Refreshingly Broken Women

By: Rose McInerney

There’s something so refreshing about brutal honesty when two women are facing off. The confrontation can be crushingly mean and hurtful.

In a kinda sick way, I feel a sense of vindication when the jabs are aimed at someone who seems almost deserving. It’s hard to know whether to fall over laughing or cover your mouth in feigned shock.

This is one in a long line of the reasons explaining why I’m in love with the new Netflix series, Dead To Me. It tops my new favorite shows now that the curtain is down on Game of Thrones. Dead To Me stars Christina Applegate as Jen Harding, and Linda Cardellini, as Judy Hale.

Christina is a master when it comes to sarcasm, serving it up in a classic style reminiscent of her 10-year run in the sitcom comedy, Married With Children.

Photo Credit: Cinema Blend

I’d expect nothing less here from Christina, whose role in the Anchorman movies with writer/co-star, comedian Will Ferrell warrants praise and has become a cult classic and must-see movie in my family.

Even if you watched only the first 15 seconds of the opening scene in Dead To Me, you’d agree the writers have nailed Jen’s refreshingly broken character and the premise for a creatively spun inciting force.

Photo Credit: (Amy Sussman / Invision/AP)

In the opening scene Jen’s neighbor Karen arrives at her front door dressed in a pink sweater and white pearls. She’s holding a tray of lasagna and grinning in that begging sort of way so Jen will invite her inside.

The camera work reinforces the slap-down that Jen gives Karen from the moment she rings the doorbell in a rapid fire sequence of cuts showing the ladies as they talk back and forth:

Karen: “Just heat it up for 35 minutes in the oven.” (Karen holding the lasagna and smiling)

Jen: “Thanks, Karen.” (forced smile) Karen: “It’s my take on Mexican lasagna. Jeff and I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”

Jen: “Well, it’s like if Jeff got hit by a car and died. Suddenly and violently. It’s like that.”

Karen: “Well, you get that dish back to me whenever you can.” Jen slams the door in Karen’s face before Karen can answer.

It’s open season for Jen’s hostility and anger, which escalates after she attends a grief meeting and meets Judy, an unlikely friend. As Judy’s character unfolds, we see she is an annoying giver who just wants to love everybody. But she is also clearly intentional about what she’s doing, including trying to befriend and help Jen heal from her grief.

The two characters are complete opposites. Jen loves painfully loud heavy metal while Judy is into soft Yanni-type music. Their career choices accentuate this difference, with Jen being a competitive realtor and Judy volunteering at a retirement home and painting simple pictures of girls with holes in their hearts.

As each episode in season one unfolds, however, all is not as it seems. Judy has ulterior motives and a twisted past, well beyondher bonge-smoking binges. And Jen’s relationship with her husband was not too peachy, either. A complex plot slowly unwinds and both characters are richly layered and deeply flawed.

And, who doesn’t love a flawed woman. I’m so tired of stock character roles for mid-age women. Hence, the second reason I love this series. It is written by Liz Feldman, a 42 year old comedian, actress and producer from 2BrokeGirls. The series tackles real issues for older women (not that forties and fifties is old!) and examines mid-life pain.

While the painful subjects and some of the scenes still have that Hollywood gloss – the palm treelined streets, stupid “women need to get laid to get over their grief”, and a grief counselor who introduces himself with a far too trumped up explanation of his aunt’s death – the subjects that really count in the series aren’t typically given much air time.

Photo Credit: Netflix

When asked, Christina Applegate said the show has been therapeutic for her, having had breast cancer and a double mastectomy. She also admits it nudged her to seek professional advice about lingering wounds that opened up after she started playing Jen.

The show even examines the stigmas attached to pain and how we heal from it. The comedic approach makes it easier to watch and we can’t help but consider our own lives and how we deal with unresolved grief and pain.

The shocking use of expletives increases as we move deeper into the plot and the shocking realizations about other events that motivate both Jen and Judy. This heightens the conflict and as we laugh, we find ourselves completely devastated by the gravity of the situation.

The good news is the series has been picked up for a second season. If the well-written plot twists continue to heighten the stakes and the angst in this traumedic – Christina’s innovative name for this trauma + comedy show – I expect Dead To Me will be a lively favorite with fans over the next few years.

As an aside, it’s also worth noting that Christina is one of the show’s producers (alongside Will Ferrell and Adam McKay). I’m excited to see how she helps steer this welcoming flawed Odd-Couple duo.