like everything is terrible, then five minutes later you are smiling and happy again? That is what this show comes close to capturing. In an effort to showcase real life even further it also has moments of the sheer mundane, like a joke you and your friends love but anyone listening would find stupid, it's not funny but you can appreciate it because you can relate.

Overall it is another case of a show that could never have been made if not for Netflix, it takes risks and at times really captures some great and insightful moments, sometimes it misses but at least it tries, unlike a lot of safe network shows that pretend to be progressive or 'edgy'. The only general complaint might be that the female lead is mostly annoying as a person, but she is meant to be, and she is called on it more often than not. She's not completely likable, but she is relatable, at least to a degree. Either way it shouldn't let you be put off a show that has a lot more thought and heart than it maybe first gives off.

But this show is nailing it!

In episode 1 of 'Girlboss', we are introduced to Sophia. She's not necessarily likable. She definitely beats to her own drum, but that particular drum isn't one that the audience will necessarily appreciate for its rhythm and timbre. She is rude to her boss, demanding to her not-one-night-stand, and obstinate to her father who is reasonably worried about her future. Regardless, the show makes the audience care for Sophia because we get a look at her when she thinks no one is watching. After she angrily 'quits' her job at a shoe store and she is on the phone with a friend, she tells her friend to hold on because an ambulance is raging by, when in fact she uses the break to allow a tear to escape. She knows she's an asshole. She knows she's impossible. The audience will know the struggle, because we were all impossible assholes in some measure at some point in our lives.

The show's brilliance lies not, however, in the troubled young adult that is our lead. We've seen troubled young adults in many a show and movie, they are an old and bored trope. No, the show thrives when it shows us the moments in which Sophia is letting her true self speak. In fact, when Sophia says 'I know I don't know anything. And I know I am supposed to, so I'm going to figure it out, I will.', I personally felt relieved. Finally a young adult who admits to not knowing anything at the beginning of a narrative, as opposed to one acting like they know everything only to find out that they don't know crap the hard way, 2/3 into the story-line. As she stands in front of a vintage shop's mirror, checking out a top and considering whether to take it, the reflection in the mirror shows us she is imagining an over the top, wonderfully fashionable and dramatic look, fur coat and all. It is casually edited into the shot, and no special attention is paid to it, because this is just how Sophia's brain works. I, personally, can't wait where else Sophia's brain is going to take the show when the story allows it to come out more often.

The show is not perfect. Running out of gas at the top of a hill with no one coming to help is not realistic, and stealing a rug with the shopkeeper's comment as 'oh, okay' being the only objection even less so. They try a little too hard to claim the 'own drum' characteristic that shapes our protagonist, and take away from the empathy that is needed for the audience to really want Sophia to succeed.

But I do still want Sophia to succeed. The mirror-image trick is repeated at the end of the first episode, when an idea strikes Sophia and she makes her first move to become a 'girlboss'. (Much as I like the first episode of this show, I hate the 'cutesy' title.). Her mirror image is bathed in golden lighting, but not until the camera turns do we see it is not just her imagination this time. She has seen the light, and darn it if that doesn't spur her to immediately take action in an attempt to get her act together. Now let's just wait and see if the rest of the season answers our want to see Sophia succeed and actually get that act together.

So, the show is awesome but not without its flaws. Aside from hating the main character most of the time, this show is absolutely amazing and Britt Robertson can literally excel as every type of character imaginable. The show ends on a good note but it would've been nice to see how her empire grows. Watch it. Totally recommend.