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| Scene from Mrs. Fletcher |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
Considering how often that HBO has been associated with frivolous content full of nudity and sex, it's interesting to see how new series Mrs. Fletcher uses it to bookend its first episode. The opening begins with Fletcher (Kathryn Hahn) walking into a nursing home she works at to discover that one of the patients has upset everyone by watching porn. Considering his loss of hearing, he has it on full volume so that the poor knitting circles have no choice but to complain. When confronted with the matter, the man's son tells Fletcher that the poor guy has nobody left. All he has is this form of stimulation that will make him happy. Is it so wrong to want to better an old man's life? It's a bit of a dirty question mixed with inherent loneliness that will come to define Fletcher's arc for the rest of the episode.
She is a mother, preparing to see her son Zach (Cameron Boyce) move away to college. As much as she tries to be there, she finds it difficult because Zach has become his own man. He prefers the company of his girlfriend, of whom he sleeps with before leaving for college. Sex is seen as the ultimate adult act, and sign that Mrs. Fletcher, who loathes the name and prefers to be called Eve, is about to become a lonely woman with nothing in her life. This is the story about the empty nest, and all that it entails. Much like the old man from the beginning of the episode, Fletcher contemplates watching porn as an escape from her newfound loneliness, but it's maybe a bit too gross for her at this time.
It helps that Hahn is a brilliant actress who has had a storied career playing many great supporting characters. In this lead role, she feels right at home in a world that underestimates her at every turn. When dropping Zach off at college, she finds herself unable to really connect. The campus helpers condescend to her and Zach is immediately impressed by his roommate's dumbbells. She is already feeling inferior to the world around her, and it becomes soul-crushing. She just wants to have someone that will listen to her. Instead, she is about to have nobody, stuck alone. It helps that Hahn is immediately adorable and infectious as a performer, making her brief moments into curmudgeon all the more endearing. She provides a perspective not often seen on TV. Even in recent HBO shows like Togetherness, Sally4Ever, or Divorce, there's still some base of a supporting system. Nothing has really been introduced yet, and that could only mean that something is on the horizon.
So, what does an empty nester do when the world has moved on? Does she spend the rest of her life staring at the screen, looking for a cheap satisfaction that will only isolate her further? Will she live life more dangerously? Considering that writer Tom Perrotta's previous project, The Leftovers, explored loneliness in a more somber tone, one can expect him to handle this grief with a bit more of a personalized tone. Considering that indie auteur Nicole Holofcener is also directing, there's a chance that this will be the exploration of female loneliness that media doesn't really address often. There are few actresses capable of pulling it off with as much heart as Hahn, and one can imagine that she'll bring life to this show's darker moments, even if she has to share screen time with the ribald life of college that Zach is currently enjoying.
Mrs. Fletcher is a nice addition to the indie sensibilities of HBO comedies. By focusing on a very personal story of empty nesting, the show can seek to find deeper meaning in what it takes to move on when everyone else does. The results could be entertaining, especially as Hahn breaks free of her sanitized approach to parenting and finds a way to live again like she did before becoming a mother. There's so much potential for this show, even with the unfortunate passing of the main star Cameron Boyce in July. One has to wonder what will lie ahead if there's room to grow and if the show will be able to write around Boyce's absence in future seasons - or if that's even an option anymore. Still, it's a nice and charming show about the loneliness that will hopefully break down some taboos that come with this time in parents' lives that are known about but rarely given depth in entertainment. One can hope it does the subject justice.
She is a mother, preparing to see her son Zach (Cameron Boyce) move away to college. As much as she tries to be there, she finds it difficult because Zach has become his own man. He prefers the company of his girlfriend, of whom he sleeps with before leaving for college. Sex is seen as the ultimate adult act, and sign that Mrs. Fletcher, who loathes the name and prefers to be called Eve, is about to become a lonely woman with nothing in her life. This is the story about the empty nest, and all that it entails. Much like the old man from the beginning of the episode, Fletcher contemplates watching porn as an escape from her newfound loneliness, but it's maybe a bit too gross for her at this time.
It helps that Hahn is a brilliant actress who has had a storied career playing many great supporting characters. In this lead role, she feels right at home in a world that underestimates her at every turn. When dropping Zach off at college, she finds herself unable to really connect. The campus helpers condescend to her and Zach is immediately impressed by his roommate's dumbbells. She is already feeling inferior to the world around her, and it becomes soul-crushing. She just wants to have someone that will listen to her. Instead, she is about to have nobody, stuck alone. It helps that Hahn is immediately adorable and infectious as a performer, making her brief moments into curmudgeon all the more endearing. She provides a perspective not often seen on TV. Even in recent HBO shows like Togetherness, Sally4Ever, or Divorce, there's still some base of a supporting system. Nothing has really been introduced yet, and that could only mean that something is on the horizon.
So, what does an empty nester do when the world has moved on? Does she spend the rest of her life staring at the screen, looking for a cheap satisfaction that will only isolate her further? Will she live life more dangerously? Considering that writer Tom Perrotta's previous project, The Leftovers, explored loneliness in a more somber tone, one can expect him to handle this grief with a bit more of a personalized tone. Considering that indie auteur Nicole Holofcener is also directing, there's a chance that this will be the exploration of female loneliness that media doesn't really address often. There are few actresses capable of pulling it off with as much heart as Hahn, and one can imagine that she'll bring life to this show's darker moments, even if she has to share screen time with the ribald life of college that Zach is currently enjoying.
Mrs. Fletcher is a nice addition to the indie sensibilities of HBO comedies. By focusing on a very personal story of empty nesting, the show can seek to find deeper meaning in what it takes to move on when everyone else does. The results could be entertaining, especially as Hahn breaks free of her sanitized approach to parenting and finds a way to live again like she did before becoming a mother. There's so much potential for this show, even with the unfortunate passing of the main star Cameron Boyce in July. One has to wonder what will lie ahead if there's room to grow and if the show will be able to write around Boyce's absence in future seasons - or if that's even an option anymore. Still, it's a nice and charming show about the loneliness that will hopefully break down some taboos that come with this time in parents' lives that are known about but rarely given depth in entertainment. One can hope it does the subject justice.
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