The new CW series, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” is oddly captivating. The name itself is enough to evoke enough curiosity to spend an hour of time watching the show.
The premise of the show is that a woman named Rebecca, played by Rachel Bloom (“Robot Chicken”), leaves her New York job as a lawyer to follow an ex-boyfriend to West Cavina, California, in hopes of reigniting their relationship.
The show is made with a mix of crude humor and random moments of the main character explaining her thoughts through song. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” has its moments of quality entertainment, especially with the relationship between the main character Rebecca and her best friend in the show, who is played by Donna Lynne Champlin (“Birdman”). These two actresses exquisitely represent a very relatable friendship that many viewers can connect with.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” also relates to viewers on the level of innermost thoughts. Bloom beautifully expresses the “awkward self-conversations” many have while sorting through complex issues in their own life. Bloom’s acting allows viewers to easily relate to the character of Rebecca Bunch, signifying the inevitability of “a little crazy in all of us.” There are many themes within this new series which are also relatable to most viewers.
Throughout the show, a theme of acceptance is seen with Rebecca desiring to be accepted by Josh, her ex. This theme is also seen through secondary characters such as Paula continually desiring to be accepted as Rebecca’s best friend. This theme is continually expressed between different characters and is woven throughout the entirety of the series thus far having succeeded in making “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” relatable to the audience.
The overall cast of the series is a somewhat odd mix. Bloom was a perfect casting choice to play the main character Rebecca. She is a relatable character that comically portrays the conflicting emotions and sometimes poor choices made while recovering from a rejection.
Rebecca’s fantasy love interest in the show, Josh, played by Vincent Rodriguez III (“Hostages”), was a poor choice. The character Josh is not very prevalent and the episode is instead based on a decision or action that Rebecca makes are far more captivating and advanced in term of quality of entertainment. Rodriguez in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” may be described as the definition of “bad acting” and was not an impressive choice to portray this character in the new series.
Overall, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is not likely to be winning any awards in the near future. It is somewhat of a mind numbing show that may cause viewers to question why they are watching it the entire time. Despite this, it is entertaining. It is a good choice for days where you need to feel better about yourself and your life decisions.
When in need of feeling good about yourself, watch the CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” Laugh at Rebecca’s impulsive decisions and actions and be proud of yourself for not moving across the country on the whim for one person from your past.
Rating: 3 out of 5
