My two Cents
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
yeamf-93422 — 9 years ago(January 23, 2017 07:05 AM)
This is a review of the revival. 6/10
I will write about the 4 points deduction, so you know what the weak points are. Before doing that, however, I feel like I need to justify all the negative reviews this has been getting. I feel like people are right to feel disappointed, but there might be an explanation for it. I've realized, reading a lot of the reviews that
people have trouble with things that were also present in the original run of the show
. This could only be explained away by the mere fact that
the viewers grew up, but the show didn't
.
I'll elaborate. Take the fat jokes, for example. People were so offended by them. I remember reading about it being in poor taste. I was surprised at this overreaction. Maybe it's more apparent because we have access to means of voicing our opinions and we didn't have the same outlet in 2001, but I have seen many other instances on the show that they actually make fun of heavy people. One prime example of this is season 2, episode 14; where Lorelai and Rory are watching the BBC cooking show "
Two fat ladies
" and their whole conversation is about them being fat, and laughing about it, and Rory says, "
Can't we just find two other really fat people to watch?
" Which, by today's standards is really mean.
I think we have gotten overly sensitive. This show has always been bold and unapologetic and judge-y. That's part of the humor I guess. Then there are the jokes that most people didn't find funny, like Kirk's ooober business. I didn't find it funny or amusing either (but I just never really found Kirk funny or amusing to begin with), but, it's not like the show never had unfunny scenes. I remember many times finding things cringe-worthy. It's just that it wasn't so heightened cause of the format.
Now, let's get to the point. The bad parts, for which I'm deducting points. I'll post them on separate posts. -
yeamf-93422 — 9 years ago(January 23, 2017 07:07 AM)
- The 4*90 minutes episodes
This hurt the show. It was clear that
they didn't know what to do without commercial breaks, and with all that extra time.
Deciding to focus on characters like Kirk, that are only funny in short increments and should be background noise for example, was a mistake. Did we really need all the random cameos? They were nice, but they didn't flow. (More on this in item 2)
It would have been fine if they knew how to use the 90 minutes that they had. Focus on the one thing that matters in this show : Lorelai and Rory. It was beyond annoying that they shared barely 10 scenes during the whole thing, if that. - The parenthood cameos
Was it just me, or did those take you out of the story as well? The SH characters, even at their most outrageous always felt real to me. The show and the relationships felt real to me, but seeing actors from the show that Lauren was in just made it seem so production-y and filmed and scripted, and like, "
oh isn't it cool that my pals from another show are here?
" It's not. (Same with Bunhead cameos -
they just took me out of the story
and ruined the flow and reality of the show.)
- The 4*90 minutes episodes
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yeamf-93422 — 9 years ago(January 23, 2017 07:15 AM)
- Not nearly enough Lorelai and Rory
It's no surprise that most fans got hooked because of these two and their relationship. I don't know if it is the fact that Rory is now a grown up, or it's because she feels like a totally different character, or it's because they had so few scenes together; just something was off. I wanted a lot more of them, together. I realize it's not realistic for a 32 year old woman to cling to her mom, but they're not the typical pair. Their chemistry was just different. I also would have blamed Alexis, but she's got Rory down, and her chemistry with Matt was fine (so was with everyone else). - THE FREAKING MUSICALS
So thank god for the ability to skip through. I enjoy Sutton Foster, and I was sad Bunheads got cancelled, but I did not need to see Bunheads2.0, I wanted Gilmore girls 2.0.
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Other than these, I didn't have any problems. Not major ones. I think it makes sense that Rory is sleeping with a guy who's soon to be married. She never learned from her mistakes, because nothing ever happened to her after the incident with Dean. She never made rational decisions when it came to dating.
I also don't consider her a failure. She's a published writer (Atlantic, GQ, Newyorker, etc) who's worked on a successful presidential campaign, and she did very well in her academic life. She is nowhere near failure. Might not be the most successful, but life doesn't always work out that way. Lorelai said it best, "you've had it easy." Not having a permanent address is not that big of a deal, not being married, not having a stable job; today's world is chaotic, and living an adventurous life in your early 30s is not failing. I think it's actually exciting. But, she should at least want to get things in order.
And regarding the last four words. I can't imagine Rory being a mom. It could be a false alarm, and she has options, but I she's going to have the baby and get her stuff together.
- Not nearly enough Lorelai and Rory
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