Life Unexpected. Episode 5. "Turtle Undefeated" Party!
Sometimes LUX almost loses me. Almost. Then there's a wonderful line, plot turn or moment of performance and I find myself utterly charmed.
This is the episode where Lux throws a party for some kids she wants to impress, and doesn't invite her true friends. The party is also a plot device for Lux's new mother to try to hard and make a fool of herself, and for her new dad to drop the ball on parenting and let her get away with too much.
It all sounds a bit suspect, really. We are deep in cliche territory, really.
And yet...
While the script embraces a few well-worn story ideas (from every family-friendly series ever made) it manages to smooth the bumps with lots and lots of good stuff you'd never expect to find here. And that's what will keep me watching. As I'm the sort of viewer you'd never expect to find here, either!!
Lux's behaviour is almost beyond redemption, but - with a scant few lines of dialogue at the end - Brittany Robertson is able to sell it to me. And make me empathise, and like the kid.
Shiri Appleby, likewise, is able to sell emotions that a lesser performer might struggle with. The idea that she's jealous her new daughter's bond with her father is silly and plants the show in sitcom territory. Almost. Appleby's heart is in the role and she makes me care about Kate, even when I'm chuckling at the silly antics she gets up to.
And that's true of the whole show. It's silly and lightweight, in a feelgood way. And while I like the idea of a show like that I might not be able to make time for it every week. Were it not for the fantastic performers and those moments when the script plays with conventions and then successfully avoids them. Lux's big confrontation with her dad is actually more about his relationship with his dad. And she ends up parenting him, and giving him advice, in a scene that should have been about them both learning a lesson about how he's supposed to parent her. And when they surprise me, with moments like that, I feel sure I'll be sticking around for the full run of this little gem.
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Life Unexpected. Episode 5. "Turtle Undefeated" Party!
