I Have Nothing

A quirky hero's journey that will truly leave you laughing out loud and, occasionally, welling up with tears of joy. Things are bad out there. This show will make you feel better for a little while. Highly, highly recommend if you like laughing, whimsy, the winter olympics, Whitney Houston, Canada, ice skating, choreography, cozy sweaters, underdogs, stand up comedy, psychics, Mae Martin, the eighties. And if you're wondering "can this show really be about all these things?" somehow the answer is YES. If you've ever watched Baroness von Sketch Show, the main character Carolyn was one of the leads and she is so so funny. What else can I say? Just watch!

Created by and starring Carolyn Taylor, we follow her goal of professionally choreographing an Olympic-level figure skating routine to Whitney Houston's classic I Have Nothing. A somewhat simple premise with astronomically complex actualities, what started as a bit during a stand-up routine slowly becomes reality as Carolyn discovers the world of figure skating first hand, and learns the staggering amount of effort and coordination that goes into what is ultimately a 4 minute performance. A fan of Carolyn from her work on Baroness Von Sketch, I honestly wasn't immediately sold by the first episode, as her nonchalantness about the whole thing, and surprising unpreparedness, had me considerably more stressed out than it was enjoyable, as she attempted to employ many top-tier professionals to achieve a seemingly impossible task. While I'm sure there was some fibbing for effect, and minor exaggeration, it was eventually so fun to watch so many around her (and herself at points) panic at the sheer amount that needed to be done for this to be pulled off, and in the end it was a joy to see what all of them built together. Definitely not a typical reality / comedy program by any sense, Carolyn's personality is the star of this show, even as she's surrounded by so many greats. Throughout, while again deeply frustrating at times in her almost indifferent preparation, she is kind, curious, and just generally seems a joy to be around. While not a laugh out loud sort of comedy, I was certainly smiling throughout, and seeing what it all lead to was a treat, even for someone like myself who was never previously into figure skating in really any capacity. Short at only 6 episodes, I was a big fan of this series and if you're into skating or it seems your type of thing I would highly recommend.

Beyond the tent poles of this show that immediately draw interest (the impossibly affable Mae Martin, a Santa's sleigh of 80's nostalgia as well as figure skating royalty), this show is not only a journey into what it means to dream, but what it means to "be".

Throughout six episodes, the show's creator and star Carolyn takes the audience on an intimate exploration of the magical, terrifying and sometimes panic-inducing experience of dream fulfilment. As humans not only do we arrive and exit this world alone, we are condemned to spend the balance of our lives prisoners of our own thoughts. And yet we are at our finest when we channel all our insecurities into chasing dreams, by opening ourselves up to change and allowing others to take part in them. That is the most satisfying (if somewhat subtle) take-away from this show; that thanks to the support and engagement of a community, a figure skating neophyte was able to choreograph world champions to a platinum charting mega hit by Whitney Houston, that all began as whimsical lark while stuck in traffic. In a world where tribalism has often become an impediment to progress, "I Have Nothing" is a hilarious example of what can happen when you mix a dream with the power of a tribe.

My girlfriend and I were looking for something to watch and randomly chose this. It was great! It was surprisingly funny and kind of touching in a weird way. I didn't know anything about it or any of the performers before but we watched the whole thing in under a week.

The story is very simple although a little goofy - a woman who likes watching figure skating tries to organize a whole routine. She has to design the costumes and choreograph the routine and try to get the legal rights to a famous song. Like I said the story is simple it's just funny seeing her get in way over her head. Liked it all the way through.

Nice to roll the dice on something and it end finding a gem.

As an ex-competitive figure skater from 4-18 (and now about to turn 23) and also being a wanna be documentarian, I absolutely LOVED everything about this mini series!! I learned about a variety of different documentary styles in my last class of college and I think the blending of verite, mis-en-scene, participatory, archival works, and traditional interviewing is well done and really takes us as the viewers part of the journey of Carolyn but also Sandra, Katia, and David. Highlighting other immensely impactful skaters and practices/traditions in the skating world was also so exciting and I love the passion that's exuded in every episode and scene.

We get to see the excitement of skating in the eyes of the average person to make something amazing. Highly recommend skaters and non skaters alike to watch this doc - not only can you learn about skating through this, but also how to make a helluva documentary!