206 reviews
I hadn't been following the show yet but decided to get caught up since all the episodes were available on demand, and since they are nice and short it didn't take much time.
I have mixed feelings about the show. I'm definitely not in my twenties anymore, and even when I was my situation was different from Hannah's (I was broke and struggling through art school without any family support, and not in New York). That was years ago--Hannah could theoretically be my daughter--yet I recognize and sympathize with a lot of what goes on in her world. A good bit of the show is funny and smart, and I do care about her--she's afraid and a little lost and going through a series of disappointments. I get how it feels to have something to say and find yourself (or others) questioning whether it really needs to be said, which must be really rough when you've spent the last few years in a crucible of complete focus on self-expression (grad school). I'm just not sure I like her. And maybe that's OK, since Hannah doesn't seem to like herself very much despite little bursts of ego and a chronic exhibitionism--but the occasional moments pop up where it feels like I'm supposed to cheer her on when I want to shake her instead. Her motives seem hollow, and too focused on trying to actively *impress* others, which could be intentional. It's hard to tell if she's having trouble being herself or if the trouble IS that she's being herself. Maybe the generation gap is to blame, or maybe there is no message and she's just packaging up and delivering a slice of life without any adjectives or claims printed on the box. And there is certainly more going on in the show besides the protagonist's character study.
I'll continue watching to see how Hannah progresses. There is value in the writing, and it's pretty original. Feels a little like a graphic novel (a la American Splendor), weirdly. Glad to see Zosia Mamet after being introduced to her on Mad Men, and hope her character (Shoshanna) is allowed to grow out of what appears to be comic relief. Also good to see Becky Ann Baker again, the warm and authentic mom from Freaks and Geeks. She's less cuddly here but just as real.
If you're in your twenties you may well like this more than I do. If you're {ahem}older you might like it more than me anyway. But it's certainly worth watching an episode or two to find out.
I have mixed feelings about the show. I'm definitely not in my twenties anymore, and even when I was my situation was different from Hannah's (I was broke and struggling through art school without any family support, and not in New York). That was years ago--Hannah could theoretically be my daughter--yet I recognize and sympathize with a lot of what goes on in her world. A good bit of the show is funny and smart, and I do care about her--she's afraid and a little lost and going through a series of disappointments. I get how it feels to have something to say and find yourself (or others) questioning whether it really needs to be said, which must be really rough when you've spent the last few years in a crucible of complete focus on self-expression (grad school). I'm just not sure I like her. And maybe that's OK, since Hannah doesn't seem to like herself very much despite little bursts of ego and a chronic exhibitionism--but the occasional moments pop up where it feels like I'm supposed to cheer her on when I want to shake her instead. Her motives seem hollow, and too focused on trying to actively *impress* others, which could be intentional. It's hard to tell if she's having trouble being herself or if the trouble IS that she's being herself. Maybe the generation gap is to blame, or maybe there is no message and she's just packaging up and delivering a slice of life without any adjectives or claims printed on the box. And there is certainly more going on in the show besides the protagonist's character study.
I'll continue watching to see how Hannah progresses. There is value in the writing, and it's pretty original. Feels a little like a graphic novel (a la American Splendor), weirdly. Glad to see Zosia Mamet after being introduced to her on Mad Men, and hope her character (Shoshanna) is allowed to grow out of what appears to be comic relief. Also good to see Becky Ann Baker again, the warm and authentic mom from Freaks and Geeks. She's less cuddly here but just as real.
If you're in your twenties you may well like this more than I do. If you're {ahem}older you might like it more than me anyway. But it's certainly worth watching an episode or two to find out.
In the 2012 male dominated world of TV shows, Girls has been a welcomed addition.
The fact that its main character is also the show's creator, writer and often director, makes it even more welcome. But, as an avid consumer of films and TV, I cannot rate Girls more than 6 (and I am being generous for the previous reasons).
The most obvious comparisons to Lena Dunham's "Girls" is Sex & the City, both because of its 4 female leads living in NYC , and because of the emphasis on friendship and relashionsips. However, to me, Girls is more similar to any mumblecore movie (think Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha) or to a certain extent TV shows like Freak and Geeks or Love (unsurprisingly, Judd Apatow is an exec producer). Ordinary stories about ordinary people with ordinary feelings and ordinary ideas who somehow believe to be extraordinary.
The show is well crafted, the acting is good, and the characters are believable, but like the whole mumblecore genre, it is too focused on the inner life of middle class, self obsessed, ordinary people and so it risks to be just as boring as the people it tries to portray.
I do applaud Lena Dunham's courage in exposing her imperfect naked body and inner psychological issues, especially given the abuse she had to go through (even on this website with some of the reviews gratuitously cruel). However, I doubt that is enough to make good TV for a sustained period of time.
Interestingly for a show written by a girl for other girls, the male characters (Adam, Ray) are a lot more interesting and have a lot more life in them than any of the female characters, except for Hannah. While the boys in the show have interests and thoughts,the girls are defined by their relationships with men (or lack thereof). We learn more about the internal life and motivations of
a marginal character like Thomas John in his two minute monologue than about Marnie or Jessa during the entire first season.
It's true that except for Carrie, the characters in sex & the city were also fairly thin, but that show was a hell of a lot more fun.
Finally, since Lena Dunham is now heralded as the bulwark of modern feminism, does it really matter if the writer/director/producer of a show is a woman when the female characters she creates are so thin?
- cesiraurzi
- May 18, 2018
- Permalink
I am a straight (if that matters...) 30-something guy and I just watched the first five episodes of HBO's "GIRLS". So in a nutshell:
I really dig this show. I think it has an extremely unique vibe to it, that kinda reminds me of "How to make it in America" (with a pinch of Woody Allen). It's nothing like "Sex and the City"... well it's about a group of Girlfriends, that happen to live in New York City and well... yes Sex is an issue. But still, it's nothing like "SATC". It's much more down-to-earth, realistic and... different. I like all the girls and their facets. The casting is great. Though they work with some (New York) clichés in the show, I really have the feeling that I know people like that from my own life and experiences. The early 20s, an age where you're on your own for the first time of your life, grown up but still clueless about life and what to expect from it. It's kind of an adventure to figure out who you are, what you want and where to go. I really feel that "GIRLS" makes a great job capturing that feeling. Lena Dunham, creator, director and protagonist of this show is crazy talented. People will hear (even more) from her in the future. Mark my words.
Hopefully HBO won't axe this show as they did with "How to make it...". It's a great show and I really enjoy watching it.
I really dig this show. I think it has an extremely unique vibe to it, that kinda reminds me of "How to make it in America" (with a pinch of Woody Allen). It's nothing like "Sex and the City"... well it's about a group of Girlfriends, that happen to live in New York City and well... yes Sex is an issue. But still, it's nothing like "SATC". It's much more down-to-earth, realistic and... different. I like all the girls and their facets. The casting is great. Though they work with some (New York) clichés in the show, I really have the feeling that I know people like that from my own life and experiences. The early 20s, an age where you're on your own for the first time of your life, grown up but still clueless about life and what to expect from it. It's kind of an adventure to figure out who you are, what you want and where to go. I really feel that "GIRLS" makes a great job capturing that feeling. Lena Dunham, creator, director and protagonist of this show is crazy talented. People will hear (even more) from her in the future. Mark my words.
Hopefully HBO won't axe this show as they did with "How to make it...". It's a great show and I really enjoy watching it.
I might be in the minority but I loved the show from start to finish, albeit better in first couple of seasons. I always felt like people took it too seriously. There are some great comedic moments and yes most of the best moments were Adam Driver scenes or Andrew Rannells. Don't really understand why people would be so bothered about characters being naked, especially when a lot of them involved Adam 😉 had it been a show about a bunch of stereotypical "hot" guys I bet no one would be complaining about the naked characters.
- jlwarmington
- Apr 21, 2022
- Permalink
I went into the first episode of Girls with pretty low expectations. I figured that it would maybe be another Sex in the City, with some pointless softcore porn here and there, but I decided to try it out. It is now, along with Game of Thrones, one of my favorite shows on television. In fact, when we get a fresh set of shows on the DVR, Girls is always the first show that I want to watch. It is fresh, funny, and also a bit depressing at times. This is definitely not Sex and the City. That show was glamour and lightheartedness. This show, on the other hand, is about that bad experience that lots of people have coming out of college called "the quarter life crisis".
The tone of "Girls" is somewhat dark, cynical humor. It is about four young women out of college a year or so. They live in New York City, but unlike the Sex and the City ladies, they are struggling financially and, overall, they aren't very happy people. There are Sex and the City posters in a lot of scenes, as if to remind you that you are NOT watching that show. Their jobs are deadend-ish in nature, or just plain nonexistent. They have lots of what looks like unsatisfying or awkward sex. There is an undercurrent of disillusionment and shattered dreams with all of the plot lines. Graduating from college and moving to New York City, isn't the world supposed to be your oyster? Since you still have youthful good looks, freedom, and income, shouldn't your 20s be the most fun part of your life? Maybe for some, but that's not how it works for a lot of people. For some folks, either men or women, the years immediately after college are when you find out that the world truly doesn't care about you, or that you don't have the talent to do what you wanted to do. It is when you grow apart from your college boyfriend or girlfriend and wake up one day to find that you have nobody of significant romantic interest in your life. It is when you find out that there are jobs out there that are horribly boring and unsatisfying.
I normally get annoyed by the excessive (and often boring and pointless) sex in HBO's original series, but it fits into this series just fine. This show centers around the trials and tribulations of young women in their early to mid 20s, and one problem that they all share is an unsatisfying sex life. Having been raised and gone through college with today's "hookup" culture, the men in their lives are lazy. They barely have to lift a finger to get laid and they don't need to be romantic to seduce a woman at all. They have sex and then somebody goes home right after. If you are looking for one big feature to distinguish this show from Sex and the City, I think that this portrayal of modern sex culture would be it. Sex and the City portrayed it as glamorous and empowering for women. This show (and I am not sure if this is intentional) portrays it somewhat the opposite. Hannah has been having sex with her partner, Adam, for a long time, but she barely even knows him. Marnie has a long time boyfriend, but she's not turned on by or in love with him. The relationships that these women have are shallow and unsatisfying.
The themes are interesting, and the writing is clever too. The one liners are usually funny. The hijinx are sufficiently wacky and unpredictable. If you have shared experiences with the characters in this show, then I think that you will "get" it, and that you will find it funny. If you haven't, then this show might not appeal to you. If you were turned off from the show by its marketing or because you didn't want to see another "Sex and the City", then I highly encourage you to give it a look. Especially if you feel that you can identify with some of the characters. As a 38 year old man, I still could, despite being older and, well, male. This show doesn't appear to be too popular, and that disappoints me, because I really want there to be a second season.
The tone of "Girls" is somewhat dark, cynical humor. It is about four young women out of college a year or so. They live in New York City, but unlike the Sex and the City ladies, they are struggling financially and, overall, they aren't very happy people. There are Sex and the City posters in a lot of scenes, as if to remind you that you are NOT watching that show. Their jobs are deadend-ish in nature, or just plain nonexistent. They have lots of what looks like unsatisfying or awkward sex. There is an undercurrent of disillusionment and shattered dreams with all of the plot lines. Graduating from college and moving to New York City, isn't the world supposed to be your oyster? Since you still have youthful good looks, freedom, and income, shouldn't your 20s be the most fun part of your life? Maybe for some, but that's not how it works for a lot of people. For some folks, either men or women, the years immediately after college are when you find out that the world truly doesn't care about you, or that you don't have the talent to do what you wanted to do. It is when you grow apart from your college boyfriend or girlfriend and wake up one day to find that you have nobody of significant romantic interest in your life. It is when you find out that there are jobs out there that are horribly boring and unsatisfying.
I normally get annoyed by the excessive (and often boring and pointless) sex in HBO's original series, but it fits into this series just fine. This show centers around the trials and tribulations of young women in their early to mid 20s, and one problem that they all share is an unsatisfying sex life. Having been raised and gone through college with today's "hookup" culture, the men in their lives are lazy. They barely have to lift a finger to get laid and they don't need to be romantic to seduce a woman at all. They have sex and then somebody goes home right after. If you are looking for one big feature to distinguish this show from Sex and the City, I think that this portrayal of modern sex culture would be it. Sex and the City portrayed it as glamorous and empowering for women. This show (and I am not sure if this is intentional) portrays it somewhat the opposite. Hannah has been having sex with her partner, Adam, for a long time, but she barely even knows him. Marnie has a long time boyfriend, but she's not turned on by or in love with him. The relationships that these women have are shallow and unsatisfying.
The themes are interesting, and the writing is clever too. The one liners are usually funny. The hijinx are sufficiently wacky and unpredictable. If you have shared experiences with the characters in this show, then I think that you will "get" it, and that you will find it funny. If you haven't, then this show might not appeal to you. If you were turned off from the show by its marketing or because you didn't want to see another "Sex and the City", then I highly encourage you to give it a look. Especially if you feel that you can identify with some of the characters. As a 38 year old man, I still could, despite being older and, well, male. This show doesn't appear to be too popular, and that disappoints me, because I really want there to be a second season.
- bayou_hannibal
- May 28, 2012
- Permalink
When I'm having a bad day throwing on an episode makes everything all better. I always laugh, smile and wake up a better person.
- biancadark-00403
- Oct 21, 2020
- Permalink
- OGmacadamia39
- Dec 21, 2021
- Permalink
I'm twenty three. My girlfriends and I have real conversations like this. We're poor, fresh out of college, and headed toward grad school (hopefully.) What I'm getting at is this show is relevant to our lives, it's realistic and actually funny. Not all women were like Sex and the City and it's been said that Carrie's extravagant lifestyle was not realistic, this show is. I hate to compare the two but Girls blows SATC out of the water. This show is fresh, funny, and so true that it hurts. Lena Dunham is not only a phenomenal actress but the entire premise is so new and amazing that it's hard to believe she writes and directs each episode. Love is so far and I recommend it.
- platero-pam
- Apr 22, 2012
- Permalink
- rusty-61689
- May 12, 2019
- Permalink
I personally LOVE this show. It's incredibly funny and extremely refreshing. It's quirky and almost every dialogue makes me smile like an idiot. The sex is also a lot more realistic than in other shows (Since most of the time sex can awful and unsatisfying, not earth-shattering like they portray on romantic movies and also, not everyone is built like a model.)
I think people need to stop over analyzing the show and enjoy it for what it is; a heartfelt comedy about young women who traverse a complicated world filled with heartbreak and uncertainty with no one to lean on but each other. It's a unique take on an old idea and I will definitely stay tuned for more.
I think people need to stop over analyzing the show and enjoy it for what it is; a heartfelt comedy about young women who traverse a complicated world filled with heartbreak and uncertainty with no one to lean on but each other. It's a unique take on an old idea and I will definitely stay tuned for more.
- sabrinaadelani
- May 3, 2012
- Permalink
- dragonbate
- Jul 10, 2016
- Permalink
First off, this show is definitely not for everyone. I absolutely loved it from the jump, and I tried to get a few friends into it that didn't get it at all.
The characters are mostly unlikeable, so you watch this to kind of laugh at the mess and chaos, and there is some very good comedy and drama here. The writing is clever and cast is good. One of my absolute comfort shows, it always makes me feel good and makes me chuckle. The only think I think is really unfortunate about Girls is that the main girls are hardly ever together as a group. At most they are 2-3 together, and it's too bad because when the four girls are together it's always hilarious. I guess it's realistic for girls at that age, but I'd love it if they were together more.
The characters are mostly unlikeable, so you watch this to kind of laugh at the mess and chaos, and there is some very good comedy and drama here. The writing is clever and cast is good. One of my absolute comfort shows, it always makes me feel good and makes me chuckle. The only think I think is really unfortunate about Girls is that the main girls are hardly ever together as a group. At most they are 2-3 together, and it's too bad because when the four girls are together it's always hilarious. I guess it's realistic for girls at that age, but I'd love it if they were together more.
If you are looking for the next glamorous Sex and the City show, this is not it. In fact, it is the opposite. 'Girls' doesn't advertise glamour in any way, which is a complete deviation from the average American show. It is odd how much controversy surrounds Lena Dunham and her 'Girls', because she actually writes a common scenario in a very familiar way. On paper, it is quite a lot like 'Sex and the City': four women from NYC who struggle with acquiring their careers and finding love. However, there are no Manolo Blahniks or Mr Bigs. There are crummy apartments and player boyfriends.
Life after college is nowhere near glamorous, and Dunham knows this all too well. If you find yourself at that little lost place, post graduation, taking any job that comes along your way and despairing over the fact that you might never get that career you've always dreamt of, or keep ending up in a less-than-perfect relationship because you are willing to pick up any love you can get, these 'Girls' might be some comfort for you. If you are in the mood for some real-life drama that is not sugarcoated in any way, this show might find you intrigued. And if you are still convinced this show is fake and its characters are unrelatable, at least watch it for Jemima Kirke, TV's very own too-cool-for-you bohemian hipster. She's the it-girl you don't want to miss.
Life after college is nowhere near glamorous, and Dunham knows this all too well. If you find yourself at that little lost place, post graduation, taking any job that comes along your way and despairing over the fact that you might never get that career you've always dreamt of, or keep ending up in a less-than-perfect relationship because you are willing to pick up any love you can get, these 'Girls' might be some comfort for you. If you are in the mood for some real-life drama that is not sugarcoated in any way, this show might find you intrigued. And if you are still convinced this show is fake and its characters are unrelatable, at least watch it for Jemima Kirke, TV's very own too-cool-for-you bohemian hipster. She's the it-girl you don't want to miss.
- kelly-louise
- May 10, 2012
- Permalink
The show isn't slapstick humor and the characters change throughout the seasons. People need to relax and realize the show is satire. It's incredibly smart and funny
- ryangetzzz
- May 24, 2020
- Permalink
I am reviewing this show while I'm watching the third season. I have to say that in the beginning I was enjoying this series a lot more then right now. I just think it's going downhill in a fast way now and I don't think it will get better again. I give it a 6 star rating now as an average for all the seasons but the third season should get way lesser then that. It's not funny anymore and the constant whining of Lena Dunham is getting highly irritable. Also if I have to hear Allison Williams sing that stupid song one more time I might smash my TV screen. I try to remember what I liked about this show in the beginning because I did like it at first but that seems so long ago that the negatives from this last season erased any positive thing I had to say about Girls. I think I'm just going to finish this season and then just stop watching it because there are way better series then this one.
- deloudelouvain
- Mar 24, 2015
- Permalink
- linds-d-ross
- May 24, 2012
- Permalink
- the_brain888
- May 30, 2013
- Permalink
Seriously, Adam Driver is the only good thing about this show. He is a great actor, but even he could not save this utterly silly display. And yes, one gets tired of seeing the main character naked all the time.
Girls is the kind of show that sucks you in right from the beginning. As a woman i relate a lot to the characters, in their struggles to fit in, to find love and to keep friendships. The acting is phenomenal, and the premises are not too far from home. One of my favorite shows to watch
I like the shows premise and the writing is good. Except for one aspect of it: the sexual situations and nudity is just weird and awkward and sometimes cringey. It is so gratuitous and completely unnecessary most of the time. I don't think it's even that relatable. Most of the characters are also entirely unlikable but that is like a lot of shows these days. It's like you should want to feel even a shred of sympathy or empathy but you don't because they are so narcissistic. Despite all of that, the relationships and dialogue can be a little relatable. I do love all of the music on the show.....
- s201098765
- Feb 17, 2023
- Permalink
I can see some minor appeal to this show and I won't challenge the taste of anyone who likes it. My girlfriend watches it regularly, though she can't articulate why.
From my perspective it's a pointless meta-tragedy where rich 30-somethings attempt to act like poor 20-somethings but wield only enough emotional depth to emulate spoiled teenagers. Each character is a razor-thin veneer that barely manages to obscure the underlying actor's radiant sense of entitlement and profound lack of awareness.
These are truly despicable, irreparably self-obsessed people. Girls would work so much better if it were framed as satire rather than as a dramedy that wants to be taken semi-seriously.
From my perspective it's a pointless meta-tragedy where rich 30-somethings attempt to act like poor 20-somethings but wield only enough emotional depth to emulate spoiled teenagers. Each character is a razor-thin veneer that barely manages to obscure the underlying actor's radiant sense of entitlement and profound lack of awareness.
These are truly despicable, irreparably self-obsessed people. Girls would work so much better if it were framed as satire rather than as a dramedy that wants to be taken semi-seriously.
- ken-961-47034
- Mar 28, 2014
- Permalink
You grow to hate every character, difrent, fresh perspective. The nudity and sex becomes wierdly natural, very good acting from a part of the cast, recomend it strongly.
- mushcatu-535-825128
- Jan 6, 2021
- Permalink