Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and the pursuit of happiness

"This is definitely what happy feels like! What's wrong with you?"

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has no business being so fucking charming.*

*Musical numbers aside, which I will get to, because hell yes musicals. 

The show goes out of its way to make its heroine, as played by the stupid-talented Rachel Bloom (seriously. How great she is makes me dumber), a new class of awful anti-hero. She’s selfish. She oblivious. She’s insecure and uncertain even while being able to bulldoze over anyone in her way. She’s struggles with mental illness and participates in so many moments of thoughtless cruelty that it’s maddening.

And, god dammit, I’m rooting for her so hard.  

The premise is thus: Hot shot lawyer (Rebecca Bunch), on the heels of a great promotion in New York, runs into a boy she dated for a summer in high school (Josh, played by Vincent Rodriguez III). Lawyer is faced with an existential crisis as she realizes she’s never been as happy as she was during that magical summer, and that she is absolutely miserable with her current lot in life. Lawyer decides to move away from hot shot-ness to West Covina, a small southern California city just two hours away from the beach (without traffic) – which just happens to be where Josh lives.

She’s not going for Josh though.

That would be crazy.

People use the term ‘crazy ex-girlfriend’ a lot, which is sexist.** But even worse, it’s dismissive. “She’s crazy” is used as an explanation for any amount of normal human behavior that just doesn’t jive with whatever dude (male or female) is feeling put-upon at that particular moment. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend explores what that really means – not only in describing exactly what that sort of (not at all normal) behavior could look like, but also by unraveling why someone would act that way to begin with.

**As explained in the show’s theme song.

So, fine – Rebecca’s crazy. She’s moved across the country, leaving behind everything she knew and had built for herself, after running into a guy she hadn’t seen in a decade. Not exactly typical stuff. But the argument Crazy Ex-Girlfriend seems to be making week after week is that her craziness is the least interesting part of this story. As we watch Rebecca slowly start to put together a new life while continuing her relentless pursuit of Josh, the ‘why’ of her craziness begins to reveal itself, and the answers to that question are a lot more nuanced and sad than you’d expect on first spec.*** 

***Also explained in the intro song – that thing does a lot of narrative heavy lifting in 30-odd seconds.

By exploring this messy side of Rebecca's story, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend refuses to let viewers be dismissive and demands that we acknowledge her as a complex person (albeit a fictional one) with complicated reasons behind her bad behavior. Which really doesn't happen with bad behaving lady characters on TV all that often, much less those dealing with mental illness, a quarter life crisis, and a genuine (if flawed) quest to find happiness. 

What a refreshing departure from the Don Drapers and Walter Whites - dark, brooding, multi-faceted, middle-aged guys who were never dismissed by audiences for any insane behavior, but adored for it. Now, we get an anti-hero who is earnest, insecure, self-hating and who can't seem to stop sabotaging herself and everyone around her. All the more heartbreaking because while Rebecca has the capacity to be a better (dare I say a good?****) person, and occasionally proves it, usually she charges ahead without thought to consequences, undoing whatever progress she has made and validating all of her worst fears about herself in the process. 

****As best explained here. (This is the explicit version. You're welcome.) 

I think that this is great enough on it's own. I love me some complicated ladies, subversive feminism and self-loathing. That shit is my bread and butter. But Crazy Ex-Girlfriend offers me even more by being absolutely hilarious and having some damn fine musical numbers (averaging about three per episode for those of you who are interested, which is all of you because hell yeah musicals). 

Whether's it's the nagging cry of a mother visiting from out of town ("Tell me that you have a bathroom in this hovel you call home"), facing your fears ("Now if someone pulls a gun on me, I pull out my knife") or the the Russian roulette that is sex with a stranger ("Hey sexy stranger let’s go to my place and please don’t harvest my kidney"), these songs are fucking funny. I don't care if you don't like musicals - you will like these songs. And even if we put the music aside (which is very, very difficult for me to do), it's still a goddamn funny show. There's even an entire conversation that's about street parking that is also - somehow - actually about anal sex. 

And, remarkably, this show finds a way to be all of these things at once. A musical, a character study, a comedy, a romance and one woman's journey to find herself. 

It's this last aspect that has made this show - which is about 85% ridiculousness in any given episode and brilliant because of that - stick with me.  On a week to week basis, I find myself on the edge of my seat, not wanting Rebecca to reclaim her lost love or find a new brand of success, but wanting something far more nebulous for the flawed hero I've unwittingly adopted so completely. 

I desperately want Rebecca Bunch to be happy. Because she is so completely and apologetically flawed. Because she is trying very hard and every bit of that effort shows. Because when she fails, she fails spectacularly, in hilarious and heart-wrenching ways. And because, every so often, we've been able to see Rebecca win. And while these wins have been small and incremental, they've been all sweeter and important for their smallness, and I'm wholly committed to seeing more of them. 

Other thoughts:

• I said nothing about the supporting cast. They're great. It takes some time - more than is ideal, in fairness - for characters other than Rebecca to get personalities and voices, but once they do it's such a delight. Pete Gardner as Darryl is amazing (and has a truly surprising and welcome subplot in later episodes) and Donna Lynne Champlin is just fantastic as Rebecca's best friend, Paula. 
• And this is without going into depth about Santino Fontana who, with one song, made me fall in love. (Not to be mistaken with this song, in which Mr. Fontana also features, which all Disney fanatics know is the worst trick ever inflicted upon the hearts of children and adults who should know better... No, I'm not telling you which of these categories I occupy.) 
• (It's both of them.)
• I went to college in southern California in a small town that was also two hours away from the beach (without traffic). And let me tell you - they absolutely nail the Inland Empire vibe in this show. It's a little eerie. 
• Yes, there will be a definitive ranking of my favorite songs once this season's over. Thank you so much for asking/caring/being deeply invested in these things like I am. You're so sweet. 
• All shows have flaws, but the most glaring I've found in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is with the characterization of Josh's current 'crazy' girlfriend, Valencia. She is very conveniently two dimensional, and while a part of me is holding out hope for some hidden depth... That doesn't seem likely. 
• That being said - representation on this show is much better than the norm. Room for improvement? Of course. But it's a pleasure to see a leading man who isn't white and have his non-whiteness acknowledged in a way that isn't self-congratulatory. Two other members of the main cast are women of color (although they get much less screen time than the white cast members), and so far two queer characters have emerged from the wings. It's not a lot, but it is something. 
• Speaking of our leading man - I promise, Josh and Vincent Rodriguez III will grow on you. I'm not typically one to appreciate a dumb jock, but you add some sweetness? Who knew that was something the world needed more of.