Dudes Who Like Girls...

(From left to right) Allison Williams as Marnie, Jemima Kirke as Jessa, Lena Dunham as Hannah, and Zosia Mammet as Shoshanna

...the show of course. I mean I like girl-girls too...not that there would be anything wrong with that if I didn't...ah forget it, let's get started.

I spent the last few months watching the entire series of HBO's Girls, and I regret waiting this long.  What a fantastic show!


There were a few things I knew about the show going in; dark humor, Judd Apatow, and gratuitous nudity. Key ingredients to success in my mind.  Reading a little more about it, I found out that a lot of people had some problems with the nudity, more specifically, Lena Dunham's nudity as Hannah.  I'm not sure if I've heard anyone complaining about all of the sex and other people's nudity.

This common complaint confused me a little, and made me hold back on watching the show, something I now regret.  Let me just say that the nudity is just fine.  I believe that is just an honest depiction of Hannah (the lead character played by Lena Dunham), and I really have no idea why anyone who'd be willing to watch this show would even mention it.

Girls is a show about a group of 20-somethings trying to find their niche in New York City. The characters live a life free of social responsibility, acting in many layers of selfish behavior.  Let's face it though, life gets pretty crazy, and it is OK to be a little self-centered every once and a while.

Hannah's selfish behavior is that she only talks to her friends when she needs something. She's not really interested in things that she's not involved in.  She's an aspiring writer, fresh out of college and looking for a way to translate her crazy life into her career.

Marnie (Allison Williams) doesn't really know who she is.  She's willing to use people to help her along the way.  For example, in the pilot episode, Marnie openly complains to Hannah about how she wants to leave her boyfriend, Charlie, but only stays with him because she is afraid of being alone.  Marnie changes the most out of all of the characters over the 3 seasons, but she always finds a way back to her comfort zone.

Shoshanna (Zosia Mammet) is my favorite.  She has a selfish naivete to her that is part teeny-bopper, part goal-oriented college woman, and 100% amusing to watch.  She wears side ponytails and loud "fashionable" outfits.  Shoshanna's life revolves around magazine quizzes, doing well in school, and finding the perfect man, who isn't too dumb.

Jessa (Jemima Kirke) rounds out the group as the "free spirit."  She has drug problems, authority problems, and men problems, but somehow holds it all in a balance to still pull off her crazy adventures.  Jessa has had some of the darker stories in the series so far.  I hope that they can have her on a little more of a positive arc in the 4th season, because so far, it's been rough times for Jessa.

Adam at his best.

Other regular cast worth mentioning are Adam (Adam Driver), Ray (Alex Karpovsky), ans Elijah (Andrew Rannells)

Adam is a very emotional character.  He has a brutal honesty about him, which is one of his most endearing qualities.  He's an actor, a carpenter, and a bit of a sex manic.  Adam is Hannah's love interest.

Ray starts a little rough in the first season.  I remember being really annoyed with his snarky attitude in the pilot, but it quickly grew on me. Ray is a little older than the rest of the "kids" on the show, and with that, he's become the group cynic.  Ray often over-intellectualizes trying to show everyone how smart he is.  On the surface, he is a very simple character, but once Girls gives him more screen time, you get to see what Ray is all about.

I would really like to see a Ray and Adam buddy comedy.  That show would be so strange and hilarious.

Elijah isn't on the show very regularly, but I wish it would be more.  He appears as Hannah's college ex-boyfriend, who is now an out gay man.  This causes Hannah a lot of anxiety, but brings them a little closer as well.

Girls is a dark look at dating, working, and figuring out what life has to offer.  For the most part, Girls is about Hannah.  Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna all have significant roles, but Hannah is the glue that holds all of the dysfunction together.

A lot of Girls is Hannah saying or doing inappropriate things to her friends and loved ones.  She is a very open character, and talks about everything that is happening to her.  There is great comedy in discomfort, and Girls exploits that well.

Just because Girls is a show that is about selfish behavior, that doesn't make it bad.  There are redeeming qualities to all of these characters, and I am fully invested in their uniquely troubled lives.

Tina Fey's take on Girls