Don’t relationships suck?
Okay maybe just breakups suck. And suck real. Damn. Crappy.
Hard.
I’m sure several of us geeks have had those times when we felt the need to be taken away to the furthest Kree galaxy to escape. No, I’m not writing a Star Wars review here, but I did just watch the first two episodes of FXX’s — FX with an extra X! — new mind-bending comedy, Man Seeking Woman based on the book “Last Girlfriend on Earth” by show creator Simon Rich. And it’s not like ANYTHING from this dimension.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTTzk69hFQs
The show is about the journey of one Josh Greenberg (This is the End’s Jay Baruchel) who breaks up with his longtime girlfriend and now has to find a way to move on without her: By finding a new love, of course! But Josh is now living on the darker side of the moon where shaving becomes an inconvenience and dwelling on the past keeps him unmotivated. But with the perseverance of his sister Liz (Unforgettable’s Britt Lower) and his chick magnet best friend Mike (2 Broke Girls’ Eric Andre), he finally decides to put himself back “out there”.
No wait! Stay with me. This is not some tweener rom-com. Have I mentioned that the first date Josh goes on is with a troll? Not just talking about her looks, either; she’s literally short, green, and eats out of dumpsters. Ah-HA! Peak your interest? How about the fact that Man Seeking also has talking houses (not Mr. Ed; but that actual place you reside), exorcisms of attacking bras, and Adolf Hitler?! Yes. He’s 126 and still down to hook up with women. What is going on? I have no idea!
And that’s what’s so damn great.
There’s no explanation of the crazy and supernatural occurrences. All of this isn’t just in Josh’s head; it’s a part of this city’s everyday life. Why root for this guy? Because Josh has no idea how to text a girl he just met, he calls in a bunch of military generals to organize a think tank! (I need to try that.) All of Josh’s extreme emotions — whether the highs or lows — are brought to life in a grand imaginative display.
MSW is in a place where there’s humans, animals, and then….well something else. But that’s what makes this one of the most original comedies I’ve seen in a long time– a long time (Hello, Ben Kenobi). Rich’s fantastic creativity and unexpected turns of complete disassociation — with the less campy, more realistic storytelling — is why you should spend 30-minutes of your time with this. Or maybe this is going to be the review that gets The Divine One thrown in Arkham.
You can catch FXX’s Man Seeking Woman every Wednesday at 10:30pm.