Rec. #835: Quote from a Fictional Character #103

"Loving someone means muting their flaws for two to five years."

--- Andrés,

Los Espookys, 2019

Rec. #834: Don't Take the Money / I Wanna Get Better

What: I really do like Lena Dunham's direction of music videos for the band Bleachers.

The video for "Don't Take the Money" features --- Alia Shawkat as a marriage officiant; glitz; formal shorts; crowns; leather shorts; a fight scene; the spoken dialogue "is it difficult to make lunch plans?" "no, we eat at home."

The video for "I Wanna Get Better" features --- pool floats; a birdcage; Retta in a power turtleneck; Mary Kay Place as a backup singer; the spoken line "waiting until I get dressed and then putting on the same thing is not 'fixing yourself.'"

Rec. #833: Trust No Aunty

What: Artist Maria Qamar, of the popular Instagram account @Hatecopy, has created a tongue-in-cheek survival guide for desi girls in the diaspora. Includes some rad pop art!

How to get it: In addition to the book and her Instagram account (both of which are to be found in the expected places), also check out Qamar's website (https://hatecopy.com/). Very cool merch, including this seasonally appropriate print.

Rec. #832: Come From Away

What: Here's what I knew about Come From Away before I saw the show -- it's a musical about flights that were diverted to a small town in Canada on September 11; it won the Best Musical Tony; one character is a female pilot.

Here's what I didn't realize until I saw it -- it handles tone perfectly (appropriately empathetic but with pockets of very Canadian humor); stories and dialogue were drawn directly from interviews with passengers and locals; with only one act and no pauses for applause until the end, it moves fast.

It will make you feel better about humanity in general (but also probably worse about how much the U.S. in particular is failing right now when it comes to the basic human decency of helping people in distress).

How to get it: Of course, the best option is to see a live production if you can. Failing that, the original cast recording is still stirring, gorgeous, and powerful.

Rec. #831: This Way Up

What: Aine (played by creator Aisling Bea) folds back into her life after a breakdown. This Way Up, which also features Sharon Horgan and Aasif Mandvi, is largely about using humor as a coping mechanism for bone-deep loneliness, and it has the tone to match.

Representative quote: "A man goes mental, and all of a sudden he's Bob Dylan with a fucking guitar. But a woman has one more emotion than she should, and all of a sudden, I'm Lindsay fucking Lohan."

Comparable to: I've seen several people compare This Way Up to Fleabag. While I know it's meant to be complimentary, it's actually kinda sexist -- the shows aren't very similar beyond "female creator/star in a comedy/drama about a woman."

The plot and themes did remind me of a grown-up version of my beloved My Mad Fat Diary.

How to get it: This Way Up (needs a better title! I am always double-checking this one!) is streaming now on Hulu.

Connections to previous Wreckage: My Mad Fat Diary* is Rec. #283 and SSoW #25. It's on List #26 and List #37. It is also streaming on Hulu.




* Also, now's as good a time as any to point out that MMFD was one of the first jobs for Jodie Comer, who's now - ahem - killing it on Killing Eve.

Rec. #830: Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

What: Do you feel a chill in the air coming? Are you feeling melancholy yet determined? "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead," from indie pop band Stars, might be just the song for you right now.

First line: "When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire."

Representative lyric: "Live through this, and you won't look back."

How to get it: The song is off the 2004 album Set Yourself on Fire. You can watch this video on YouTube. The band is Canadian. The video is very Canadian.

Rec. #829: Three Identical Strangers

What: The story of the documentary Three Identical Strangers is of both the ripped-from-the-headlines and truth-is-stranger-than-fiction varieties. 

Long-lost triplets discover one another, and while the boys insta-bond, their adoptive parents start to wonder how (and why) they were separated in the first place. Then things get strange and murky and ... chilling.

[This is the part where I note the immorality of treating children as objects to separate and relocate at your whim.]

Representative quote: "I believe nature and nurture both matter. But I think nurture can overcome nearly everything." (from Hedy Page, David's aunt, who is a treasure)

How to get it: Three Identical Strangers is streaming now on Hulu.

Rec. #828: Echad Mi Yodea by Ohad Naharin performed by Batsheva

What: During the summer of 2018, I saw work by choreographer Ohad Naharin performed by Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago. (See Rec. #573.)

At the time, I described it as "exquisite and powerful and maybe even life-changing?" This particular piece, Echad Mi Yodea, is the one that's stuck with me the most. In this clip, it's performed by Naharin's own Batsheva Dance Company. Just wait until they start throwing shoes.

How to get it: You can watch the piece on YouTube, and you might be interested in Batsheva's YouTube channel in general. Or you might want to watch performances from other companies, such as the Opéra national de Paris.

Connection to previous Wreckage: More on DecaDance/Chicago is at Rec. 573.

Rec. #827: All Your Faves in United States of Tara

What: Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who remembers United States of Tara (2009-2011) and Toni Collette's tour de force performance.

Lots of other amazing people were on this show, too! Just a sampling: Brie Larson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Patton Oswalt, Nate Corddry, Zosia Mamet, Viola Davis, Eddie Izzard, Frances Conroy.

Comparable to: The show is similar to Speechless in its focus on how a whole family deals with one member's health issue.

Seeing baby Brie Larson in this reminds me of watching baby Elisabeth Moss and baby Zooey Deschanel in Mumford (Rec. #92), which is another excellent thing seemingly forgotten by the larger culture.

How to get it: It's streaming on Hulu, and -- crucially -- the episodes are only half an hour.

Connection to previous Wreckage: The first season of United States of Tara was Rec. #351. Mumford was Rec. #92. Speechless was featured in List #65 and Rec. #566.

Rec. #826: Be Prepared

What: The mostly autobiographical graphic novel Be Prepared is all about summer camp, but the tone might be different than you'd expect. It's funny, but not goofy. It's emotional coming-of-age, but not wistful or saccharine. It's painfully realistic about how monstrous preteens can be, but it doesn't revel in the cringe.

There's also a great real-life reveal at the end that tilts the full experience a bit.

Comparable to: Vera Brosgol is also the author of the award-winning graphic novel Anya's Ghost.

Representative page: