I Love Dick

I love Kathryn Hahn. I love Kevin Bacon. I have been to Marfa. Nice people tolerating artists. Artists laughing at locals behind their backs. But here's my point: authenticity in the portrayal of Texans and Texas is something Hollywood will never get. In the scene in Man City where Ms. Willis removes her clothes- the Texas flag is upside down. White bar on top. Okay, I'm done here.

During the pilot it becomes immediately apparent that there is not a single redeemable quality in any of the characters. The male protagonist is a sorry caricature of middle age stagnation. The story begins with him but shifts to his wife as the storyteller. His wife starts complaining about everything as soon as the camera hits her, the food, the accommodations, the town, the people...and on and on. Characters are introduced, seem interesting but then their story arcs just end with no clear resolution or even unclear resolution. The story is an endless series of wine gatherings and classes about "art?" I honestly did not believe vapid people still existed like this, I am surprised Andy Warhol was not exhumed to round out the cast. The characters are the stereotypical New Yorkers, roaming around the desert wearing blue blazers and ladder strap sandals...."oh look at us we are sophisticates because we drink wine." I was hoping for so much more.

The only reason I give this 9 stars is because I wasn't quite compelled to watch the entire season in one sitting (was two episodes shy), but that doesn't take away from how much I loved it. Also, I haven't texted everyone I know about it, because it's not a series for everyone, which also puts it in the 9 stars category.

Until now I've been a lukewarm Kathryn Hahn fan, but she was great in this, and changed my opinion of her acting completely.

Ditto with Kevin Bacon. I never saw him as a sex symbol before (and I grew up during the Footloose era), but hot damn, he was smokin' in this.

This is a series for feminist womyn. I do believe plenty of men would like it, but I doubt your rough and tumble beer-swigging, crotch-scratchers would find one second of it interesting. It's full of liberal-minded characters, some who smoke pot, some who are lesbians, some who experienced same-sex sex in 70's drug-induced states.

Take-away: If you're a right-winged Republican Christian, take a pass. Everyone else with an open mind who enjoys artsy pieces with lots of sex and nudity, as well as dialog that makes you pause the show so you can absorb the multitude of "lightbulb moments" it triggers within your own life, I highly recommend it.

This review is based on the whole series, not just the pilot as so many of the other reviews are.

Get past the Pilot, it is probably the worst episode of the series and it will put a lot of people off.

If you can get past the Pilot, be prepared for a weird and wacky ride, it takes a bit of watching, but each episode is less than 30 minutes and I think it was worth it.

The important characters, and there is more than one or three like the inaccurate plot points out, are reasonably well fleshed out and each has a story.

Let me just say this is not a story about a man and a woman falling in love with the same man and leave it there. Work it out for yourself.

There is lots of full frontal nudity, both male and female, but it is not over the top in my opinion and fits with the story.

Some would say the series is very artsy, but I found it not so. It was just a story about people.

I liked it and recommend it.

7/10

First, if you're having a hard time getting into the series watch the director's summary. In just 6min I had much more sense of what they were going for.

Second, even if you're not particularly interested in feminism or art, this series is very entertaining. Kathryn Hahn, especially, is fascinating to follow through her journey of changes. And Kevin Bacon is more interesting, vulnerable, and funny to watch than ever before. Just a fantastic set of actors throughout this series.

Finally, the show tells a simple story that brings up a ton of complex issues. It is a pro- woman meditation on marriage, art, feminism, gender, and becoming your next self.

I sure hope we get a second season with all these people!!!!