PILOT REVIEW: Good Girls

GOOD GIRLS

Starring: Christina Hendricks, Retta, Mae Whitman, Reno Wilson, Manny Montana, Lidya Jewett, Izzy Stannard, and Matthew Lillard

Created by Jenna Bans
Written by Jenna Bans, Directed by Dean Parisot

THE PREMISE
Good Girls had a good thing going for it before it even started because it features actresses from three of my favorite shows: Christina Hendricks of Mad Men, Retta of Parks and Recreation, and Mae Whitman of Parenthood. In this new comedy-drama, they play three suburban housewives who are at their wits end with their finances and personal lives so they decide to rob a supermarket but it becomes far more complicated as the episode progresses.

THE REVIEW
In this era of #MeToo, this is a very interesting commentary and it's a very unusual mix of comedy and drama. At one point, the show doesn't seem to take itself too seriously with its outlandish premise and quirky characters but then it pivots and it addresses rape and family hardships among other serious topics. And yet, it doesn't feel as frenetic as it might seem. Although the pilot was far from perfect, I do think it's a well constructed show. It had some high moments and I think if I had never seen a trailer or had any idea what it was about, the opening was actually pretty surprising.

The best part of the pilot was easily the performance of the three leads. All three are such strong actresses and they had instant chemistry with each other. Retta is probably playing the most similar to a previous type of character but it's a stretch for Mae Whitman and particularly Christina Hendricks to play parts very different from the roles that made them famous. Shows succeed and fail based on two things in my opinion: writing and acting. I'm not 100% convinced the writing is there for this show, but I am already 100% convinced that the acting is going to help this show immensely.

Where the show got bogged down was in two places and they might seem at odds with each other. The show seemed at times to be too bent on the revenge aspect. I feel like they dealt with Hendricks rage against her cheating husband multiple times to the same end. At the same time, I would argue that they maybe tried to introduce too much in the pilot and it was perhaps biting off more than they could chew. I think they should have spent more time leading up to the bank robbery and working out the backstory and then they could have addressed some of the post-bank robbery issues in future episodes. But if they have a good plan for where they're going then I'll take that back.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. I'm interested to see what episode two looks like.