television

TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 10

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

 

lovin that cali lifestyle!! Poster

Director:

Anne Walker Farrell

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Peter Knight (as Peter A. Knight)

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

“Lovin’ that Cali Lifestyle!”

Structurally, I have to commend this episode for it’s detailed foreshadowing. Hollyhock’s enthusiasm about Beatrice’s coffee, the opening titles showing her not eating, all of the weight-based comments we get in the flashback sequences with Bojack’s grandparents. When combined with Hollyhock’s obsessive behaviors and her lack of interest in food, this totally, totally works.

It’s easy to not notice the subtle changes in Hollyhock’s physical appearance on your first watch through of this season, but if you actually go back and compare her appearance from episode to episode, the change in Hollyhock’s body is visible and incredibly obvious. It’s an excellent depiction of how dangerous drug use can sneak in, totally undetected, right under someone’s nose.

There are, however, some slight gaps in the logic of the big twist of this episode. Beatrice is home-bound and suffering from moderate-to-severe dementia, right? So how exactly did she manage to gain access to a large bottle of amphetamine-based diet pills? We’re not really meant to know Beatrice’s specific level of sentience, but it’s a little hard to suspend my disbelief to the point where I can see Beatrice gaining access to medical-grade amphetamines in her mental conditions.

Despite Hollyhock’s collapse being the main focus of this episode, the Mr. Peanutbutter gubernatorial campaign plot line finally meets it’s resolution. There are a few subtle references to the 2016 Presidential Election, such as petty factors like a distaste for avocado being monumentally important to public opinion. There’s also the darker note of Diane’s reaction to Mr. Peanutbutter assigning joint credit to her accomplishments, which is yet another moment pointing to their obvious impending separation. |az\

*****
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

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TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 09

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Ruthie Poster
One one awful day, Princess Carolyn deals with rejection, deception and loss. BoJack and Diane try to track down Hollyhock’s birth certificate.

Director:

Amy Winfrey

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Joanna Calo

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie |

by Mary Cox

“Ruthie”

I can’t be alone in thinking that the handling of Princess Carolyn’s miscarriage was somewhat tasteless. We see her suffer yet another huge, profound disappointment in her life, one which ultimately ends her relationship with Ralph and sends her spiraling into alcoholism and depression, and how do they decide to frame this information? Puns and cheap jokes based on the accents of “foreigners.” Tacky.

Bad taste aside, the plot line about Princess Carolyn’s family heirloom was a decent metaphor for the artificiality of the lies we tell ourselves about the past and the future, which does seem to connect to this season’s greater theme of all things being swept away by the passage of time.

I could live without the somewhat uninspired sub-plot where Bojack and Diane try to track down Hollyhock’s birth certificate at the county courthouse. If DMV-type jokes are the “groundbreaking” territory this series aims to cover, Bojack might as well be doing a stand-up routine about airplane food.

The ending of “Ruthie” does kind of pull back around to a more tonally reasonable place, but this season has generally struggled a little when it comes to balancing comedic and dramatic moments, like how it stumbled over Bojack’s grandmother’s lobotomy. At the very least, “Ruthie” gives us clarification that inter-species relationships end up with babies that are either one animal or another, clearing up some of the mystery surrounding Hollyhock’s parentage.
 

*****
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

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TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 08

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

 

The Judge Poster
Hollyhock starts dating and intern on BoJack’s new show. Princess Carolyn meets Ralph’s parents. Mr. Peanutbutter throws his support behind Woodchuck.

Director:

Otto Murga

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Elijah Aron 

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

“The Judge”

Princess Carolyn and Stilton’s relationship touched on interesting ground in this episode. Maintaining a romantic relationship across two different cultures can be a huge challenge in any situation, let alone when one culture bases part of its identity on denigrating the people and culture of another group.

How could Carolyn ever feel embraced in a culture that bases part of its core identity on hating cats? Stilton ultimately makes the right choice in standing up for his partner, even in defiance of his culture and family.

Bojack is making an attempt at fatherhood by trying to guide Hollyhock through one of her earliest relationship. While Bojack ends up being right about the Intern’s intentions, he has to backtrack to protect Hollyhock’s feelings.

Interestingly, Hollyhock shows us that some more of Bojack’s obsessive and self-destructive behaviors might be lurking inside of her as well.
 

*****
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

bojack horseman 1.jpg

TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 07

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , ,

 

Underground Poster
Mr. Peanutbutter’s posh campaign fundraiser takes a terrifying turn. As chaos swirls around them. BoJack and Diane get drunk.

Director:

Aaron Long

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Alison Tafel (staff writer)

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

“Underground”

No punches have been pulled in this vicious takedown of fracking as Mr. Peanutbutter’s house falls deep underground due to a man-made earthquake. Glamazonian Drag World Superstar RuPaul Charles makes an appearance as the Ant Queen who saves Todd and Princess Carolyn from their earthen tombs.

Mr. Peanutbutter’s near-miss at being burned alive by Jessica Biel was the incentive he needed to realize his quest to be governor was just a reaction to being around his ex-wife. Bojack and Diane finally have the heart-to-heart they’ve been avoiding since the death of Sarah Lynn.

We’re over halfway through the series, and there’s no clear indication where any of this is going, or how any of these story lines are going to tie together. There does seem to be a recurring theme of families and parenthood going on, which is why I have a terrible feeling about Princess Carolyn’s pregnancy, but it’s too early to tell exactly how this season will end for Bojack and his friends.

 

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

bojack horseman 1.jpg

TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 06

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Director:

Anne Walker Farrell

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Alison Tafel

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

“Stupid Piece of Shit”

This episode gives us a look inside Bojack’s head, giving us a taste of his self-loathing and self-destructive thought patterns. Ever since meeting Hollyhock, Bojack has started to wonder how much of himself has been passed onto his daughter, and it seems like a fair amount of Bojack’s neuroses have carried throughout his lineage.

One issue this show always seems to address is the effects of the passage of time, and the cycles we’re all doomed to repeat. Bojack is a 90s sitcom star struggling to relive his past. At the same time, watching his mother relive raising a baby sparks a furious reaction in Bojack.

Hollyhock gives Bojack the perfect opportunity to make peace between his past and his present, but is he willing to do the work to put his demons to rest?

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

bojack horseman 1.jpg

TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 04

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Commence Fracking Poster
The campaign takes a toll on Diane’s love life. BoJack helps Hollyhock search for her mom. Princess Carolyn tries to get pregnant.

Director:

Matt Garofalo

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Joanna Calo

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

“Commence Fracking”

It seems like Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter’s relationship has been on the rocks pretty much ever since they’ve been together, but they’ve never come so close to splitting up as they are now. It’s always super weird to see sex scenes between the human and animal characters of this show, but there’s something fundamentally uncomfortable about watching shirtless Mr. Peanutbutter furiously laying pipe in his wife.

Hollyhock is still on the quest to find her birth mother, but that’s another issue in the whole people and animals in relationships thing. Can two different species actually reproduce in the Bojack Horseman universe? If Hollyhock is a horse, doesn’t that mean her mother has to also be a horse? If not, then Princess Carolyn’s quest to conceive with her mouse boyfriend isn’t going to end well.

The long-lost daughter angle is very much a cliché, but I’m interested in riding it out to see where this goes. Frankly, I’m not entirely convinced that Hollyhock is genuinely Bojack’s daughter, so there might be more to this situation than meets the eye.

 

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

bojack horseman 1.jpg

TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 03

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,

 

Hooray! Todd Episode! Poster
Helpful to a fault, Todd is spread thin doing favors for Princess Carolyn, Mr. Peanutbutter and a visitor with a potential connection to BoJack.

Director:

Aaron Long

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Elijah Aron |1 more credit »

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

Review by Mary Cox

“Hooray! Todd Episode!”

Asexuality is something that hasn’t really been addressed in any mainstream form of media up until this point in time. There’s a lot of controversy about what asexuality really is, or how to define it as an orientation. In spite of this, Bojack Horseman is actually doing a great job with handling Todd’s exploration of his sexuality, and with depicting asexuals as normal human beings who aren’t the result of malfunctioning biology or dysfunctional personalities.

Again, there’s an issue with congruence of ideas in this episode. The undercurrent of Todd seeking to prioritize his own self-care, while also trying to manage his personal and professional relationships almost comes together. However, between Mr. Peanutbutter’s campaign, Princess Carolyn’s struggle to conceive, and Bojack’s long-lost daughter, there’s just so much happening this season that even in a literal “Todd Episode,” there’s no real room to focus on the inner-life of this character.

It seems like because the show has become less and less Bojack-centric that there’s now a serious lack of focus and structure. Bojack Horseman has never really been an ensemble show, and transferring it over to that structural format is an interesting experiment. Despite the efforts to keep the series fresh and original, right now, it doesn’t seem like Bojack Horseman is a show with a host of concurrent and carefully structured plot lines. Instead, we have a great big bunch of loose and hanging threads that are more tangled than tied together.

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

bojack horseman 1.jpg

TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 02

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

 

The Old Sugarman Place Poster
BoJack goes off the grid and winds up at his grandparents’ dilapidated home in Michigan where he reflects on his family legacy and befriends another soul haunted by the past.

Director:

Anne Walker Farrell

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Kate Purdy

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

Review by Mary Cox

“The Old Sugarman Place”

Bojack is back! The second episode of this series sits somewhat uncomfortably for me. “The Old Sugarman Place” seems to be jumping back a little from the weight and drama of the previous season, but it’s right now, it feels the direction of the show is kind of still in limbo. Bojack Horseman is half-in and half-out of being a serious drama.

In the flashback scenes with Bojack’s grandparents, the recurring “it’s the past, so everyone is sexist” jokes start to wear a little thin. This isn’t because the repeated references to “womb problems” are offensive or in bad taste, but it’s that the jokes are somewhat one note. After the fourth or fifth antiquated riff, this episode starts to somewhat literally beat a dead horse.

Bojack’s grandmother getting lobotomized at the end of the episode is melodramatic and out of place. This scene is clearly supposed to be evocative of Rosemary Kennedy, the younger sister of JFK who was famously lobotomized against her will, but certain tragedies don’t translate when it comes to cartoon horses. Touching on such a dark and serious topic would be okay if it wasn’t just a throwaway moment in a flashback, but the way Bojack Horseman handles this scenario makes the weight and tragedy of the lobotomy somewhat cheap and unnecessary.

Clearly, there exists a balance between comedy and tragedy, and in the past, Bojack Horseman has successfully walked that line. However, things aren’t looking so hot based on how the content of this episode has been handled. There’s a chance that the flashbacks at the Sugarman cabin will have some greater thematic significance later in the season, but I’m not holding my breath.

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

bojack horseman 1.jpg

TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 01

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews , , , , , , , ,

 

See Mr. Peanutbutter Run Poster
Mr PeanutButter starts his campaign for Governor of California and starts by challenging the current governor to a ski race while Bojack is no where to be found.

Director:

Amy Winfrey

Writers:

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator),

Stars:

Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie

Review by Mary Cox

“See Mr. Peanutbutter Run”

After last season’s bombshell with the death of Sara Lynn, Bojack Horseman seems to be pivoting away from heavy drama and is returning to more of the lighthearted comedy featured in the first season of the series. Bojack himself is still missing in this episode, but it’s unlikely that he’s going to pull an Agent Cooper and not show up until late in the game.

This season of Bojack Horseman is shaping up to be heavily political, as the California gubernatorial race is pretty obviously taking a page from the 2016 Presidential Election. Mr. Peanutbutter has never really been depicted as a sinister character in the past, but something tells me that drawing a parallel between Peanutbutter and Trump is pretty telling about the direction this season is going to take.

It’s almost impossible to make something now that doesn’t touch on the surreal political climate we’re all desperately trapped inside, but I’m wondering how close to home we’re really going to get here. Can we expect another Cosby episode, where contemporary hot topics like covered-up abuse and sexism in the film industry itself is addressed? Or is this going to be a broader and more general look at the world we now live in?
 

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

bojack horseman 1.jpg

TV REVIEW: TIM AND ERIC’S BEDTIME STORIES – SEASON 02 – EPISODE 02

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

 

The Duke Poster
 Directors:
Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim

Writers:

Tim Heidecker (created by), T 

Stars:

Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Isaac Cheung

Review by Mary Cox

“The Duke”

The image of a casino exclusively for scratcher cards is amusing enough, but like all of Wareheim and Heidecker’s work, the point you should consider is the “heart of fear” in this episode. This episode features Ray Wise of Twin Peaks fame, who previously has appeared worked with Eric Wareheim as the starring role in his video for “Wishes” by dream-pop duo Beach House. There’s something about Wise’s natural charisma that lends itself to surrealist media, and his performance, alongside Rhea Perlman and Jorge Garcia, should not be missed.

Bedtime Stories works fundamentally because it plays on our deepest fears and insecurities. On one hand, there’s the surface story about the casino and learning to live with a lie, but that’s not what makes “The Duke” so unsettling. When looking at this narrative specifically from a masculine perspective, this story is very obviously about a fear of cuckoldry and emasculation. Whereas “Baklava” was about the externalized issue of saving someone from themselves, “The Duke” focuses on personal loss of agency via impotence and forced submission.

This is the reason why Bedtime Stories is sometimes described as “hit or miss.” The terror and discomfort doesn’t necessarily “kick in” unless your personal issues and insecurities are up to bat. Even if you’re not afraid of losing your wife to another man, or you’ve never struggled to keep someone’s head above the waters of mental illness or addiction, everyone has some kind of deep-seated anxiety or raw nerve. Give it time. Wareheim and Heidecker will get to you and your issues as well.

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

TIM AND ERIC'S BEDTIME STORIES 2.jpg